Ezekiel 33-39

New American Bible (Revised Edition)

IV. Hope for the Future

Chapter 33

The Prophet as Sentinel. ¹ The word of the Lord came to me: ² Son of man, speak to your people and tell them: When I bring the sword against a land, if the people of that land select one of their number as a sentinel^[a] for them,^{(A) 3} and the sentinel sees the sword coming against the land, he should blow the trumpet to warn the people.^{(B) 4} If they hear the trumpet but do not take the warning and a sword attacks and kills them, their blood will be on their own heads.^{(C) 5} They heard the trumpet blast but ignored the warning; their blood is on them. If they had heeded the warning, they could have escaped with their lives. ⁶ If, however, the sentinel sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the sword attacks and takes someone’s life, his life will be taken for his own sin, but I will hold the sentinel responsible for his blood.

^7 (D)You, son of man—I have appointed you as a sentinel for the house of Israel; when you hear a word from my mouth, you must warn them for me. ⁸ When I say to the wicked, “You wicked, you must die,” and you do not speak up to warn the wicked about their ways, they shall die in their sins, but I will hold you responsible for their blood. ⁹ If, however, you warn the wicked to turn from their ways, but they do not, then they shall die in their sins, but you shall save your life.

Individual Retribution. ¹⁰ As for you, son of man, speak to the house of Israel: You people say, “Our crimes and our sins weigh us down; we are rotting away because of them. How can we survive?”^{(E) 11 (F)}Answer them: As I live—oracle of the Lord God—I swear I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! Why should you die, house of Israel?

¹² As for you, son of man, say to your people: The justice of the just will not save them on the day they sin; the wickedness of the wicked will not bring about their downfall on the day they turn from their wickedness. No, the just cannot save their lives on the day they sin.^{(G) 13} Even though I say to the just that they shall surely live, if they, relying on their justice, do wrong, none of their just deeds shall be remembered; because of the wrong they have done, they shall die.^{(H) 14} And though I say to the wicked that they shall die, if they turn away from sin and do what is just and right— ¹⁵ returning pledges, restoring stolen goods, walking by statutes that bring life, doing nothing wrong—they shall surely live; they shall not die.^{(I) 16} None of the sins they committed shall be remembered against them. If they do what is right and just, they shall surely live.

¹⁷ Your people say, “The way of the Lord is not fair!” But it is their way that is not fair. ¹⁸ When the just turn away from justice and do wrong, they shall die for it.^{(J) 19} When the wicked turn away from wickedness and do what is right and just, because of this they shall live. ²⁰ But still you say, “The way of the Lord is not fair!” I will judge each of you according to your ways, house of Israel.

The Survivor from Jerusalem. ²¹ On the fifth day of the tenth month,^[b] in the twelfth year of our exile, the survivor came to me from Jerusalem and said, “The city is taken!”^{(K) 22} The hand of the Lord had come upon me the evening before the survivor arrived and opened my mouth when he reached me in the morning. My mouth was opened, and I was mute no longer.^(L)

Those Left in Judah.^{[c] 23} The word of the Lord came to me: ²⁴ Son of man, these who live among the ruins in the land of Israel are saying: “Abraham was only one person, yet he was given possession of the land. Since we are many, the land must be given to us as our possession.”^{(M) 25} Therefore say to them: Thus says the Lord God: You eat on the mountains, you raise your eyes to your idols, you shed blood—yet you would keep possession of the land?^{(N) 26} You rely on your swords, you commit abominations, each defiles his neighbor’s wife—yet you would keep possession of the land? ²⁷ Say this to them: Thus says the Lord God: As I live, those among the ruins shall fall by the sword; those in the open field I have made food for the wild beasts; and those in rocky hideouts and caves shall die by the plague. ²⁸ I will make the land a desolate waste, so that its proud strength will come to an end, and the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that no one will cross them. ²⁹ Thus they shall know that I am the Lord, when I make the land a desolate waste because of all the abominations they committed.

