1 "And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say, 'O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD.
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'Thussays the LordGOD, "Because the enemy has spokenagainst you, 'Aha!' and, 'The everlasting1heights have become our possession,'
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thereforeprophesy and say, 'Thussays the LordGOD, "For good reason they have made you 2desolate and crushed you from everyside, that you would become a possession of the rest of the nations and you have been taken up in the 3talk and the whispering of the people.""'
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'Therefore, O 4mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LordGOD. Thussays the LordGOD to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys, to the desolatewastes and to the forsakencitieswhich have become a 5prey and a derision to the rest of the nationswhich are roundabout,
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thereforethussays the LordGOD, "Surely* in the fire of My 6jealousy I have spokenagainst the 7rest of the nations, and againstallEdom, whoappropriated My land for themselves as a possession with wholehearted*8joy and with scorn of soul, to drive it out for a prey."
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'Thereforeprophesyconcerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys, "Thussays the LordGOD, 'Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy and in My wrathbecause you have 9endured the insults of the nations.'
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"Thereforethussays the LordGOD, 'I have sworn* that surely* the nationswhich are around you will themselvesendure their insults.
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'But you, O mountains of Israel, you will 10put forth your branches and bear your fruit for My peopleIsrael; for they will sooncome.
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'For, behold, I am for you, and I will 11turn to you, and you will be 12cultivated and sown.
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'I will multiplymen on you, 13all the house of Israel, all of it; and the 14cities will be inhabited and the wasteplaces will be rebuilt.
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'I will multiply on you man and beast; and they will increase and be fruitful; and I will cause you to be inhabited as you were 15formerly and will treat you 16betterthan at the first. Thus you will know that I am the LORD.
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'Yes, I will cause 17men -My peopleIsrael -to walk on you and possess you, so that you will become their 18inheritance and never*again19bereave them of children.'
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"Thussays the LordGOD, 'Because they say to you, "You are a 20devourer of men and have bereaved your nation of children,"
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therefore you will nolongerdevourmen and nolongerbereave your nation of children,' declares the LordGOD.
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"I will not let you hear21insults from the nationsanymore, nor will you bear22disgrace from the peoplesanylonger, nor will you cause your nation to 23stumbleanylonger," declares the LordGOD.' "
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"Son of man, when the house of Israel was living in their own land, they 24defiled it by their ways and their deeds; their waybefore Me was like 25the uncleanness of a woman in her impurity.
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"Therefore I 26poured out My wrath on them for the bloodwhich they had shed on the land, because they had defiled it with their idols.
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"Also I 27scattered them among the nations and they were dispersed throughout the lands. 28According to their ways and their deeds I judged them.
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"When they came to the nationswhere* they went, they 29profaned My holyname, because it was said of them, 'These are the 30people of the LORD; yet they have come out of His land.'
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"But I had concern for My 31holyname, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nationswhere* they went.