Ezekiel 35; Ezekiel 36; Ezekiel 37; Ezekiel 38

Ezekiel 35

1 The LORD spoke his word to me. He said,

2 "Son of man, turn to Mount Seir, and prophesy against it.

3 Tell it, 'This is what the Almighty LORD says: I'm against you, Mount Seir. I will use my power against you, and you will become a wasteland.

4 I will turn your cities into ruins, and you will become a wasteland. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

5 "'You have always been an enemy of Israel. You deserted the people of Israel in battle when they were in trouble during their final punishment.

6 That is why, as I live, declares the Almighty LORD, I will let you be murdered. Murderers will pursue you. Since you don't hate murdering people, murder will pursue you.

7 I will turn Mount Seir into a barren wasteland, and I will destroy everyone who comes or goes from there.

8 I will fill your mountains with those who have been killed. Those killed in battle will fall on your hills and in your valleys and ravines.

9 I will turn you into a permanent wasteland. Your cities will not be lived in. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

10 "'You said, "These two nations, Israel and Judah, along with their land, belong to us. We will take possession of them." But the LORD was there.

11 That is why, as I live, declares the Almighty LORD, I will do to you what you did to them. When you were angry and jealous, you acted hatefully toward them.

12 Then you will know that I, the LORD, heard all the insults that you spoke about the mountains of Israel. You said, "They have been deserted and handed over to us to use up."

13 You bragged and continually talked against me. I heard you.

14 "'This is what the Almighty LORD says: The whole earth will be glad when I turn you into a wasteland.

15 You were happy when the land of Israel became a wasteland. I will do the same thing to you. You will become a wasteland, Mount Seir, and so will all of Edom. Then you will know that I am the LORD.'"

Ezekiel 36

1 [The LORD said,] "Son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel. Tell them, 'Mountains of Israel, listen to the word of the LORD.

2 This is what the Almighty LORD says: Your enemies said this about you, "Aha! The ancient worship sites now belong to us."'

3 "So prophesy. Say, 'This is what the Almighty LORD says: Your enemies turned you into ruins and crushed you from every side. You became the possession of the rest of the nations, and people began to talk and gossip about you.

4 "'Mountains of Israel, listen to the word of the Almighty LORD. This is what the Almighty LORD says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, and to the empty ruins and abandoned cities that have become prey and are mocked by the rest of the surrounding nations:

5 In my fiery anger I have spoken against the rest of the nations and against all of Edom. The Edomites have taken possession of my land with wholehearted joy and with complete scorn. They forced out the people and took their land.'

6 "So prophesy about Israel. Tell the mountains and hills and the ravines and valleys, 'This is what the Almighty LORD says: I am speaking in my anger and fury because you have been insulted by the nations.

7 So this is what the Almighty LORD says: I raise my hand and swear that the nations which surround you will be insulted.

8 "'But you, mountains of Israel, will grow branches and bear fruit for my people Israel. My people will come home soon.

9 I am for you. I will turn to you, and you will be plowed and planted.

10 I will increase the number of people who live on you. All the people of Israel, all of them, will live on you. The cities will be inhabited, and the ruins will be rebuilt.

11 I will increase the number of people and animals that live on you. They will grow and become many. I will let people live on you as in the past, and I will make you better off than ever before. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

12 I will bring people, my people Israel, to you. They will take possession of you, and you will be their inheritance. You will no longer take their children away from them.

13 "'This is what the Almighty LORD says: People say that you devour your people and take the children away from your nation.

14 So you will no longer devour your people or take the children away from your nation, declares the Almighty LORD.

15 I will no longer let you hear the insults from the nations. You will no longer suffer the disgrace of the people. You will never again take the children away from your own nation, declares the Almighty LORD.'"

16 The LORD spoke his word to me. He said,

17 "Son of man, when the people of Israel lived in their land, they dishonored it by the way they lived and by everything they did. Their ways were as unclean as a woman's menstrual period.

18 So I poured out my fury on them because they poured out blood on the land and they dishonored the land with their idols.

19 I forced them into other nations, and they became scattered among the nations. I judged them based on the way that they lived and based on everything that they had done.