Popular Misunderstanding. ³⁰ As for you, son of man, your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doorways of houses. They say to one another, “Let’s go hear the latest word that comes from the Lord.” ³¹ My people come to you, gathering as a crowd and sitting in front of you to hear your words, but they will not act on them. Love songs are on their lips, but in their hearts they pursue dishonest gain.^{(O) 32} For them you are only a singer^[d] of love songs, with a pleasant voice and a clever touch. They listen to your words, but they do not obey them. ³³ But when it comes—and it is surely coming!—they shall know that there was a prophet among them.

Chapter 34

Parable of the Shepherds. ¹ The word of the Lord came to me: ² Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds^[e] of Israel. Prophesy and say to them: To the shepherds, thus says the Lord God: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been pasturing themselves!^(P) Should not shepherds pasture the flock? ³ You consumed milk, wore wool, and slaughtered fatlings, but the flock you did not pasture.^{(Q) 4} You did not strengthen the weak nor heal the sick nor bind up the injured. You did not bring back the stray or seek the lost but ruled them harshly and brutally.^{(R) 5} So they were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and became food for all the wild beasts. They were scattered^{(S) 6} and wandered over all the mountains and high hills; over the entire surface of the earth my sheep were scattered. No one looked after them or searched for them.

⁷ Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ⁸ As I live—oracle of the Lord God—because my sheep became plunder, because my sheep became food for wild beasts, for lack of a shepherd, because my shepherds did not look after my sheep, but pastured themselves and did not pasture my sheep,^{(T) 9} therefore, shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ¹⁰ Thus says the Lord God: Look! I am coming against these shepherds. I will take my sheep out of their hand and put a stop to their shepherding my flock, so that these shepherds will no longer pasture them. I will deliver my flock from their mouths so it will not become their food.^(U)

¹¹ For thus says the Lord God: Look! I myself will search for my sheep and examine them. ¹² As a shepherd examines his flock while he himself is among his scattered sheep, so will I examine my sheep. I will deliver them from every place where they were scattered on the day of dark clouds.^{(V) 13} I will lead them out from among the peoples and gather them from the lands; I will bring them back to their own country and pasture them upon the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and every inhabited place in the land.^{(W) 14} In good pastures I will pasture them; on the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down on good grazing ground; in rich pastures they will be pastured on the mountains of Israel.^{(X) 15} I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest—oracle of the Lord God. ¹⁶ The lost I will search out, the strays I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, and the sick I will heal; but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd them in judgment.

Separation of the Sheep. ¹⁷ As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord God: I will judge between one sheep and another, between rams and goats.^{(Y) 18} Was it not enough for you to graze on the best pasture, that you had to trample the rest of your pastures with your hooves? Or to drink the clearest water, that you had to pollute the rest with your hooves? ¹⁹ Thus my flock had to graze on what your hooves had trampled and drink what your hooves had polluted. ²⁰ Therefore thus says the Lord God: Now I will judge between the fat and the lean. ²¹ Because you push with flank and shoulder, and butt all the weak sheep with your horns until you drive them off, ²² I will save my flock so they can no longer be plundered; I will judge between one sheep and another. ^23 (Z)I will appoint one shepherd^[f] over them to pasture them, my servant David; he shall pasture them and be their shepherd. ²⁴ I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be prince in their midst. I, the Lord, have spoken.^(AA)

²⁵ I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the country of wild beasts so they will dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the forests.^{(AB) 26} I will settle them around my hill and send rain in its season, the blessing of abundant rain. ²⁷ The trees of the field shall bear their fruits, and the land its crops, and they shall dwell securely on their own soil. They shall know that I am the Lord when I break the bars of their yoke and deliver them from the power of those who enslaved them.^{(AC) 28} They shall no longer be plundered by the nations nor will wild beasts devour them, but they shall dwell securely, with no one to frighten them.^{(AD) 29} I will prepare for them peaceful fields for planting so they are never again swept away by famine in the land or bear taunts from the nations. ³⁰ Thus they shall know that I, the Lord, their God, am with them, and that they are my people, the house of Israel—oracle of the Lord God.^{(AE) 31} Yes, you are my flock: you people are the flock of my pasture, and I am your God—oracle of the Lord God.^(AF)

