Ezekiel 36:1-23

“Human, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say: ‘Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD. This is what the Lord GOD says: The enemy has said about you, “Now the old places to worship gods have become ours.” ’ So prophesy and say: ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: They have made you an empty ruin and have crushed you from all around. So you became a possession of the other nations. People have talked and whispered against you. So, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD. The Lord GOD speaks to the mountains, hills, ravines, and valleys, to the empty ruins and abandoned cities that have been robbed and laughed at by the other nations. This is what the Lord GOD says: I speak in hot anger against the other nations. I speak against the people of Edom, who took my land for themselves with joy and with hate in their hearts. They forced out the people and took their pastureland.’ So prophesy about the land of Israel and say to the mountains, hills, ravines, and valleys: ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: I speak in my jealous anger, because you have suffered the insults of the nations. So this is what the Lord GOD says: I promise that the nations around you will also have to suffer insults. “ ‘But you, mountains of Israel, will grow branches and fruit for my people, who will soon come home. I am concerned about you; I am on your side. You will be plowed, and seed will be planted in you. I will increase the number of people who live on you, all the people of Israel. The cities will have people living in them, and the ruins will be rebuilt. I will increase the number of people and animals living on you. They will grow and have many young. You will have people living on you as you did before, and I will make you better off than at the beginning. Then you will know that I am the LORD. I will cause my people Israel to walk on you and own you, and you will belong to them. You will never again take their children away from them. “ ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: People say about you, “You eat people and take children from your nation.” But you will not eat people anymore or take away the children, says the Lord GOD. I will not make you listen to insults from the nations anymore; you will not suffer shame from them anymore. You will not cause your nation to fall anymore, says the Lord GOD.’ ” The LORD spoke his word to me again, saying: “Human, when the nation of Israel was living in their own land, they made it unclean by their ways and the things they did. Their ways were like a woman’s uncleanness in her time of monthly bleeding. So I poured out my anger against them, because they murdered in the land and because they made the land unclean with their idols. I scattered them among the nations, and they were spread through the countries. I punished them for how they lived and what they did. They dishonored my holy name in the nations where they went. The nations said about them ‘These are the people of the LORD, but they had to leave the land which he gave them.’ But I had concern for my holy name, which the nation of Israel had dishonored among the nations where they went. “So say to the people of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: Israel, I am going to act, but not for your sake. I will do something to help my holy name, which you have dishonored among the nations where you went. I will prove the holiness of my great name, which has been dishonored among the nations. You have dishonored it among these nations, but the nations will know that I am the LORD when I prove myself holy before their eyes, says the Lord GOD.