Ezekiel 36:26

26 et dabo vobis cor novum et spiritum novum ponam in medio vestri et auferam cor lapideum de carne vestra et dabo vobis cor carneum

Ezekiel 36:26 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 36:26

A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put
within you
A "new heart" and a "new spirit" are one and the same; that is, a renewed one; renewed by the Spirit and grace of God; in which a new principle of life is put; new light is infused; a new will, filled with new purposes and resolutions; where new affections are placed, and new desires are formed; and where there are new delights and joys, as well as new sorrows and troubles; the same which in the New Testament is called the "new man", and the new creature, ( Ephesians 4:24 ) ( 2 Corinthians 5:17 ) . The Targum paraphrases it,

``a heart fearing, and a spirit fearing;''
where the true fear of God is, a truly gracious heart; and which is purely the gift of God, and is the fruit of his rich grace, abundant mercy, and great love: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh;
the Targum is,
``and I will break the heart of the wicked, which is hard as a stone;''
this is a heart hardened by sin, and confirmed in it; destitute of spiritual life and motion; senseless and stupid, stubborn and inflexible; on which no impressions are made; and which remains hard and impenitent: now this is in "the flesh", in corrupt nature; and this hardness of heart is natural to men; and all who have it are after the flesh, or are carnal; and it requires omnipotence to remove it; it cannot be taken out by men of themselves: nor by ministers of the word; nor by the bare mercies and judgments of God; but by the powerful and efficacious grace of God; giving repentance unto life; working faith in the soul, to look to a crucified Christ; and shedding abroad the love of God in the heart, which softens and melts it; all which is done by the Spirit, and frequently by means of the word. This is interpreted, in the Talmud F14, of the evil imagination, or corruption of nature; and is one of the names of it, a stone; and it refers, it is said F15, to the time or world to come, the days of the Messiah: and I will give you an heart of flesh;
a heart sensible of sin and danger; a penitent one, soft and tender, through the love and fear of God; a spiritual and sanctified heart; submissive to the will of God; flexible and obsequious to the commands of Christ; on which impressions are made by the grace of God; where the laws of God are written, the Gospel of Christ is put; where Christ himself is formed; where are the fear of God, faith, hope, and love, and every other grace.
FOOTNOTES:

F14 T. Bab. Succah, fol. 52. 1.
F15 Debarim Rabba, fol. 242. 2. & Shirhashirim Rabba, fol. 3. 2.

Ezekiel 36:26 In-Context

24 tollam quippe vos de gentibus et congregabo de universis terris et adducam vos in terram vestram
25 et effundam super vos aquam mundam et mundabimini ab omnibus inquinamentis vestris et ab universis idolis vestris mundabo vos
26 et dabo vobis cor novum et spiritum novum ponam in medio vestri et auferam cor lapideum de carne vestra et dabo vobis cor carneum
27 et spiritum meum ponam in medio vestri et faciam ut in praeceptis meis ambuletis et iudicia mea custodiatis et operemini
28 et habitabitis in terra quam dedi patribus vestris et eritis mihi in populum et ego ero vobis in Deum
The Latin Vulgate is in the public domain.