Chapter 35

Against Edom.^{[g] 1} The word of the Lord came to me: ² Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir and prophesy against it. ³ Say to it: Thus says the Lord God: Watch out! I am against you, Mount Seir. I will stretch out my hand against you and turn you into a desolate waste.^{(AG) 4} Your cities I will turn into ruins, and you shall be a desolation; then you shall know that I am the Lord.^(AH)

⁵ Because you nursed a long-standing hatred and handed the Israelites over to the sword at the time of their collapse, at the time of their final punishment,^{[h](AI) 6} therefore, as I live—oracle of the Lord God—you are guilty of blood, and blood, I swear, shall pursue you. ⁷ I will make Mount Seir a desolate waste and cut off from it anyone who travels across it and back.^{(AJ) 8} I will fill its mountains with the slain; those slain by the sword shall fall on your hills, into your valleys and all your ravines.

¹⁰ Because you said: The two nations and the two lands^[i] belong to me; let us take possession of them—although the Lord was there— ¹¹ therefore, as I live—oracle of the Lord God—I will deal with you according to the anger and envy you dealt out to them in your hatred, and I will make myself known to them when I execute judgment on you,^{(AL) 12} then you shall know that I am the Lord.

I have heard all the insults you spoke against the mountains of Israel, saying: They are desolate; they have been given to us to devour. ¹³ You boasted against me with your mouths and used insolent words against me. I heard everything! ¹⁴ Thus says the Lord God: Because you rejoiced that the whole land was desolate, so I will do to you. ¹⁵ As you rejoiced over the devastation of the heritage of the house of Israel, the same I will do to you: you will become a ruin, Mount Seir, and the whole of Edom, all of it! Then they shall know that I am the Lord.^(AM)

Chapter 36

Regeneration of the Land. ¹ As for you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say: Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord! ² Thus says the Lord God: Because the enemy said about you, “Ha! the ancient heights have become our possession,” ³ therefore prophesy and say: Thus says the Lord God: because you have been ridiculed and hounded on all sides for becoming a possession for the remaining nations and have become a byword and a popular jeer,^{(AN) 4} therefore, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God: Thus says the Lord God to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, to the desolate ruins and abandoned cities, plundered and mocked by the nations remaining around you:^{(AO) 5} therefore thus says the Lord God: Truly, with burning jealousy I speak against the remaining nations and against Edom; they all took possession of my land for plunder with wholehearted joy and utter contempt. ⁶ Therefore, prophesy concerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: Thus says the Lord God: See! in my jealous fury I speak, because you endured the reproach of the nations. ⁷ Therefore, thus says the Lord God: I raise my hand and swear: the nations around you shall bear their own reproach.

⁸ But you, mountains of Israel, you will sprout branches and bear fruit for my people Israel, for they are coming soon.^{(AP) 9} Look! I am for you! I will turn my face toward you; you will be plowed and planted.^{(AQ) 10} Upon you I will multiply the whole house of Israel; cities shall be resettled and ruins rebuilt.^{(AR) 11} Upon you I will multiply people and animals so they can multiply and be fruitful. I will resettle you as in the past, and make you more prosperous than at your beginning; then you shall know that I am the Lord.^(AS)

¹² Upon you I will have them walk, my people Israel. They shall possess you, and you shall be their heritage. Never again shall you rob them of their children.

¹³ Thus says the Lord God: Because they say of you, “You devour your own people,^[j] you rob your nation of its children,”^{(AT) 14} therefore, you shall never again devour your people or rob your nation of its children—oracle of the Lord God. ¹⁵ I will no longer make you listen to the reproach of nations. You will never again endure insults from the peoples. Never again shall you rob your nation of its children—oracle of the Lord God.

