Ezekiel 35-37

Complete Jewish Bible

35 The word of Adonai came to me: ² “Human being, turn your face against Mount Se‘ir; prophesy against it, ³ and say that Adonai Elohim says, ‘I am against you, Mount Se‘ir. I will stretch out my hand against you and make you utterly desolate. ⁴ I will make your cities ruins and make you an utter waste, and you will know that I am Adonai. ⁵ Because of your long-standing hatred, you put the people of Isra’el to the sword at their time of calamity, at the time of final iniquity. ⁶ Therefore, as I live,’ Adonai Elohim swears, ‘I will prepare you for blood. Blood will pursue you. You intensely hate your own blood [relatives]; therefore blood will pursue you. ⁷ Yes, I will make Mount Se‘ir utterly desolate, cutting off from it anyone passing through or returning. ⁸ I will fill his mountains with his slain; in your hills and valleys and in all your ravines will fall those slain by the sword. ⁹ I will turn you into perpetual ruins; your cities will not return; and you will know that I am Adonai.

¹⁰ “‘Because you say, “These two nations, these two countries, will be mine; we will take possession of them,” even though Adonai is there; ¹¹ therefore, as I live,’ swears Adonai Elohim, ‘I will deal with you as your anger and envy arising from your hatred deserve; and I will make myself known among them when I judge you. ¹² You will know that I, Adonai, have heard all your blasphemous talk against the mountains of Isra’el, such as, “They are desolated, they are given to us to devour.” ¹³ Moreover, you have boasted against me with your mouths, speaking more and more against me — I have heard it.’ ¹⁴ Here is what Adonai Elohim says: ‘To the joy of all the land, I will desolate you. ¹⁵ Since you rejoiced over possessing the house of Isra’el, because it was desolate, that is what I will do to you — you will be desolate, Mount Se‘ir and all Edom, all of it. Then they will know that I am Adonai.’

36 “Now you, human being, prophesy to the mountains of Isra’el. Say: ‘Mountains of Isra’el, hear the message from Adonai. ² Adonai Elohim says: “The enemy is boasting over you, ‘Ha! Even the ancient high places are ours now!’ ” ’ ³ Therefore prophesy, and say that Adonai Elohim says, ‘Because they desolated you and swallowed you up from every side, so that the other nations could take possession of you; and now people are gossiping about you and slandering you; ⁴ therefore, mountains of Isra’el, hear the message of Adonai Elohim — this is what Adonai Elohim says to the mountains and hills, the streams and valleys, the desolate wastes and the abandoned cities, now preyed on and derided by the other surrounding nations — ⁵ therefore this is what Adonai Elohim says: “In the heat of my jealousy I speak against the other nations and all of Edom, since, rejoicing with all their heart, they have arrogated my land to themselves as a possession and, with utter contempt, seized it as prey.”’

⁶ “Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Isra’el, and say to the mountains, the hills, the streams and the valleys that Adonai Elohim says this: ‘I speak in my jealousy and fury, because you have endured being shamed by the nations. ⁷ Therefore thus says Adonai Elohim: “I have raised my hand and sworn that the nations surrounding you will bear their shame. ⁸ But you, mountains of Isra’el, you will sprout your branches and bear your fruit for my people Isra’el, who will soon return. ⁹ I am here for you, and I will turn toward you; then you will be tilled and sown; ¹⁰ and I will multiply your population, all the house of Isra’el, all of it. The cities will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. ¹¹ I will multiply both the human and animal populations, they will increase and be productive; and I will cause you to be inhabited as you were before — indeed, I will do you more good than before; and you will know that I am Adonai. ¹² I will cause people to walk on you, my people Isra’el; they will possess you, and you will be their inheritance; never again will you make them childless.” ¹³ Adonai Elohim says, “Because they say to you, ‘Land, you devour people and make your nations childless,’ ¹⁴ therefore you will no longer devour people, and you will not make your nations childless any more,” says Adonai Elohim. ¹⁵ “I will not permit the nations to shame you, or the peoples to reproach you any longer; and you will no more cause your nations to stumble,” says Adonai Elohim.’”

¹⁶ The word of Adonai came to me: ¹⁷ “Human being, when the house of Isra’el lived in their own land, they defiled it by their manner of life and their actions; their way before me was like the uncleanness of niddah. ¹⁸ Therefore I poured out my fury on them, because of the blood they had shed in the land and because they defiled it with their idols. ¹⁹ I scattered them among the nations and dispersed them throughout the countries; I judged them in keeping with their manner of life and actions. ²⁰ When they came to the nations they were going to, they profaned my holy name; so that people said of them, ‘These are Adonai’s people, who have been exiled from his land.’ ²¹ But I am concerned about my holy name, which the house of Isra’el is profaning among the nations where they have gone.

