“Now as for you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say, ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of Yahweh. 2 Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Because the enemy has spoken against you, ‘Aha!’ and, ‘The everlasting ^1aheights have become our possession,’ 3 therefore prophesy and say, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “¹For good reason they have made you ^adesolate and bruised you from every side, that you would become a possession of the rest of the nations, and you have been taken up in the ^2bspeech of their tongue and the rumors of the people.”’” 4 Therefore, O ^amountains of Israel, hear the word of Lord Yahweh. Thus says Lord Yahweh to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes and to the forsaken cities which have become ^bplunder and objects of scoffing to the rest of the nations which are round about, 5 therefore thus says Lord Yahweh, “Surely in the fire of My ^ajealousy I have spoken against the ^brest of the nations and against all Edom, who gave My land to themselves as a possession with wholehearted ^cgladness and with scorn of soul, to drive it out for plunder.” 6 Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys, “Thus says Lord Yahweh, ‘Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy and in My wrath because you have ^aborne the dishonor of the nations.’ 7 Therefore thus says Lord Yahweh, ‘I have ¹sworn that surely the nations which are around you will themselves bear their dishonor. 8 But you, O mountains of Israel, you will ^aput forth your branches and bear your fruit for My people Israel; for they will soon come. 9 For, behold, I am for you, and I will ^aturn to you, and you will be ^bcultivated and sown. 10 I will multiply men on you, ^aall the house of Israel, all of it; and the ^bcities will be inhabited, and the waste places will be rebuilt. 11 I will multiply on you man and beast; and they will multiply and be fruitful; and I will cause you to be inhabited as you were ^aformerly and will ¹treat you ^bbetter than at the first. Thus you will know that I am Yahweh. 12 And I will cause ^amen—My people Israel—to walk on you and possess you so that you will become their ^binheritance and never again ^cbereave them of children.’

13 “Thus says Lord Yahweh, ‘Because they say to you, “You are a ^adevourer of men and have bereaved your ¹nation of children,” 14 therefore you will no longer devour men and no longer bereave your nation of children,’ declares Lord Yahweh. 15 I will not let you hear ^adishonor from the nations anymore, nor will you bear ^breproach from the peoples any longer, nor will you cause your nation to ^cstumble any longer,” declares Lord Yahweh.’”

16 Then the word of Yahweh came to me saying, 17 “Son of man, when the house of Israel was living in their own land, they ^adefiled it by their ways and their deeds; their way before Me was like ^bthe uncleanness of a woman in her impurity. 18 Therefore I ^apoured out My wrath on them for the blood which they had shed on the land, because they had defiled it with their idols. 19 Also I ^ascattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed throughout the lands. ^bAccording to their ways and their deeds I judged them. 20 Then they came to the nations to which they came. And they ^aprofaned My holy name because it was said of them, ‘These are the ^bpeople of Yahweh; yet they have come out of His land.’ 21 But I ¹had concern for My ^aholy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations where they went.

22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “It is ^anot for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations, to which you have come. 23 I will ^aprove the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the ^bnations will know that I am Yahweh,” declares Lord Yahweh, “when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight. 24 And I will ^atake you from the nations, gather you from all the lands, and bring you into your own land. 25 Then I will ^1asprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your ^buncleanness and from all your ^cidols. 26 Moreover, I will give you a ^anew heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the ^bheart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will ^aput My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to do My judgments. 28 And you will inhabit the land that I gave to your fathers; so you will be ^aMy people, and I will be your God. 29 Moreover, I will save you from all your uncleanness; and I will call for the grain and multiply it, and I ^awill not ¹bring a famine on you. 30 I will ^amultiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field so that you will not receive again the reproach of famine among the nations. 31 Then you will ^aremember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves to your own faces for your iniquities and your abominations. 32 I am not doing this ^afor your sake,” declares Lord Yahweh, “let it be known to you. Be ashamed and feel dishonor for your ways, O house of Israel!”

33 ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the ^acities to be inhabited, and the ^bwaste places will be rebuilt. 34 The desolate land will be cultivated instead of being a desolation in the sight of everyone who passes by. 35 And they will say, ‘This desolate land has become like the ^agarden of Eden; and the waste, desolate, and ¹ruined cities are fortified and inhabited.’ 36 Then the nations that remain all around you will know that I, Yahweh, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted that which was desolate; I, Yahweh, have spoken and ^awill do it.”

37 ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “This also I will let the house of Israel inquire of Me to do for them: I will increase their men like a flock. 38 Like the ^aflock for holy offerings, like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed times, so will the waste cities be filled with ^bflocks of men. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.”’”