20 But wherever they went among the nations, they dishonored my holy name. People said about them, 'These are the LORD's people, yet they had to leave his land.'

21 I became concerned about my holy name because my people dishonored it among the nations wherever they went.

22 "So tell the people of Israel, 'This is what the Almighty LORD says: I am about to do something, people of Israel. I will not do this for your sake but for the sake of my holy name, which you have dishonored among the nations wherever you have gone.

23 I will reveal the holiness of my great name, which has been dishonored by the nations, [the name] that you have dishonored among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, because I will reveal my holiness among you as they watch, declares the Almighty LORD.

24 "'I will take you from the nations and gather you from every country. I will bring you back to your own land.

25 I will sprinkle clean water on you and make you clean instead of unclean. Then I will cleanse you from all your idols.

26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I will remove your stubborn hearts and give you obedient hearts.

27 I will put my Spirit in you. I will enable you to live by my laws, and you will obey my rules.

28 Then you will live in the land that I gave your ancestors. You will be my people, and I will be your God.

29 I will rescue you from all your uncleanness. I will make the grain grow so that you will never again have famines.

30 I will make fruit grow on the trees and crops grow in the fields so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famines.

31 Then you will remember your evil ways and the bad things that you did, and you will hate yourselves for all these wicked and disgusting things.

32 I want you to know that I'm not doing this for your sake, declares the Almighty LORD. Be ashamed and disgraced because of your ways, people of Israel.

33 "'This is what the Almighty LORD says: On the day that I cleanse you from all your wickedness, I will cause your cities to be lived in again, and your ruins will be rebuilt.

34 The wasteland will be plowed. It will no longer remain empty for everyone passing by to see.

35 People will say, "This wasteland has become like the garden of Eden. The cities were destroyed. They were empty and ruined, but now they are fortified and have people living in them."

36 The surrounding nations that are left will know that I, the LORD, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted crops in the land that was empty. I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will do it.'

37 "This is what the Almighty LORD says: I will also let the people of Israel ask me to make them as numerous as sheep.

38 They will be like the sheep for sacrifices, like the sheep in Jerusalem during the appointed festivals. Their ruined cities will be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the LORD."

Ezekiel 37

1 The power of the LORD came over me. The LORD brought me out by his Spirit and put me down in the middle of a valley. The valley was filled with bones.

2 He led me all around them. I saw that there were very many bones at the bottom of the valley, and they were very dry.

3 Then he asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I answered, "Only you know, Almighty LORD."

4 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones. Tell them, 'Dry bones, listen to the word of the LORD.

5 This is what the Almighty LORD says to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you will live.

6 I will put ligaments on you, place muscles on you, and cover you with skin. I will put breath in you, and you will live. Then you will know that I am the LORD.'"

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. While I was prophesying, suddenly there was a rattling noise, and the bones came together, one bone [attaching itself] to another.

8 As I looked, I saw that ligaments were on them, muscles were on them, and skin covered them. Yet, there was no breath in them.

9 Then the LORD said to me, "Prophesy to the breath! Prophesy, son of man. Tell the breath, 'This is what the Almighty LORD says: Come from the four winds, Breath, and breathe on these people who were killed so that they will live.'"

10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath entered them. Then they came to life and stood on their feet. There were enough of them to form a very large army.

11 The LORD also said to me, "Son of man, all the people of Israel are like these bones. The people say, 'Our bones are dry, and our hope has vanished. We are completely destroyed.'

12 So prophesy. Tell them, 'This is what the Almighty LORD says: My people, I will open your graves and take you out of them. I will bring you to Israel.

13 Then, my people, you will know that I am the LORD, because I will open your graves and bring you out of your graves.

14 I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live. I will place you in your own land. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.'"

15 The LORD spoke his word to me again. He said,

16 "Son of man, take a stick and write on it: 'For Judah and for the Israelites who are associated with it.' Then take another stick and write on it, 'The stick of Ephraim, for Joseph and for all the people of Israel associated with it.'

17 Then join both sticks together so that they will be one in your hand. Your people will say to you,

18 'Tell us what you mean by this.'

