Font Size
Ezekiel 35-37
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Ezekiel 35-37
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Judgment on Mount Seir
35 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 Mortal, set your face against Mount Seir and prophesy against it,(A) 3 and say to it: Thus says the Lord God:
I am against you, Mount Seir;
I stretch out my hand against you
to make you a desolation and a waste.
4 I lay your towns in ruins;
you shall become a desolation,
and you shall know that I am the Lord.
5 Because you cherished an ancient enmity and gave over the people of Israel to the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, at the time of their final punishment,(B) 6 therefore, as I live, says the Lord God, I will make you bloody, and blood shall pursue you; since you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you. 7 I will make Mount Seir a waste and a desolation, and I will cut off from it all who come and go.(C) 8 I will fill its mountains with the slain; on your hills and in your valleys and in all your watercourses those killed with the sword shall fall.(D) 9 I will make you a perpetual desolation, and your cities shall never be inhabited. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.(E)
10 Because you said, “These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will take possession of them”—although the Lord was there(F)— 11 therefore, as I live, says the Lord God, I will deal with you according to the anger and envy that you showed because of your hatred against them, and I will make myself known among you[a] when I judge you.(G) 12 You shall know that I, the Lord, have heard all the abusive speech that you uttered against the mountains of Israel, saying, “They are laid desolate; they are given us to devour.” 13 And you magnified yourselves against me with your mouth and multiplied your words against me; I heard it.(H) 14 Thus says the Lord God: As the whole earth rejoices, I will make you desolate.(I) 15 As you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel because it was desolate, so I will deal with you; you shall be desolate, Mount Seir and all Edom, all of it. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.(J)
Blessing on Israel
36 And you, mortal, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say: O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord. 2 Thus says the Lord God: Because the enemy said of you, “Aha!” and, “The ancient heights have become our possession,”(K) 3 therefore prophesy and say: Thus says the Lord God: Because they made you desolate indeed and crushed you from all sides, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations and an object of gossip and slander among the people,(L) 4 therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God: Thus says the Lord God to the mountains and the hills, the watercourses and the valleys, the desolate wastes and the deserted towns, which have become a source of plunder and an object of derision to the rest of the nations all around;(M) 5 therefore thus says the Lord God: I am speaking in my hot jealousy against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, who, with wholehearted joy and utter contempt, took my land as their possession, because of its pasture, to plunder it.(N) 6 Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains and hills, to the watercourses and valleys: Thus says the Lord God: I am speaking in my jealous wrath because you have suffered the insults of the nations;(O) 7 therefore thus says the Lord God: I swear that the nations that are all around you shall themselves suffer insults.
8 But you, O mountains of Israel, shall shoot out your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for they shall soon come home. 9 See now, I am for you; I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown, 10 and I will multiply your population, the whole house of Israel, all of it; the towns shall be inhabited and the waste places rebuilt,(P) 11 and I will multiply humans and animals upon you. They shall increase and be fruitful, and I will cause you to be inhabited as in your former times and will do more good to you than ever before. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.(Q) 12 I will lead people upon you—my people Israel—and they shall possess you, and you shall be their inheritance. No longer shall you bereave them of children.
13 Thus says the Lord God: Because they say to you, “You devour people, and you bereave your nation of children,” 14 therefore you shall no longer devour people and no longer bereave your nation of children, says the Lord God, 15 and no longer will I let you hear the insults of the nations; no longer shall you bear the disgrace of the peoples, and no longer shall you cause your nation to stumble, says the Lord God.(R)
The Renewal of Israel
16 The word of the Lord came to me: 17 Mortal, when the house of Israel lived on their own soil, they defiled it with their ways and their deeds; their conduct in my sight was like the uncleanness of a menstrual period.(S) 18 So I poured out my wrath upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land and for the idols with which they had defiled it.(T) 19 I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries; in accordance with their conduct and their deeds I judged them.(U) 20 But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, they profaned my holy name, in that it was said of them, “These are the people of the Lord, yet they had to go out of his land.”(V) 21 But I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they came.(W)
22 Therefore say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came.(X) 23 I will sanctify my great name, which has been profaned among the nations and which you have profaned among them, and the nations shall know that I am the Lord, says the Lord God, when through you I display my holiness before their eyes.(Y) 24 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land.(Z) 25 I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.(AA) 26 A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you, and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.(AB) 27 I will put my spirit within you and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances.(AC) 28 Then you shall live in the land that I gave to your ancestors, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.(AD) 29 I will save you from all your uncleannesses, and I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you.(AE) 30 I will make the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field abundant, so that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. 31 Then you shall remember your evil ways and your dealings that were not good, and you shall loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominable deeds.(AF) 32 It is not for your sake that I will act, says the Lord God; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and dismayed for your ways, O house of Israel.(AG)
33 Thus says the Lord God: On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the towns to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt. 34 The land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by. 35 And they will say, “This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined towns are now inhabited and fortified.”(AH) 36 Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate; I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it.(AI)
37 Thus says the Lord God: I will also let the house of Israel ask me to do this for them: to multiply their people like sheep. 38 Like a consecrated flock, like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed festivals, so shall the ruined towns be filled with flocks of people. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.(AJ)
