1And thou , son of man , prophesy unto the mountains of Israel , and say , Ye mountains of Israel , hear the word of Jehovah . 2Thus saith the Lord Jehovah : Because the enemy hath said against you , Aha ! and , The ancient high places are ours in possession ; 3therefore prophesy , and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah : Because , even because they have made you desolate , and swallowed you up on every side , that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the nations , and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers , and the evil report of the people ; 4therefore , ye mountains of Israel , hear the word of the Lord Jehovah : Thus saith the Lord Jehovah to the mountains and to the hills , to the watercourses and to the valleys , to the desolate wastes and to the cities that are forsaken , which are become a prey and derision to the residue of the nations that are round about ; 5therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah : Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the nations , and against all Edom, that have appointed my land unto themselves for a possession with the joy of all their heart , with despite of soul , to cast it out for a prey. 6Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel , and say unto the mountains and to the hills , to the watercourses and to the valleys , Thus saith the Lord Jehovah : Behold , I have spoken in my jealousy and in my wrath , because ye have borne the shame of the nations : 7therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah : I have sworn , saying , Surely the nations that are round about you , they shall bear their shame . 8But ye , O mountains of Israel , ye shall shoot forth your branches , and yield your fruit to my people Israel ; for they are at hand to come . 9For , behold , I am for you , and I will turn unto you , and ye shall be tilled and sown ; 10and I will multiply men upon you , all the house of Israel , even all of it ; and the cities shall be inhabited , and the waste places shall be builded ; 11and I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and be fruitful ; and I will cause you to be inhabited after your former estate , and will do better unto you than at your beginnings : and ye shall know that I am Jehovah . 12Yea, I will cause men to walk upon you , even my people Israel ; and they shall possess thee , and thou shalt be their inheritance , and thou shalt no more henceforth bereave them of children . 13Thus saith the Lord Jehovah : Because they say unto you , Thou land art a devourer of men, and hast been a bereaver of thy nation ; 14therefore thou shalt devour men no more , neither bereave thy nation any more , saith the Lord Jehovah ; 15neither will I let thee hear any more the shame of the nations , neither shalt thou bear the reproach of the peoples any more , neither shalt thou cause thy nation to stumble any more , saith the Lord Jehovah .
God's Sovereign Action
16Moreover the word of Jehovah came unto me , saying , 17Son of man , when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land , they defiled it by their way and by their doings : their way before me was as the uncleanness of a woman in her impurity . 18Wherefore I poured out my wrath upon them for the blood which they had poured out upon the land, and because they had defiled it with their idols ; 19and I scattered them among the nations , and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them . 20And when they came unto the nations , whither they went , they profaned my holy name ; in that men said of them , These are the people of Jehovah , and are gone forth out of his land. 21But I had regard for my holy name , which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations , whither they went . 22Therefore say unto the house of Israel , Thus saith the Lord Jehovah : I do not this for your sake , O house of Israel , but for my holy name , which ye have profaned among the nations , whither ye went . 23And I will sanctify my great name , which hath been profaned among the nations , which ye have profaned in the midst of them ; and the nations shall know that I am Jehovah , saith the Lord Jehovah , when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes . 24For I will take you from among the nations , and gather you out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own land. 25And I will sprinkle clean water upon you , and ye shall be clean : from all your filthiness , and from all your idols , will I cleanse you . 26A new heart also will I give you , and a new spirit will I put within you ; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh , and I will give you a heart of flesh . 27And I will put my Spirit within you , and cause you to walk in my statutes , and ye shall keep mine ordinances , and do them . 28And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people , and I will be your God . 29And I will save you from all your uncleannesses : and I will call for the grain , and will multiply it , and lay no famine upon you . 30And I will multiply the fruit of the tree , and the increase of the field , that ye may receive no more the reproach of famine among the nations .
The New Covenant
31Then shall ye remember your evil ways , and your doings that were not good ; and ye shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations . 32Nor for your sake do I this , saith the Lord Jehovah , be it known unto you : be ashamed and confounded for your ways , O house of Israel . 33Thus saith the Lord Jehovah : In the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities , I will cause the cities to be inhabited , and the waste places shall be builded . 34And the land that was desolate shall be tilled , whereas it was a desolation in the sight of all that passed by . 35And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden ; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are fortified and inhabited . 36Then the nations that are left round about you shall know that I , Jehovah , have builded the ruined places , and planted that which was desolate : I , Jehovah , have spoken it , and I will do it . 37Thus saith the Lord Jehovah : For this , moreover , will I be inquired of by the house of Israel , to do it for them : I will increase them with men like a flock . 38As the flock for sacrifice, as the flock of Jerusalem in her appointed feasts , so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men; and they shall know that I am Jehovah .