19 Then say to them, 'This is what the Almighty LORD says: I will take Joseph's stick, which is in Ephraim's hand, and the tribes of Israel associated with it, and I will put them with Judah's stick. I will make them into one stick. They will be one in my hand.'

20 When you hold the sticks in your hand, let the people see them.

21 "Then tell them, 'This is what the Almighty LORD says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they've gone. I will gather them from everywhere and bring them to their own land.

22 I will form them into one nation in the land on the mountains of Israel. One king will rule all of them. They will no longer be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms.

23 They will no longer dishonor themselves with their idols, with their detestable things, or with their rebellious acts. I will forgive them for all the times they turned away from me and sinned. I will cleanse them so that they will be my people, and I will be their God.

24 "'My servant David will be their king, and all of them will have one shepherd. They will live by my rules, and they will obey my laws.

25 They will live in the land that I gave my servant Jacob, the land where their ancestors lived. They, their children, and their grandchildren will live in it permanently. My servant David will always be their prince.

26 I will promise them peace. This promise will last forever. I will establish them, make them increase in number, and put my holy place among them permanently.

27 My dwelling place will be with them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

28 Then the nations will know that I, the LORD, have set Israel apart as holy, because my holy place will be among them permanently.'"

Ezekiel 38

1 The LORD spoke his word to me. He said,

2 "Son of man, turn to Gog from the land of Magog. He is the chief prince of [the nations of] Meshech and Tubal. Prophesy against him.

3 Tell him, 'This is what the Almighty LORD says: I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.

4 I will turn you around and put hooks in your jaws. I will lead you out with all your military forces, with horses and riders. Your soldiers will be fully armed. They will carry large and small shields and be able to use swords.

5 Persia, Sudan, and Put will be with you. They, too, will have shields and helmets.

6 Gomer will come with all its troops and with the nation of Togarmah from the far north. There will be many armies with you.

7 "'Be prepared! Be prepared, you and all the soldiers assembled around you. You will be their leader.

8 After a long time you will be called to service. In the years to come, you will attack a land that has been rebuilt after a war. Its people have been gathered from many nations and brought to the mountains of Israel, mountains that have been ruined for a long time. These people were brought there from the nations, and all of them live there safely.

9 You will attack like a storm and cover the land like a cloud. Your troops and the many armies will be with you.

10 "'This is what the Almighty LORD says: At that time ideas will enter your head, and you will make wicked plans.

11 You will say, "I'll attack a land with unwalled villages. I will attack peaceful people who live safely. All of them live without walls, locks, or gates.

12 I will come to rob them and loot them. I will use my power against the ruins that people are living in again. I will use it against the people who were gathered from the nations. These people have cattle and property, and they live in the world."

13 "'Sheba, Dedan, the merchants from Tarshish, and all their villages will ask you, "Did you come to rob these people of their possessions? Did you assemble all these soldiers to carry away large amounts of silver and gold and to take cattle and property?"'

14 "So prophesy, son of man. Tell Gog, 'This is what the Almighty LORD says: At that time my people Israel will live safely, and you will know it.

15 You will come from your place in the far north and many armies will be with you. All of you will ride on horses. You will be a large crowd and a mighty army.

16 You will attack my people Israel like a cloud that covers the land. In the days to come, I will let you attack my land so that nations will know me. I will use you for my holy purpose as they watch.

17 "'This is what the Almighty LORD says: You are the one I spoke about long ago through my servants the prophets of Israel. They prophesied in those days that I would bring you to attack them.

18 On the day that Gog attacks the land of Israel, I will be filled with burning anger, declares the Almighty LORD.

19 In my fiery anger I tell you this. On that day there will be a large earthquake in the land of Israel.

20 Fish, birds, wild animals, everything that crawls on the ground, and every person on earth will tremble in my presence. The mountains will be torn down, the cliffs will crumble, and every wall will fall to the ground.

21 I will declare war against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Almighty LORD. Each person will use his sword against his relative.

22 I will punish Gog with plagues and death. I will send rainstorms, large hailstones, fire, and burning sulfur on his troops and on the many armies with him.

23 I will show my greatness and my holiness. I will reveal myself to many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.'"