Ezekiel 36 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.

And you, son of man — speak to the mountains of Israel and say: Mountains of Israel, hear what Yahweh has to say.

This is what Yahweh, the Lord of all, says: Because the enemy gloated over you, saying, 'Ha! The ancient heights belong to us now!' —

so prophesy and say: This is what Yahweh, the Lord of all, says — because they devastated you and crushed you from every side so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, and you became the subject of people's gossip and slander —

therefore, mountains of Israel, hear what Yahweh, the Lord of all, says: This is what Yahweh, the Lord of all, says to the mountains and hills, the ravines and valleys, the desolate ruins and abandoned cities that have been plundered and mocked by the rest of the nations all around you —

this is what Yahweh, the Lord of all, says: In the fire of my passion I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all of Edom, who claimed my land as their own possession with wholehearted glee and utter contempt, seizing its pasturelands as plunder.

So prophesy about the land of Israel and say to the mountains and hills, the ravines and valleys: This is what Yahweh, the Lord of all, says — look, I have spoken in my passion and in my fury because you have endured the mockery of the nations.

Therefore, this is what Yahweh, the Lord of all, says: I raise my hand and swear — the nations around you will bear their own disgrace.

But you, mountains of Israel — you will put out your branches and bear your fruit for my people Israel, because they are coming home soon.

Look — I am for you. I will turn toward you, and you will be plowed and planted.

I will multiply people on you — all of the house of Israel, every last one. The cities will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt.

I will multiply people and animals on you. They will increase and be fruitful. I will cause you to be inhabited as you were before and make you better off than at the start. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.

I will cause people — my people Israel — to walk on you. They will possess you, and you will be their inheritance, and you will never again rob them of their children.

This is what Yahweh, the Lord of all, says: Because people say to you, 'You devour people and you rob your nation of its children' —

therefore you will no longer devour people, and you will never again rob your nation of its children — this is the declaration of Yahweh, the Lord of all.

I will not let you hear the taunts of the nations anymore. You will no longer bear the contempt of the peoples, and you will never again cause your nation to stumble — this is the declaration of Yahweh, the Lord of all.

Then the word of Yahweh came to me:

"Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their own land, they made it impure by the way they lived and the things they did. Their way of life was like menstrual impurity in my sight."

So I poured out my fury on them for the blood they had shed on the land and for the idols with which they had made it impure.

I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the lands. I judged them according to the way they lived and the things they did.

And wherever they went among the nations, they profaned my set-apart name, because people said about them, 'These are Yahweh's people, and yet they had to leave his land.'

But I had concern for my set-apart name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations wherever they went.

Therefore, say to the house of Israel: This is what Yahweh, the Lord of all, says — I am not doing this for your sake, house of Israel, but for the sake of my set-apart name, which you profaned among the nations wherever you went.

I will show how extraordinary my great name really is — the name that has been profaned among the nations, the name you profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am Yahweh — this is the declaration of Yahweh, the Lord of all — when I demonstrate that I am set apart through you, right before their eyes.

I will take you from the nations and gather you from every land, and I will bring you back to your own soil.

I will splash clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurity and from all your idols.

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your body and give you a heart of flesh.

I will put my Breath within you and cause you to walk in my ways and carefully keep my standards.

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

I will rescue you from all your impurity. I will call to the grain and multiply it, and I will not bring famine on you.

I will multiply the fruit of the trees and the produce of the fields, so that you will never again bear the disgrace of famine among the nations.

Then you will remember your corrupt ways and your evil actions, and you will be disgusted with yourselves because of your failures and your detestable practices.

I want you to know — I am not doing this for your sake, declares Yahweh, the Lord of all. Be ashamed and humiliated because of your ways, house of Israel.

This is what Yahweh, the Lord of all, says: On the day I cleanse you from all your failures, I will resettle the cities, and the ruins will be rebuilt.

The desolate land will be cultivated instead of being a wasteland in the sight of everyone who passes through.

And they will say, 'This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden. The cities that were ruined, desolate, and torn down are now fortified and inhabited.'

Then the nations that remain around you will know that I, Yahweh, have rebuilt what was torn down and replanted what was desolate. I, Yahweh, have spoken, and I will do it.

This is what Yahweh, the Lord of all, says: I will also let the house of Israel ask me to do this for them — I will multiply their people like a flock.

Like the flocks of people that fill Jerusalem during her appointed festivals — that is how the ruined cities will be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.