36:1
'Son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel. Say, "Mountains of Israel, hear the word of Yahweh.
36:2
The Lord Yahweh says this: Since the enemy has gloated over you by saying: Aha! These eternal heights are owned by us now,
36:3
very well, prophesy! Say: The Lord Yahweh says this: Since you have been ravaged and seized on from all sides, and have become the property of the rest of the nations, and become the subject of people's talk and gossip,
36:4
very well, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Yahweh! The Lord Yahweh says this to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, to the devastated ruins and abandoned cities which have been put to the sack and have become a laughing-stock to the rest of the nations all round;
36:5
very well, the Lord Yahweh says this: I swear it in the heat of my jealousy; I am speaking to the rest of the nations and to the whole of Edom who so exultantly and contemptuously took possession of my country to despoil its pastureland."
36:6
'Because of this, prophesy about the land of Israel. Say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, "The Lord Yahweh says this: I am speaking in my jealousy and rage; because you are enduring the insults of the nations,
36:7
very well, the Lord Yahweh says this: I raise my hand and I swear that the nations all around you shall have their own insults to bear.
36:8
"Mountains of Israel, you will grow branches and bear fruit for my people Israel, who will soon return.
36:9
Yes, I am coming to you, I shall turn to you; you will be tilled and sown.
36:10
I shall increase your population, the whole House of Israel, yes, all. The cities will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt.
36:11
I shall increase your population, both human and animal; they will be fertile and reproduce. I shall repopulate you as you were before; I shall make you more prosperous than you were before, and you will know that I am Yahweh.
36:12
Thanks to me, men will tread your soil again, my people Israel; they will own you and you will be their heritage, and never again will you rob them of their children.
36:13
"The Lord Yahweh says this: Since people have said of you: You are a man-eater, you have robbed your nation of its children,
36:14
very well, you will eat no more men, never rob your nation of its children again -- declares the Lord Yahweh.
36:15
I shall never again let you hear the insults of the nations, you will never again have to bear the taunts of the peoples, you will never again rob the nation of its children -- declares the Lord Yahweh." '
36:16
The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as follows,
36:17
'Son of man, the members of the House of Israel used to live in their own territory, but they defiled it by their conduct and actions; to me their conduct was as unclean as a woman's menstruation.
36:18
I then vented my fury on them because of the blood they shed in the country and the foul idols with which they defiled it.
36:19
I scattered them among the nations and they were dispersed throughout the countries. I sentenced them as their conduct and actions deserved.
36:20
They have profaned my holy name among the nations where they have gone, so that people say of them, "These are the people of Yahweh; they have been exiled from his land."
36:21
But I have been concerned about my holy name, which the House of Israel has profaned among the nations where they have gone.
36:22
And so, say to the House of Israel, "The Lord Yahweh says this: I am acting not for your sake, House of Israel, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone.
36:23
I am going to display the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am Yahweh -- declares the Lord Yahweh -- when in you I display my holiness before their eyes.
36:24
For I shall take you from among the nations and gather you back from all the countries, and bring you home to your own country.
36:25
I shall pour clean water over you and you will be cleansed; I shall cleanse you of all your filth and of all your foul idols.
36:26
I shall give you a new heart, and put a new spirit in you; I shall remove the heart of stone from your bodies and give you a heart of flesh instead.
36:27
I shall put my spirit in you, and make you keep my laws, and respect and practise my judgements.
36:28
You will live in the country which I gave your ancestors. You will be my people and I shall be your God.
36:29
I shall save you from everything that defiles you, I shall summon the wheat and make it plentiful and impose no more famines on you.
36:30
I shall increase the yield of tree and field, so that you will never again bear the ignominy of famine among the nations.
36:31
Then you will remember your evil conduct and actions. You will loathe yourselves for your guilt and your loathsome practices.
36:32
I assure you that I am not doing this for your sake -- declares the Lord Yahweh. Be ashamed and blush for your conduct, House of Israel.
36:33
"The Lord Yahweh says this: On the day I cleanse you from all your guilt, I shall repopulate the cities and cause the ruins to be rebuilt.
36:34
Waste land, once desolate for every passer-by to see, will now be farmed again.
36:35
And people will say: This land, so recently a waste, is now like a garden of Eden, and the ruined cities once abandoned and levelled to the ground are now strongholds with people living in them.
36:36
And the nations left round you will know that I, Yahweh, have rebuilt what was levelled and replanted what was ruined. I, Yahweh, have spoken and shall do it.
36:37
"The Lord Yahweh says this: As a further mark of favour, I shall let myself be consulted by the House of Israel; I shall increase their numbers like a human flock,
36:38
like a flock of sacrificial animals, like the flock in Jerusalem on her solemn feasts. So your ruined cities will be filled with human flocks, and they will know that I am Yahweh." '
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