²² “Therefore tell the house of Isra’el that Adonai Elohim says this: ‘I am not going to do this for your sake, house of Isra’el, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have been profaning among the nations where you went. ²³ I will set apart my great name to be regarded as holy, since it has been profaned in the nations — you profaned it among them. The nations will know that I am Adonai,’ says Adonai Elohim, ‘when, before their eyes, I am set apart through you to be regarded as holy.

³³ “Adonai Elohim says, ‘When the day comes for me to cleanse you from all your guilt, I will cause the cities to be inhabited and the ruins to be rebuilt. ³⁴ The land that was desolate will be tilled, whereas formerly it lay desolate for all passing by to see. ³⁵ Then they will say, “The land that used to be desolate has become like Gan-‘Eden, and the cities formerly ruined, abandoned and wasted have been fortified and are inhabited!” ³⁶ Then the nations around you that remain will know that I, Adonai, have rebuilt the ruins and replanted what was abandoned. I, Adonai, have spoken; and I will do it.’

³⁷ “Adonai Elohim says, ‘In addition, I will let the house of Isra’el pray to me to do this for them: to increase their numbers like sheep — ³⁸ like flocks of sheep for sacrifices, like the flocks of sheep in Yerushalayim at its designated times, in this degree will the ruined cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am Adonai.’”

37 With the hand of Adonai upon me, Adonai carried me out by his Spirit and set me down in the middle of the valley, and it was full of bones. ² He had me pass by all around them — there were so many bones lying in the valley, and they were so dry! ³ He asked me, “Human being, can these bones live?” I answered, “Adonai Elohim! Only you know that!” ⁴ Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones! Say to them, ‘Dry bones! Hear what Adonai has to say! ⁵ To these bones Adonai Elohim says, “I will make breath enter you, and you will live. ⁶ I will attach ligaments to you, make flesh grow on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you. You will live, and you will know that I am Adonai.”’”

⁷ So I prophesied as ordered; and while I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound; it was the bones coming together, each bone in its proper place. ⁸ As I watched, ligaments grew on them, flesh appeared and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them. ⁹ Next he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath! Prophesy, human being! Say to the breath that Adonai Elohim says, ‘Come from the four winds, breath; and breathe on these slain, so that they can live.’”

¹⁰ So I prophesied as ordered, and the breath came into them, and they were alive! They stood up on their feet, a huge army! ¹¹ Then he said to me, “Human being! These bones are the whole house of Isra’el; and they are saying, ‘Our bones have dried up, our hope is gone, and we are completely cut off.’ ¹² Therefore prophesy; say to them that Adonai Elohim says, ‘My people! I will open your graves and make you get up out of your graves, and I will bring you into the land of Isra’el. ¹³ Then you will know that I am Adonai — when I have opened your graves and made you get up out of your graves, my people! ¹⁴ I will put my Spirit in you; and you will be alive. Then I will place you in your own land; and you will know that I, Adonai, have spoken, and that I have done it,’ says Adonai.”

¹⁵ The word of Adonai came to me: ¹⁶ “You, human being, take one stick and write on it, ‘For Y’hudah and those joined with him [among] the people of Isra’el.’ Next, take another stick and write on it, ‘For Yosef, the stick of Efrayim, and all the house of Isra’el who are joined with him.’ ¹⁷ Finally, bring them together into a single stick, so that they become one in your hand. ¹⁸ When your people ask you what all this means, ¹⁹ tell them that Adonai Elohim says this: ‘I will take the stick of Yosef, which is in the hand of Efrayim, together with the tribes of Isra’el who are joined with him, and put them together with the stick of Y’hudah and make them a single stick, so that they become one in my hand.’ ²⁰ The sticks on which you write are to be in your hand as they watch. ²¹ Then say to them that Adonai Elohim says: ‘I will take the people of Isra’el from among the nations where they have gone and gather them from every side and bring them back to their own land. ²² I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Isra’el; and one king will be king for all of them. They will no longer be two nations, and they will never again be divided into two kingdoms.

²³ “‘They will never again defile themselves with their idols, their detestable things, or any of their transgressions; but I will save them from all the places where they have been living and sinning; and I will cleanse them, so that they will be my people, and I will be their God. ²⁴ My servant David will be king over them, and all of them will have one shepherd; they will live by my rulings and keep and observe my regulations. ²⁵ They will live in the land I gave to Ya‘akov my servant, where your ancestors lived; they will live there — they, their children, and their grandchildren, forever; and David my servant will be their leader forever. ²⁶ I will make a covenant of peace with them, an everlasting covenant. I will give to them, increase their numbers, and set my sanctuary among them forever. ²⁷ My home will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. ²⁸ The nations will know that I am Adonai, who sets Isra’el apart as holy, when my sanctuary is with them forever.’”