Regeneration of the People. ¹⁶ The word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁷ Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in its land, they defiled it with their behavior and their deeds. In my sight their behavior was like the impurity of a woman in menstruation.^{(AU) 18} So I poured out my fury upon them for the blood they poured out on the ground and for the idols with which they defiled it. ¹⁹ I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through other lands; according to their behavior and their deeds I carried out judgment against them.^{(AV) 20 [k]}But when they came to the nations, where they went, they desecrated my holy name, for people said of them: “These are the people of the Lord, yet they had to leave their land.” ²¹ So I relented because of my holy name which the house of Israel desecrated among the nations to which they came. ²² Therefore say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: Not for your sake do I act, house of Israel, but for the sake of my holy name, which you desecrated among the nations to which you came.^{(AW) 23} But I will show the holiness of my great name, desecrated among the nations, in whose midst you desecrated it. Then the nations shall know that I am the Lord—oracle of the Lord God—when through you I show my holiness before their very eyes.^{(AX) 24} I will take you away from among the nations, gather you from all the lands, and bring you back to your own soil. ^25 [l](AY)I will sprinkle clean water over you to make you clean; from all your impurities and from all your idols I will cleanse you. ^26 (AZ)I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.^{(BA) 27} I will put my spirit within you so that you walk in my statutes, observe my ordinances, and keep them.^{(BB) 28} You will live in the land I gave to your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.^{(BC) 29} I will deliver you from all your impurities. I will summon the grain and make it plentiful; I will not send famine against you. ³⁰ I will increase the fruit on your trees and the crops in your fields so that you no longer endure reproach from the nations because of famine.^{(BD) 31} Then you will remember your evil behavior and your deeds that were not good; you will loathe yourselves for your sins and your abominations. ³² Not for your sake do I act—oracle of the Lord God. Let this be known to you! Be ashamed and humbled because of your behavior, house of Israel.

³³ Thus says the Lord God: When I cleanse you of all your guilt, I will resettle the cities and the ruins will be rebuilt.^{(BE) 34} The desolate land will be tilled—once a wasteland in the eyes of every passerby. ³⁵ They will say, “This once-desolate land has become like the garden of Eden. The cities once ruined, laid waste and destroyed, are now resettled and fortified.”^{(BF) 36} Then the surrounding nations that remain shall know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt what was destroyed and replanted what was desolate. I, the Lord, have spoken: I will do it. ³⁷ Thus says the Lord God: This also I will be persuaded to do for the house of Israel: to multiply them like sheep. ³⁸ Like sheep for sacrifice, like the sheep of Jerusalem on its feast days, the ruined cities shall be filled with flocks of people; then they shall know that I am the Lord.^(BG)

Chapter 37

Vision of the Dry Bones.^{[m] 1} The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he led me out in the spirit of the Lord and set me in the center of the broad valley. It was filled with bones. ² He made me walk among them in every direction. So many lay on the surface of the valley! How dry they were! ³ He asked me: Son of man, can these bones come back to life? “Lord God,” I answered, “you alone know that.”^{(BH) 4} Then he said to me: Prophesy over these bones, and say to them: Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! ⁵ Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Listen! I will make breath enter you so you may come to life. ⁶ I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow over you, cover you with skin, and put breath into you so you may come to life. Then you shall know that I am the Lord. ⁷ I prophesied as I had been commanded. A sound started up, as I was prophesying, rattling like thunder. The bones came together, bone joining to bone. ⁸ As I watched, sinews appeared on them, flesh grew over them, skin covered them on top, but there was no breath in them. ⁹ Then he said to me: Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man! Say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: From the four winds come, O breath, and breathe into these slain that they may come to life.^{[n](BI) 10} I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath entered them; they came to life and stood on their feet, a vast army.^{(BJ) 11} He said to me: Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel! They are saying, “Our bones are dried up, our hope is lost, and we are cut off.” ¹² Therefore, prophesy and say to them: Thus says the Lord God: Look! I am going to open your graves; I will make you come up out of your graves, my people, and bring you back to the land of Israel.^{(BK) 13} You shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and make you come up out of them, my people! ¹⁴ I will put my spirit in you that you may come to life, and I will settle you in your land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord. I have spoken; I will do it—oracle of the Lord.^(BL)