The Valley of Dry Bones
37 The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones.(AK) 2 He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. 3 He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.”(AL) 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath[b] to enter you, and you shall live.(AM) 6 I will lay sinews on you and will cause flesh to come upon you and cover you with skin and put breath[c] in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”(AN)
7 So I prophesied as I had been commanded, and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them, but there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath:[d] Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath,[e] and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.”(AO) 10 I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.(AP)
11 Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’(AQ) 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves and bring you up from your graves, O my people, and I will bring you back to the land of Israel.(AR) 13 And you shall know that I am the Lord when I open your graves and bring you up from your graves, O my people.(AS) 14 I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.”(AT)
The Two Sticks
15 The word of the Lord came to me: 16 Mortal, take a stick and write on it, “For Judah and the Israelites associated with it”; then take another stick and write on it, “For Joseph (the stick of Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with it”;(AU) 17 and join them together into one stick, so that they may become one in your hand. 18 And when your people say to you, “Will you not show us what you mean by these?” 19 say to them, “Thus says the Lord God: I am about to take the stick of Joseph (which is in the hand of Ephraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with it, and I will put the stick of Judah upon it[f] and make them one stick, in order that they may be one in my hand.”(AV) 20 When the sticks on which you write are in your hand before their eyes, 21 then say to them, “Thus says the Lord God: I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone and will gather them from every quarter and bring them to their own land.(AW) 22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king shall be king over them all. Never again shall they be two nations, and never again shall they be divided into two kingdoms.(AX) 23 They shall never again defile themselves with their idols and their detestable things or with any of their transgressions. I will save them from all the apostasies into which they have fallen[g] and will cleanse them. Then they shall be my people, and I will be their God.(AY)
24 “My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall follow my ordinances and be careful to observe my statutes.(AZ) 25 They shall live in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, in which your ancestors lived; they and their children and their children’s children shall live there forever, and my servant David shall be their prince forever.(BA) 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them, and I will bless[h] them and multiply them and will set my sanctuary among them forevermore.(BB) 27 My dwelling place shall be over them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.(BC) 28 Then the nations shall know that I the Lord sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary is among them forevermore.”(BD)
Ezekiel 35-37
New International Version
Ezekiel 35-37
New International Version
A Prophecy Against Edom
35 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir;(A) prophesy against it 3 and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Mount Seir, and I will stretch out my hand(B) against you and make you a desolate waste.(C) 4 I will turn your towns into ruins(D) and you will be desolate. Then you will know that I am the Lord.(E)
5 “‘Because you harbored an ancient hostility and delivered the Israelites over to the sword(F) at the time of their calamity,(G) the time their punishment reached its climax,(H) 6 therefore as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will give you over to bloodshed(I) and it will pursue you.(J) Since you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you. 7 I will make Mount Seir a desolate waste(K) and cut off from it all who come and go.(L) 8 I will fill your mountains with the slain; those killed by the sword will fall on your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines.(M) 9 I will make you desolate forever;(N) your towns will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the Lord.(O)
10 “‘Because you have said, “These two nations and countries will be ours and we will take possession(P) of them,” even though I the Lord was there, 11 therefore as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will treat you in accordance with the anger(Q) and jealousy you showed in your hatred of them and I will make myself known among them when I judge you.(R) 12 Then you will know that I the Lord have heard all the contemptible things you have said against the mountains of Israel. You said, “They have been laid waste and have been given over to us to devour.(S)” 13 You boasted(T) against me and spoke against me without restraint, and I heard it.(U) 14 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: While the whole earth rejoices, I will make you desolate.(V) 15 Because you rejoiced(W) when the inheritance of Israel became desolate, that is how I will treat you. You will be desolate, Mount Seir,(X) you and all of Edom.(Y) Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”
Hope for the Mountains of Israel
36 “Son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel(Z) and say, ‘Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord. 2 This is what the Sovereign Lord says:(AA) The enemy said of you, “Aha!(AB) The ancient heights(AC) have become our possession.(AD)”’ 3 Therefore prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because they ravaged(AE) and crushed you from every side so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations and the object of people’s malicious talk and slander,(AF) 4 therefore, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign Lord: This is what the Sovereign Lord says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys,(AG) to the desolate ruins(AH) and the deserted(AI) towns that have been plundered and ridiculed(AJ) by the rest of the nations around you(AK)— 5 this is what the Sovereign Lord says: In my burning(AL) zeal I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, for with glee and with malice in their hearts they made my land their own possession so that they might plunder its pastureland.’(AM) 6 Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I speak in my jealous wrath because you have suffered the scorn of the nations.(AN) 7 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I swear with uplifted hand(AO) that the nations around you will also suffer scorn.(AP)
8 “‘But you, mountains of Israel, will produce branches and fruit(AQ) for my people Israel, for they will soon come home. 9 I am concerned for you and will look on you with favor; you will be plowed and sown,(AR) 10 and I will cause many people to live on you—yes, all of Israel. The towns will be inhabited and the ruins(AS) rebuilt.(AT) 11 I will increase the number of people and animals living on you, and they will be fruitful(AU) and become numerous. I will settle people(AV) on you as in the past(AW) and will make you prosper more than before.(AX) Then you will know that I am the Lord. 12 I will cause people, my people Israel, to live on you. They will possess you, and you will be their inheritance;(AY) you will never again deprive them of their children.
