Ezekiel 36:1-15

Prophecy to the Mountains of Israel

1 "And you, ¹son of man, prophesy to ²the mountains of Israel, and say, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD.

2 Thus says the Lord GOD: Because ³the enemy said of you, ⁴'Aha!' and, 'The ancient ⁵heights have become our possession,'

3 therefore prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Precisely because ⁶they made you desolate and crushed you from all sides, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, and ⁷you became the talk and evil gossip of the people,

4 therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD: Thus says the Lord GOD to ⁸the mountains and the hills, the ravines and the valleys, ⁹the desolate wastes and the deserted cities, which have become ¹⁰a prey and derision to the rest of the nations all around,

5 therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Surely I have spoken in ¹¹my hot jealousy against the rest of the nations and ¹²against all Edom, who ¹³gave my land to themselves as a possession ¹⁴with wholehearted joy and ¹⁵utter contempt, that they might make its pasturelands a prey.

6 Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to ¹⁶the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, Thus says the Lord GOD: ¹⁷Behold, I have spoken in my jealous wrath, because you have suffered ¹⁸the reproach of the nations.

7 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ¹⁹I swear that the nations that are all around you ²⁰shall themselves suffer reproach.

8 "But you, O mountains of Israel, ²¹shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for ²²they will soon come home.

9 For ²³behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and ²⁴you shall be tilled and sown.

10 And ²⁵I will multiply people on you, the whole house of Israel, all of it. ²⁶The cities shall be inhabited and the waste places rebuilt.

11 And I will multiply on you ²⁷man and beast, and ²⁸they shall multiply and be fruitful. And I will cause you to be inhabited as in ²⁹your former times, and ³⁰will do more good to you than ever before. ³¹Then you will know that I am the LORD.

12 I will let people walk on you, even my people Israel. ³²And they shall possess you, and you shall be their inheritance, and you shall no longer ³³bereave them of children.

13 Thus says the Lord GOD: Because they say to you, ³⁴'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, declares the Lord GOD.

15 And I will not let you hear anymore ³⁵the reproach of the nations, and you shall no longer bear the disgrace of the peoples and no longer cause your nation to stumble, declares the Lord GOD."

Ezekiel 36:1-15 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 36

This chapter is a prophecy concerning the desolations of the land of Israel, and the causes of them; of the return of the people to it, and the fruitfulness of it; and of spiritual blessings bestowed upon them in the latter day. And first, for the comfort of the people of Israel, it is observed that their enemies that insulted them will suffer the vengeance of God's wrath, particularly the Edomites, Eze 36:1-7, that the land of Israel should again become fruitful, its cities rebuilt, men and beasts be multiplied upon it, and be no more liable to destruction, nor bear any more the reproach of the Heathen, Eze 36:8-15, the causes of its desolation and destruction, the sins of its inhabitants, especially bloodshed, idolatry, and profanation of the name of God, Eze 36:16-20, nevertheless the Lord promises to have mercy on them, and return them to their own land, not for their sakes, but for his own name's sake, Eze 36:21-24, then follow promises of spiritual blessings to them: as purification from all sin by the blood of Christ; regeneration by his Spirit and grace; and evangelical obedience as the fruit of that, Eze 36:25-27, and others of a mixed kind, respecting partly temporal and partly spiritual blessings, Eze 36:28-36, for all which it is expected of the Lord that he should be prayed unto for them; particularly their inhabitation in their own land, and the multiplication of them in it, with which the chapter concludes, Eze 36:37,38.

Cross References

• 1. See Ezekiel 2:1
• 2. See Ezekiel 6:2
• 3. ver. 5; Ezekiel 35:10, 12
• 4. Ezekiel 25:3; Ezekiel 26:2
• 5. Deuteronomy 32:13
• 6. [Ezekiel 6:3, 4]
• 7. [Lamentations 2:15, 16]
• 8. Ezekiel 6:3
• 9. [Ezekiel 33:24, 27]
• 10. [Ezekiel 7:21]
• 11. Deuteronomy 4:24
• 12. Ezekiel 35:15
• 13. [ver. 3; Ezekiel 35:10]
• 14. Ezekiel 35:15
• 15. Ezekiel 25:6
• 16. [See ver. 1 above]
• 17. [ver. 5]
• 18. See Ezekiel 32:24
• 19. See Ezekiel 20:5
• 20. [See ver. 6 above]
• 21. See Ezekiel 17:23
• 22. Ezekiel 12:23; [Isaiah 56:1]
• 23. [Ezekiel 5:8]
• 24. [ver. 34]
• 25. ver. 37; Ezekiel 37:26; Jeremiah 30:19
• 26. [ver. 33, 35]
• 27. Jeremiah 31:27; [Jeremiah 33:12]
• 28. [Genesis 1:28]
• 29. [Ezekiel 16:55]
• 30. [Job 42:12]
• 31. See Ezekiel 6:7
• 32. Obadiah 17
• 33. [Ezekiel 5:17]
• 34. [Numbers 13:32]
• 35. [See ver. 6 above]