Ezekiel 36

Also, thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD:

1God said, "Son of man, speak my words to the mountains of Israel. Say to them, mountains of Israel, listen to what the LORD says."

2Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because the enemy hath said against you, Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession:

2This is what the Lord GOD says. Your enemies laughed at you. They said, "Good! These old hills belong to us now."

Note"High places" here means the hills and heights of the land, not places of worship.

3Therefore prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and are an infamy of the people:

3So speak my words. This is what the Lord GOD says. Enemies wrecked you and crushed you from every side. Other nations took you for themselves. People gossiped about you and said mean things.

4Therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes, and to the cities that are forsaken, which became a prey and derision to the residue of the heathen that are round about;

4So listen, mountains of Israel, to what the Lord GOD says. He speaks to the mountains and hills, to the streams and valleys. He speaks to the empty ruins and the towns nobody lives in. Nearby nations robbed them and laughed at them.

5Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen, and against all Idumea, which have appointed my land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey.

5This is what the Lord GOD says. I have spoken with burning anger against those other nations, and against all of Edom. They grabbed my land and were glad. They hated my people and took the land to strip it bare.

NoteIdumea is another name for Edom, a nation next to Israel.

6Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne the shame of the heathen:

6So speak about the land of Israel. Tell the mountains and hills, the streams and valleys, what the Lord GOD says. He says, "I have spoken with burning anger, because other nations shamed you."

7Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I have lifted up mine hand, Surely the heathen that are about you, they shall bear their shame.

7This is what the Lord GOD says. I raise my hand and make a promise. The nations around you will be shamed themselves.

8But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come.

8But you, mountains of Israel, will grow new branches. You will grow fruit for my people Israel. They are coming home soon.

9For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown:

9Look, I am on your side. I will turn toward you. Your soil will be dug up and planted with seed.

10And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded:

10I will fill you with many people. All the family of Israel will come. People will live in the cities again. The ruins will be built up again.

11And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

11I will fill you with people and animals. They will grow in number and do well. I will make you full of people, like you were long ago. I will treat you better than before. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

12Yea, I will cause men to walk upon you, even my people Israel; and they shall possess thee, and thou shalt be their inheritance, and thou shalt no more henceforth bereave them of men.

12Yes, I will bring my people Israel to walk on you. The land will be theirs to keep and pass on. You will never again take their children away.

13Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because they say unto you, Thou land devourest up men, and hast bereaved thy nations;

13This is what the Lord GOD says. People say to you, "You eat men up. You take the children of your own nation away."

14Therefore thou shalt devour men no more, neither bereave thy nations any more, saith the Lord GOD.

14But you will not eat men up anymore. You will not take your nation's children away anymore. That is what the Lord GOD says.

15Neither will I cause men to hear in thee the shame of the heathen any more, neither shalt thou bear the reproach of the people any more, neither shalt thou cause thy nations to fall any more, saith the Lord GOD.

15I will not let other nations mock you anymore. You will not have to bear their insults. You will not make your nation fall anymore. That is what the Lord GOD says.

16Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

16Then the LORD spoke to me again. He said,

17Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman.

17"Son of man, when the people of Israel lived in their own land, they made it dirty by the way they lived and what they did. To me, their way of life was unclean.

NoteThe KJV compares Israel's way of life to a woman during her monthly bleeding, which the old law called unclean for a time. The point is that the land was made dirty, not that the woman had done wrong.

18Wherefore I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it:

18So I poured out my anger on them. They had killed people and spilled blood on the land. They had also made it dirty with their idols, which are statues people pray to.

19And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them.

19So I scattered them among other nations. They were spread out through many lands. I judged them for the way they lived and what they did.

20And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the LORD, and are gone forth out of his land.

20But wherever they went, they gave my holy name a bad name. People said about them, "These are the LORD's people, but they had to leave his land."

21But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went.

21I cared about my holy name. Israel had given it a bad name among the nations they went to.

22Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went.

22So tell the people of Israel what the Lord GOD says. He says, "I am not doing this for your sake, people of Israel. I am doing it for my holy name, which you shamed among the nations you went to."

23And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.

23I will show that my great name is holy. It was shamed among the nations, and you are the ones who shamed it. Then those nations will know that I am the LORD, says the Lord GOD. They will see me show my holiness through you.

24For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.

24I will take you out from among the nations. I will gather you from every country. I will bring you back to your own land.

25Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.

25Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will wash away everything dirty and every idol.

26A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

26I will give you a new heart. I will put a new spirit inside you. I will take out your heart of stone. I will give you a heart of flesh instead.

27And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

27I will put my Spirit inside you. I will help you live by my rules. You will follow my laws and do what they say.

28And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.

28You will live in the land I gave to your fathers long ago. You will be my people, and I will be your God.

29I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you.

29I will save you from everything that made you unclean. I will call for grain and make lots of it grow. I will not send hunger on you.

Note"Corn" in 1611 English meant grain of any kind, such as wheat or barley, not the yellow corn on a cob.

30And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen.

30I will grow much fruit on the trees and many crops in the fields. Then other nations will not mock you for going hungry.

31Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations.

31Then you will remember your bad ways and the wrong things you did. You will hate yourselves for the terrible things you did.

32Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord GOD, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel.

32I am not doing this for your sake, says the Lord GOD. Be sure you know that. Feel ashamed and sorry for the way you lived, people of Israel.

33Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded.

33This is what the Lord GOD says. On the day I wash away all your sins, I will bring you back to live in the cities. The ruins will be built up again.

34And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by.

34The empty land will be farmed again. Everyone walking past used to see it lying empty.

35And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited.

35People will say, "This land was empty, but now it is like the garden of Eden. The cities were ruined and empty, but now they have walls and people living in them."

36Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it.

36Then the nations left around you will know that I, the LORD, rebuild ruined places. I plant again where the land was empty. I, the LORD, have said it, and I will do it.

37Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock.

37This is what the Lord GOD says. I will let the people of Israel ask me for this, and I will do it for them. I will make them as many as a flock of sheep.

38As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the LORD.

38At Jerusalem's special feast days there were huge flocks of sheep. In the same way, the ruined cities will be filled with crowds of people. Then they will know that I am the LORD.