Prophecy to the Mountains of Israel
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"And you, 1son of man, prophesy to 2the mountains of Israel, and say, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD.
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Thus says the Lord GOD: Because 3the enemy said of you, 4'Aha!' and, 'The ancient 5heights have become our possession,'
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therefore prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Precisely because 6they made you desolate and crushed you from all sides, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, and 7you became the talk and evil gossip of the people,
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therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD: Thus says the Lord GOD to 8the mountains and the hills, the ravines and the valleys, 9the desolate wastes and the deserted cities, which have become 10a prey and derision to the rest of the nations all around,
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therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Surely I have spoken in 11my hot jealousy against the rest of the nations and 12against all Edom, who 13gave my land to themselves as a possession 14with wholehearted joy and 15utter contempt, that they might make its pasturelands a prey.
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Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to 16the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, Thus says the Lord GOD: 17Behold, I have spoken in my jealous wrath, because you have suffered 18the reproach of the nations.
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Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 19I swear that the nations that are all around you 20shall themselves suffer reproach.
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"But you, O mountains of Israel, 21shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for 22they will soon come home.
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And 25I will multiply people on you, the whole house of Israel, all of it. 26The cities shall be inhabited and the waste places rebuilt.
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And I will multiply on you 27man and beast, and 28they shall multiply and be fruitful. And I will cause you to be inhabited as in 29your former times, and 30will do more good to you than ever before. 31Then you will know that I am the LORD.
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I will let people walk on you, even my people Israel. 32And they shall possess you, and you shall be their inheritance, and you shall no longer 33bereave them of children.
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Thus says the Lord GOD: Because they say to you, 34'You devour people, and you bereave your nation of children,'
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therefore you shall no longer devour people and no longer bereave your nation of children, declares the Lord GOD.
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And I will not let you hear anymore 35the reproach of the nations, and you shall no longer bear the disgrace of the peoples and no longer cause your nation to stumble, declares the Lord GOD."
The Lord's Concern for His Holy Name
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The word of the LORD came to me:
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36"Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their own land, 37they defiled it by their ways and their deeds. Their ways before me were 38like the uncleanness of a woman in her menstrual impurity.
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So 39I poured out my wrath upon them 40for the blood that they had shed in the land, for the idols 41with which they had defiled it.
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42I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries. 43In accordance with their ways and their deeds I judged them.
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But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, 44they profaned my holy name, in that people said of them, 'These are the people of the LORD, and yet they had to go out of his land.'
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But I had concern 45for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they came.
I Will Put My Spirit Within You
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"Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: 46It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, 47which you have profaned among the nations to which you came.
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48And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. 49And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.
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50I will take you 51from the nations and gather you from all the countries and 52bring you into your own land.
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53I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from 54all your uncleannesses, and 55from all your idols 56I will cleanse you.
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And I will give you 57a new heart, and 58a new spirit I will put within you. 59And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
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60And I will put my Spirit within you, 61and cause you to walk in my statutes and 62be careful to obey my rules.a
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63You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and 64you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
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And 65I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And 66I will summon the grain and make it abundant and 67lay no famine upon you.
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68I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, 69that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations.
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Then 70you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations.
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71It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord GOD; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel.
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"Thus says the Lord GOD: On the day that 72I cleanse you from all your iniquities, 73I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt.
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And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by.
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And they will say, 'This land that was desolate has become like 74the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.'
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Then 75the nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the LORD; I have rebuilt the ruined places and 76replanted that which was desolate. 77I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
(English Standard Version - The Holy Bible Online)