The Two Sticks. ^15 [o]Thus the word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁶ As for you, son of man, take one stick and write on it, “Judah and those Israelites associated with it.” Then take another stick and write on it: “Joseph, Ephraim’s stick, and the whole house of Israel associated with it.” ¹⁷ Join the two sticks together so they become one stick in your hand. ¹⁸ When your people ask you, “Will you not tell us what you mean by all this?” ¹⁹ answer them: Thus says the Lord God: I will take the stick of Joseph, now in Ephraim’s hand, and the tribes of Israel associated with it, and join to it the stick of Judah, making them one stick; they shall become one in my hand.^{(BM) 20} The sticks on which you write, you must hold in your hand in their sight. ²¹ Say to them: Thus says the Lord God: I will soon take the Israelites from among the nations to which they have gone and gather them from all around to bring them back to their land. ²² I will make them one nation in the land, upon the mountains of Israel, and there shall be one king for them all. They shall never again be two nations, never again be divided into two kingdoms.^(BN)

²³ No longer shall they defile themselves with their idols, their abominations, and all their transgressions. I will deliver them from all their apostasy through which they sinned. I will cleanse them so that they will be my people, and I will be their God.^{(BO) 24 (BP)}David my servant shall be king over them; they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my ordinances, observe my statutes, and keep them. ²⁵ They shall live on the land I gave to Jacob my servant, the land where their ancestors lived; they shall live on it always, they, their children, and their children’s children, with David my servant as their prince forever. ^26 (BQ)I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them. I will multiply them and put my sanctuary among them forever. ²⁷ My dwelling shall be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.^{(BR) 28} Then the nations shall know that I, the Lord, make Israel holy, by putting my sanctuary among them forever.

Chapter 38

First Prophecy Against Gog. ¹ The word of the Lord came to me:^{[p] 2} Son of man, turn your face against Gog^[q] of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him.^{(BS) 3} Say: Thus says the Lord God: See! I am coming against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. ⁴ I will turn you around and put hooks in your jaws to lead you out with all your army, horses and riders, all well armed, a great company, all of them with bucklers and shields, carrying swords: ^5 (BT)Persia, Cush, and Put with them, all with shields and helmets; ⁶ Gomer and all its troops, Beth-togarmah from the recesses of Zaphon and all its troops—many nations will accompany you. ⁷ Prepare and get ready, you and the company mobilized for you, but in my service. ⁸ After many days you will be called to battle; in the last years you will invade a land that has survived the sword—a people gathered from many nations back to the long-deserted mountains of Israel, brought forth from the nations to dwell securely.^{(BU) 9} You shall come up like a sudden storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and the many nations with you.^(BV)

¹⁰ Thus says the Lord God: On that day thoughts shall cross your mind, and you shall devise an evil plan. ¹¹ You will say, “I will invade a land of open villages and attack a peaceful people who live in security—all of them living without city walls, bars, or gates”—^{(BW) 12} in order to plunder and pillage, turning your hand against resettled ruins, against a people gathered from the nations, a people whose concern is cattle and goods, dwelling at the center^[r] of the earth. ¹³ Sheba and Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish and all its “young lions” shall ask you: “Have you come here to plunder? Have you summoned your army for pillage, to carry off silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to seize much plunder?”^(BX)

Second Prophecy Against Gog. ¹⁴ Therefore, prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog: Thus says the Lord God: On that day, when my people Israel dwell securely, will you not take action, ¹⁵ leaving your base in the recesses of Zaphon,^[s] you and many nations with you, all mounted on horses, a great company, a mighty army?^{(BY) 16} You shall rise up over my people Israel like a cloud covering the land. In those last days, I will let you invade my land so that the nations acknowledge me, when in their sight I show my holiness through you, Gog.

