Ezekiel 36

Restoration of the Mountains of Israel

¹You, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say, “You mountains of Israel, hear the LORD’s word.

²The Lord GOD says: ‘Because the enemy has said against you, “Aha!” and, “The ancient high places are ours in possession!”’

³therefore prophesy, and say, ‘The Lord GOD says: “Because, even because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that you might be a possession to the residue of the nations, and you are taken up in the lips of talkers, and the evil report of the people;”

⁴therefore, you mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD: The Lord GOD says 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 have become a prey and derision to the residue of the nations that are all around;

⁵therefore the Lord GOD says: “Surely in the fire of my jealousy I have spoken against the residue of the nations, and against all Edom, that have appointed my land to 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 tell the mountains, the hills, the watercourses and the valleys, ‘The Lord GOD says: “Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my wrath, because you have borne the shame of the nations.”

⁷Therefore the Lord GOD says: “I have sworn, ‘Surely the nations that are around you will bear their shame.’

⁸“‘“But you, mountains of Israel, you shall shoot out 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 come to you, and you will be tilled and sown.

¹⁰I will multiply men on you, all the house of Israel, even all of it. The cities will be inhabited and the waste places will be built.

¹¹I will multiply man and animal on you. They will increase and be fruitful. I will cause you to be inhabited as you were before, and you will do better than at your beginnings. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

¹²Yes, I will cause men to walk on you, even my people Israel. They will possess you, and you will be their inheritance, and you will never again bereave them of their children.”

¹³“‘The Lord GOD says: “Because they say to you, ‘You are a devourer of men, and have been a bereaver of your nation;’

¹⁴therefore you shall devour men no more, and not bereave your nation any more,” says the Lord GOD.

¹⁵“I won’t let you hear the shame of the nations any more. You won’t bear the reproach of the peoples any more, and you won’t cause your nation to stumble any more,” says the Lord GOD.’”

Israel's Spiritual Renewal

¹⁶Moreover the LORD’s word came to me, saying,

¹⁷“Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their own land, they defiled it by their ways and by their deeds. Their way before me was as the uncleanness of a woman in her impurity.

¹⁸Therefore I poured out my wrath on them for the blood which they had poured out on the land, and because they had defiled it with their idols.

¹⁹I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries. I judged them according to their way and according to their deeds.

²⁰When they came to the nations where they went, they profaned my holy name, in that men said of them, ‘These are the LORD’s people, and have left his land.’

²¹But I had respect for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations where they went.

²²“Therefore tell the house of Israel, ‘The Lord GOD says: “I don’t do this for your sake, house of Israel, but for my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went.

²³I will sanctify my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD,” says the Lord GOD, “when I am proven holy in you before their eyes.

²⁴“‘“For I will take you from among the nations and gather you out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own land.

²⁵I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.

²⁶I will also give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.

²⁷I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes. You will keep my ordinances and do them.

²⁸You will dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers. You will be my people, and I will be your God.

²⁹I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and will multiply it, and lay no famine on you.

³⁰I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field, that you may receive no more the reproach of famine among the nations.

³¹“‘“Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good; and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations.

³²I don’t do this for your sake,” says the Lord GOD. “Let it be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, house of Israel.”

The Land's Physical Restoration

³³“‘The Lord GOD says: “In the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited and the waste places will be built.

³⁴The land that was desolate will be tilled instead of being a desolation in the sight of all who passed by.

³⁵They will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden. The waste, desolate, and ruined cities are fortified and inhabited.’

³⁶Then the nations that are left around you will know that I, the LORD, have built the ruined places and planted that which was desolate. I, the LORD, have spoken it, and I will do it.”

³⁷“‘The Lord GOD says: “For this, moreover, I will 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 the waste cities will be filled with flocks of men. Then they will know that I am the LORD.’”

Previous Ezekiel 35

Next Ezekiel 37

Ezekiel 36 presents God's promise to restore both the land of Israel and its people after their exile and defilement. The chapter begins with prophecy directed to the mountains of Israel, promising that the land will again be fruitful and inhabited despite enemy mockery and occupation. God then addresses Israel's spiritual condition, explaining how their sins led to exile but promising a new heart and spirit that will enable them to keep His statutes and live as His people in the restored land.

Context

This chapter shifts from the judgment oracles against nations in chapters 25-35 to the restoration promises that will dominate the remainder of Ezekiel.

Key Themes

Outline

1-7
Judgment on Israel's Enemies God promises to judge the surrounding nations who have mocked and occupied Israel's desolate land.
8-15
Promise of Land Restoration The mountains of Israel will again be fruitful and populated as God's people return from exile.
16-21
Reason for Israel's Exile God explains how Israel's sins defiled the land and profaned His holy name among the nations.
22-32
God's Motivation for Restoration God will restore Israel not for their sake but to vindicate His holy name before the nations.
33-38
Complete Renewal of Land and People The restored land will become like Eden, with rebuilt cities and multiplied populations bringing glory to God.

Restoration of the Mountains of Israel

36:1–36:15

prophecy hopeful

God promises restoration to the mountains of Israel after their desolation by enemies. The land will again be fruitful and populated, with cities rebuilt and the people of Israel returning to inherit their promised land.

person_contrast

Ezekiel directly addresses the mountains themselves as recipients of divine promise, personifying the land in a way that appears nowhere else in his predominantly judgment-focused prophecies.

Israel's Spiritual Renewal

36:16–36:32

prophecy hopeful

God promises spiritual renewal for Israel, giving them new hearts and spirits to replace their stony hearts. This transformation is for the sake of God's holy name, enabling them to walk in obedience and be His people.

person_contrast

Ezekiel, who delivers judgment oracles in 54 of his 57 biblical appearances, uniquely proclaims God's sanctifying transformation here—replacing Israel's "heart of stone" with a "heart of flesh.

The Land's Physical Restoration

36:33–36:38

prophecy hopeful

God promises physical restoration of the desolate land, making it like the garden of Eden with rebuilt cities and abundant population. The nations will witness God's faithfulness in restoring what was ruined.

person_contrast

Ezekiel's vision transforms from his typical judgment oracles to Eden imagery, using "garden of Eden" language that appears in only two other prophetic restoration passages.

Insight Character Study

Ezekiel directly addresses the mountains themselves as recipients of divine promise, personifying the land in a way that appears nowhere else in his predominantly judgment-focused prophecies.

Insight Character Study

Ezekiel, who delivers judgment oracles in 54 of his 57 biblical appearances, uniquely proclaims God's sanctifying transformation here—replacing Israel's "heart of stone" with a "heart of flesh.

Insight Character Study

Ezekiel's vision transforms from his typical judgment oracles to Eden imagery, using "garden of Eden" language that appears in only two other prophetic restoration passages.