יחזקאל לו

And you, O mortal, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say: O mountains of Israel, hear the word of GOD:

Thus said the Sovereign GOD: Because the enemy gloated over you, “Aha! Those ancient heights have become our possession!”

therefore prophesy, and say: Thus said the Sovereign GOD: Just because they eagerly lusted to see you become a possession of the other nations round about, so that you have become the butt of gossip in every language and of the jibes from every people—

truly, you mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign GOD: Thus said the Sovereign GOD to the mountains and the hills, to the watercourses and the valleys, and to the desolate wastes and deserted cities that have become a prey and a laughingstock to the other nations round about:

Assuredly, thus said the Sovereign GOD: I have indeed spoken in My blazing wrath against the other nations and against all of Edom that, with wholehearted glee and with contempt, have made My land a possession for themselves for pasture and for prey.

Yes, prophesy about the land of Israel, and say to the mountains and the hills, to the watercourses and to the valleys, Thus said the Sovereign GOD: Behold, I declare in My blazing wrath: Because you have suffered the taunting of the nations,

thus said the Sovereign GOD: I hereby swear that the nations that surround you shall, in their turn, suffer disgrace.

But you, O mountains of Israel, shall yield your produce and bear your fruit for My people Israel, for their return is near.

For I will care for you: I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown.

I will settle a large population on you, the whole House of Israel; the towns shall be resettled, and the ruined sites rebuilt.

I will multiply human and animal upon you, and they shall increase and be fertile, and I will resettle you as you were formerly, and will make you more prosperous than you were at first. And you shall know that I am GOD.

I will lead a multitude—My people Israel—to you, and they shall possess you. You shall be their heritage, and you shall not again cause them to be bereaved.

Thus said the Sovereign GOD: Because they say to you, “You are [a land] that devours humans, you have been a bereaver of your nations,”

assuredly, you shall devour humans no more, you shall never again bereave your nations—declares the Sovereign GOD.

No more will I allow the jibes of the nations to be heard against you, no longer shall you suffer the taunting of the peoples; and never again shall you cause your nations to stumble—declares the Sovereign GOD.

The word of GOD came to me:

O mortal, when the House of Israel dwelt on their own soil, they defiled it with their ways and their deeds; their ways were in My sight like the impurity of a menstruous woman.

So I poured out My wrath on them for the blood that they shed upon their land, and for the fetishes with which they defiled it.

I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries: I punished them in accordance with their ways and their deeds.

But when they came to those nations, they caused My holy name to be profaned, in that it was said of them, “These are GOD’s people, yet they had to leave their land.”

Therefore I am concerned for My holy name, which the House of Israel have caused to be profaned among the nations to which they have come.

Say to the House of Israel: Thus said the Sovereign GOD: Not for your sake will I act, O House of Israel, but for My holy name, which you have caused to be profaned among the nations to which you have come.

I will sanctify My great name that has been profaned among the nations—among whom you have caused it to be profaned. And the nations shall know that I am GOD—declares the Sovereign GOD—when I manifest My holiness before their eyes through you.

I will take you from among the nations and gather you from all the countries, and I will bring you back to your own land.

I will sprinkle pure water upon you, and you shall be purified: I will purify you from all your defilement and from all your fetishes.

And I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit into you: I will remove the heart of stone from your body and give you a heart of flesh;

and I will put My spirit into you. Thus I will cause you to follow My laws and faithfully to observe My rules.

Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your ancestors, and you shall be My people and I will be your God.

And when I have delivered you from all your impurity, I will summon the grain and make it abundant, and I will not bring famine upon you.

I will make the fruit of your trees and the crops of your fields abundant, so that you shall never again be humiliated before the nations because of famine.

Then you shall recall your evil ways and your base conduct, and you shall loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abhorrent practices.

Not for your sake will I act—declares the Sovereign GOD—take good note! Be ashamed and humiliated because of your ways, O House of Israel!

Thus said the Sovereign GOD: When I have purified you of all your iniquities, I will people your settlements, and the ruined places shall be rebuilt;

and the desolate land, after lying waste in the sight of every passerby, shall again be tilled.

And it shall be said, “That land, once desolate, has become like the garden of Eden; and the cities, once ruined, desolate, and ravaged, are now populated and fortified.”

And the nations that are left around you shall know that I, GOD, have rebuilt the ravaged places and replanted the desolate land. I, GOD, have spoken and will act.

Thus said the Sovereign GOD: Moreover, in this I will respond to the House of Israel and act for their sake: I will multiply their people like sheep.

As Jerusalem is filled with sacrificial sheep during her festivals, so shall the ruined cities be filled with flocks of people. And they shall know that I am GOD.