13 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because some say to you, “You devour people(AZ) and deprive your nation of its children,” 14 therefore you will no longer devour people or make your nation childless, declares the Sovereign Lord. 15 No longer will I make you hear the taunts of the nations, and no longer will you suffer the scorn of the peoples or cause your nation to fall, declares the Sovereign Lord.(BA)’”
Israel’s Restoration Assured
16 Again the word of the Lord came to me: 17 “Son of man, when the people of Israel were living in their own land, they defiled it by their conduct and their actions. Their conduct was like a woman’s monthly uncleanness(BB) in my sight.(BC) 18 So I poured out(BD) my wrath on them because they had shed blood in the land and because they had defiled it with their idols. 19 I dispersed them among the nations, and they were scattered(BE) through the countries; I judged them according to their conduct and their actions.(BF) 20 And wherever they went among the nations they profaned(BG) my holy name, for it was said of them, ‘These are the Lord’s people, and yet they had to leave his land.’(BH) 21 I had concern for my holy name, which the people of Israel profaned among the nations where they had gone.(BI)
22 “Therefore say to the Israelites, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake, people of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name,(BJ) which you have profaned(BK) among the nations where you have gone.(BL) 23 I will show the holiness of my great name,(BM) which has been profaned(BN) among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord,(BO) declares the Sovereign Lord, when I am proved holy(BP) through you before their eyes.(BQ)
24 “‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land.(BR) 25 I will sprinkle(BS) clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse(BT) you from all your impurities(BU) and from all your idols.(BV) 26 I will give you a new heart(BW) and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone(BX) and give you a heart of flesh.(BY) 27 And I will put my Spirit(BZ) in you and move you to follow my decrees(CA) and be careful to keep my laws.(CB) 28 Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people,(CC) and I will be your God.(CD) 29 I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine(CE) upon you. 30 I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine.(CF) 31 Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices.(CG) 32 I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake, declares the Sovereign Lord. Be ashamed(CH) and disgraced for your conduct, people of Israel!(CI)
33 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On the day I cleanse(CJ) you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins(CK) will be rebuilt.(CL) 34 The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through it. 35 They will say, “This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden;(CM) the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited.(CN)” 36 Then the nations around you that remain will know that I the Lord have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.’(CO)
37 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Once again I will yield to Israel’s plea(CP) and do this for them: I will make their people as numerous as sheep,(CQ) 38 as numerous as the flocks for offerings(CR) at Jerusalem during her appointed festivals. So will the ruined cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the Lord.(CS)”
The Valley of Dry Bones
37 The hand of the Lord was on me,(CT) and he brought me out by the Spirit(CU) of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley;(CV) it was full of bones.(CW) 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.(CX)”
4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!(CY) 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath[a] enter you, and you will come to life.(CZ) 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.(DA)’”
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath;(DB) prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds(DC) and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded(DD) me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.(DE)
11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’(DF) 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel.(DG) 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord,(DH) when I open your graves and bring you up from them.(DI) 14 I will put my Spirit(DJ) in you and you will live, and I will settle(DK) you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.(DL)’”
One Nation Under One King
15 The word of the Lord came to me: 16 “Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, ‘Belonging to Judah and the Israelites(DM) associated with him.(DN)’ Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, ‘Belonging to Joseph (that is, to Ephraim) and all the Israelites associated with him.’ 17 Join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand.(DO)
18 “When your people ask you, ‘Won’t you tell us what you mean by this?’(DP) 19 say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am going to take the stick of Joseph—which is in Ephraim’s hand—and of the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join it to Judah’s stick. I will make them into a single stick of wood, and they will become one in my hand.’(DQ) 20 Hold before their eyes the sticks you have written on 21 and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land.(DR) 22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel.(DS) There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms.(DT) 23 They will no longer defile(DU) themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding,[b](DV) and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.(DW)
24 “‘My servant David(DX) will be king(DY) over them, and they will all have one shepherd.(DZ) They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees.(EA) 25 They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your ancestors lived.(EB) They and their children and their children’s children will live there forever,(EC) and David my servant will be their prince forever.(ED) 26 I will make a covenant of peace(EE) with them; it will be an everlasting covenant.(EF) I will establish them and increase their numbers,(EG) and I will put my sanctuary among them(EH) forever.(EI) 27 My dwelling place(EJ) will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.(EK) 28 Then the nations will know that I the Lord make Israel holy,(EL) when my sanctuary is among them forever.(EM)’”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 37:5 The Hebrew for this word can also mean wind or spirit (see verses 6-14).
- Ezekiel 37:23 Many Hebrew manuscripts (see also Septuagint); most Hebrew manuscripts all their dwelling places where they sinned
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.