Ezekiel talks to Israel’s hills
1Human, I want you to deliver a message of mine to the hills [1] of Israel. Tell them this:Dear mountains, listen to the LORD. 2Here’s what the Lord God says:
When the enemy defeated you, they laughed and said, “Now these hills belong to us.” 3Well, here’s what the Lord God says about them. They crushed you and left the land desolate. The people and the land of Israel were up for grabs to the various nations. Foreigners made them the punchline of jokes and the object of gossip, slander, and insults.
4So, this is the Lord God talking to Israel’s mountains, hills, and desert wasteland, along with the towns plundered, abandoned, and now the butt of jokes. 5I’ve already spoken angrily against Edom and the other nations that gleefully claimed this land as their new grazing pastures—with utter contempt for me.
6So, tell the mountains, hills, valleys, and streams that I’m speaking again, this time angry at the insults they hammered you with. 7I promise they’ll get what they gave. They’ll suffer the insults this time.
Hills get ready for a Jewish comeback
8But as for you mountains, you’re going to pop out those buds, grow those branches, and produce fruit for the people of Israel. Get started because I’m bringing them home soon.9Are you watching? I’m on your side now. I’m going to make sure someone plows your soil and plants some crops. 10You’re going to watch babies grow up and rebuild the cities and fill the towns.
11Human and animal populations will both grow back to where they were before Judah fell. When you see that, you will know I did it. 12I will lead people on the march home to you. These people will claim the land again and it will become their home. You will never again take their children away from them. [2]
13The Lord God says this: People were telling you that you feed on human beings—that you rob the nation of its people. 14Well, you will never again feed on humans or rob the people of their children. I have said it, and I am the Lord God.
15I will never allow the nations to get away with insulting the people of Israel. And you will never hear the people of Israel complaining that you aren’t producing enough to feed their children. I have said it, and I am the Lord God.
People of Israel polluted the land
16This message is from the LORD:17Human, the people of Israel once lived in their own land. But they polluted it with their behavior. What I saw them doing was as filthy as having to clean up menstrual fluid. [3] 18So, I hit them with the full force of my anger. I hated the murders they committed and the idols they worshipped. The people of Israel defiled my land by filling it with their idols.
19That’s why I scattered them throughout the nations, which was a fitting punishment for what they had done. 20But when they went to these other countries, the people said, “look at these people of the Lord, he can't even keep them in their own land.” I consider that a personal insult.
21My name is a sacred, holy name. And the deported people of Israel, by their very presence in these foreign nations, diminished my name in the eyes of those nations. 22So, tell the people of Israel this that the Lord God says: What I'm about to do isn't for your sake.” I’m doing it to restore some respect for my holy name, which you diminished when you got yourself deported to other nations.
23I will clear my name. People have been abusing it. But I'm about to show the world that I am a holy God. 24I'm going to gather you up and bring you back to your homeland. 25I’ll wash you and clean you up. I’m going to get the stink of idol worship off you for good.
God gives Israel a heart transplant
26I'm giving you a heart transplant. I'm getting rid of that stone-cold heart you’ve been carrying around. I’m upgrading you with the warm heart of a human being. You’ll have a whole new spirit about you.27You’ll genuinely want to follow the laws I have given you. [4] 28Then I’ll let you live in the land that I gave to your ancestors. Once again you will be my people, and I will be your God.
29You have been a sinful cluster of human beings. But I'm going to save you from that. I will tell the grain to grow again, so you won't have to suffer through any more famines. 30I’ll make the fruit grow on the trees again, producing a huge harvest for you. Then you won't have to suffer the shame of famine while all the nations are watching you and judging you.
31You won’t go back to your old bad habits, which got you into this trouble. You’ll hate yourself for the disgusting things you did back then. 32But I'm telling you again I'm not doing this for your sake. I want you to take responsibility for what you did and be ashamed of it. It was disgusting.
33This comes from the Lord God: When I wash away your sin, I’ll repopulate Israel’s towns and I’ll rebuild the ruined cities. 34The land that was abandoned you’ll plow again. It will no longer be the desolate land that foreign people insult. 35When travelers arrive here, they’ll say, “This land was desolate. But look at it now. It looks like the Garden of Eden. The cities were destroyed. But now people live here, and they rebuilt the city walls to protect them.”
36As for the nations that manage to survive the wars, they’ll see Israel’s rebuilt cities and they’ll know I did it. And they’ll know I’m the LORD who also replanted the crops in a desolate land. This is what I have said. And this is what I’ll do. I am the LORD.