¹⁷ Thus says the Lord God: About you I spoke in earlier times through my servants, the prophets of Israel, who prophesied at that time that I would let you invade them. ¹⁸ But on that day, the day Gog invades the land of Israel—oracle of the Lord God—my fury will flare up in my anger, ¹⁹ and in my jealousy, with fiery wrath, I swear on that day there will be a great earthquake in the land of Israel.^{(BZ) 20} Before me will tremble the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, the beasts of the field and everything that crawls on the ground, and everyone on the face of the earth. Mountains will be overturned, terraces will collapse, and every wall will fall to the ground.^{(CA) 21} Against him I will summon every terror—oracle of the Lord God; every man’s sword will be raised against his brother.^{(CB) 22} I will execute judgment on him: disease and bloodshed; flooding rain and hailstones, fire and brimstone, I will rain down on him, on his troops and on the many nations with him.^{(CC) 23} And so I will show my greatness and holiness and make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.^(CD)

Chapter 39

Third Prophecy Against Gog. ¹ You, son of man, prophesy against Gog, saying: Thus says the Lord God: Here I am, Gog, coming at you, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. ² I will turn you around, even though I urged you on and brought you up from the recesses of Zaphon and let you attack the mountains of Israel.^{(CE) 3} Then I will strike the bow from your left hand and make the arrows drop from your right. ⁴ Upon the mountains of Israel you shall fall, you and all your troops and the peoples with you. I will give you as food to birds of prey of every kind and to wild beasts to be eaten. ⁵ In the open field you shall fall, for I have spoken—oracle of the Lord God.^(CF)

⁶ I will send fire against Magog and against those who live securely on the seacoast, and they will know that I am the Lord.^{(CG) 7} I will reveal my holy name among my people Israel, and I will never again allow my holy name to be defiled. Then the nations shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.^{(CH) 8} Yes, it is coming! It shall happen—oracle of the Lord God. This is the day I decreed.

⁹ Everyone living in the cities of Israel shall go out and set fire to the weapons, buckler and shield, bows and arrows, clubs and spears; for seven years they shall make fires with them.^{(CI) 10} They will not need to bring in wood from the fields or cut down trees in the forests, for they will make fires with the weapons, plundering those who plundered them, pillaging those who pillaged them—oracle of the Lord God.

¹¹ On that day I will give Gog a place for his tomb in Israel, the Valley of Abarim,^[t] east of the sea. It will block the way of travelers. There Gog shall be buried with all his horde; it shall be called “Valley of Hamon-Gog.”^{(CJ) 12} For seven months the house of Israel shall bury them in order to cleanse the land. ¹³ All the people of the land shall take part in the burials, making a name for themselves on the day I am glorified—oracle of the Lord God. ¹⁴ Men shall be permanently assigned to pass through the land, burying those who lie unburied in order to cleanse the land. For seven months they shall keep searching. ¹⁵ When these pass through the land and see a human bone, they must set up a marker beside it, until the gravediggers bury it in the Valley of Hamon-Gog. ¹⁶ Also the name of the city is Hamonah. Thus the land will be cleansed.

¹⁷ As for you, son of man, thus says the Lord God: Say to birds of every kind and to every wild beast: “Assemble! Come from all sides for the sacrifice I am making for you, a great slaughter on the mountains of Israel. You shall eat flesh and drink blood! ¹⁸ You shall eat the flesh of warriors and drink the blood of the princes of the earth: rams, lambs, and goats, bulls and fatlings from Bashan, all of them.^{(CK) 19} From the sacrifice I slaughtered for you, you shall eat fat until you are sated and drink blood until you are drunk. ²⁰ At my table you shall be sated with horse and rider, with warrior and soldier of every kind—oracle of the Lord God.

Israel’s Return. ²¹ Then I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the judgment I executed, the hand I laid upon them. ²² From that day forward the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord, their God. ²³ The nations shall know that the house of Israel went into exile because of its sins. Because they betrayed me, I hid my face from them, handing them over to their foes, so they all fell by the sword.^{(CL) 24} According to their defilement and their crimes I dealt with them, hiding my face from them.^(CM)

²⁵ Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and take pity on the whole house of Israel; I am zealous for my holy name.^{(CN) 26} They will forget their shame and all the infidelities they committed against me when they live securely on their own land with no one to frighten them. ²⁷ When I bring them back from the nations and gather them from the lands of their enemies, I will show my holiness through them in the sight of many nations.^{(CO) 28} Thus they shall know that I, the Lord, am their God, since I who exiled them among the nations will gather them back to their land, not leaving any of them behind. ²⁹ I will no longer hide my face from them once I pour out my spirit upon the house of Israel—oracle of the Lord God.^(CP)