Ezekiel36
American Standard Version · Public Domain
1And thou, son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of Jehovah.
2Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because the enemy hath said against you, Aha! and, The ancient high places are ours in possession;
3therefore prophesy, and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because, even because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the nations, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and the evil report of the people;
4therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Jehovah: Thus saith the Lord Jehovah 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 are become a prey and derision to the residue of the nations that are round about;
5therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the nations, and against all Edom, that have appointed my land unto 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 say unto the mountains and to the hills, to the watercourses and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my wrath, because ye have borne the shame of the nations:
7therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I have sworn, saying, Surely the nations that are round about you, they shall bear their shame.
8But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth 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 turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown;
10and I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it; and the cities shall be inhabited, and the waste places shall be builded;
11and I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and be fruitful; and I will cause you to be inhabited after your former estate, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I am Jehovah.
12Yea, I will cause men to walk upon you, even my people Israel; and they shall possess thee, and thou shalt be their inheritance, and thou shalt no more henceforth bereave them of children.
13Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because they say unto you, Thou land art a devourer of men, and hast been a bereaver of thy nation;
14therefore thou shalt devour men no more, neither bereave thy nation any more, saith the Lord Jehovah;
15neither will I let thee hear any more the shame of the nations, neither shalt thou bear the reproach of the peoples any more, neither shalt thou cause thy nation to stumble any more, saith the Lord Jehovah.
16Moreover the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
17Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their way and by their doings: their way before me was as the uncleanness of a woman in her impurity.
18Wherefore I poured out my wrath upon them for the blood which they had poured out upon the land, and because they had defiled it with their idols;
19and I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them.
20And when they came unto the nations, whither they went, they profaned my holy name; in that men said of them, These are the people of Jehovah, and are gone forth out of his land.
21But I had regard for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations, whither they went.
22Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I do not this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for my holy name, which ye have profaned among the nations, whither ye went.
23And I will sanctify my great name, which hath been profaned among the nations, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the nations shall know that I am Jehovah, saith the Lord Jehovah, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.
24For I will take you from among the nations, and gather you out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own land.
25And I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
26A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.
27And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep mine ordinances, and do them.
28And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.
29And I will save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the grain, and will multiply it, and lay no famine upon you.
30And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye may receive no more the reproach of famine among the nations.
31Then shall ye remember your evil ways, and your doings that were not good; and ye shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations.
32Not for your sake do I this, saith the Lord Jehovah, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel.
33Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: In the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be builded.
34And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, whereas it was a desolation in the sight of all that passed by.
35And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are fortified and inhabited.
36Then the nations that are left round about you shall know that I, Jehovah, have builded the ruined places, and planted that which was desolate: I, Jehovah, have spoken it, and I will do it.
37Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: For this, moreover, will I 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 shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men; and they shall know that I am Jehovah.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Ezekiel 36.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The land shall be delivered from heathen oppressors. (1-15). The people are reminded of former sins, and promised deliverance. (16-24). Also holiness, and gospel blessings. (25-38).
vv1-15
Those who put contempt and reproach on God's people, will have them turned on themselves. God promises favour to his Israel. We have no reason to complain, if the more unkind men are, the more kind God is. They shall come again to their own border. It was a type of the heavenly Canaan, of which all God's children are heirs, and into which they all shall be brought together. And when God returns in mercy to a people who return to him in duty, all their grievances will be set right. The full completion of this prophecy must be in some future event.
vv16-24
The restoration of that people, being typical of our redemption by Christ, shows that the end aimed at in our salvation is the glory of God. The sin of a people defiles their land; renders it abominable to God, and uncomfortable to themselves. God's holy name is his great name; his holiness is his greatness, nor does any thing else make a man truly great.
vv25-38
Water is an emblem of the cleansing our polluted souls from sin. But no water can do more than take away the filth of the flesh. Water seems in general the sacramental sign of the sanctifying influences of the Holy Ghost; yet this is always connected with the atoning blood of Christ. When the latter is applied by faith to the conscience, to cleanse it from evil works, the former is always applied to the powers of the soul, to purify it from the pollution of sin. All that have an interest in the new covenant, have a new heart and a new spirit, in order to their walking in newness of life. God would give a heart of flesh, a soft and tender heart, complying with his holy will. Renewing grace works as great a change in the soul, as the turning a dead stone into living flesh. God will put his Spirit within, as a Teacher, Guide, and Sanctifier. The promise of God's grace to fit us for our duty, should quicken our constant care and endeavour to do our duty. These are promises to be pleaded by, and will be fulfilled to, all true believers in every age.
Key Words
אַתָּה: thou and thee, or (plural) ye and you
בֵּן: a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)
אָדָם: ruddy i.e. a human being (an individual or the species, mankind, etc.)
נָבָא: to prophesy, i.e. speak (or sing) by inspiration (in prediction or simple discourse)
הַר: a mountain or range of hills (sometimes used figuratively)
יִשְׂרָאֵל: Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity
אָמַר: to say (used with great latitude)
שָׁמַע: to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.; causatively, to tell, etc.)
דָּבָר: a word; by implication, a matter (as spoken of) or thing; adverbially, a cause
כֹּה: properly, like this, i.e. by implication, (of manner) thus (or so); also (of place) here (or hither); or (of time) now
Cross References
Ezekiel 36Paul directly quotes the Greek version of this idea: God's name is blasphemed among Gentiles because of them.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB
Ezekiel directly alludes to the spies' infamous report that Canaan is 'a land that eateth up the inhabitants.'
Supported by JFB
Moses' classic warning that God does not bring Israel in for their own righteousness or uprightness.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Ezekiel's earlier parallel promise of a unified heart, new spirit, and taking away the stony heart.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB
Edom's boastful claim over Israel's desolate land, which directly provokes the divine response in chapter 36.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The consistent redemptive-historical principle that God acts to prevent His name from being profaned among heathen.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The ceremonial sprinkling of clean water for purification from defilement, typifying spiritual cleansing.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
New Testament fulfillment of the promise of internal spiritual renewal under the New Covenant.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
The foundational New Covenant parallel of God putting His law/Spirit directly within His people's hearts.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Parallel promise that under David (Messiah), Israel will walk in God's judgments and observe His statutes.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
The profound shame, remembrance of evil, and self-loathing that accompanies God's sovereign establishment of His covenant.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Isaiah's comforting promise that God will comfort Zion, making her wilderness like Eden.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The insulting 'Aha!' of surrounding nations over Jerusalem's destruction, triggering God's jealousy.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The community lamentation over becoming a reproach, scorn, and derision to surrounding heathen nations.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Prophetic parallel of rebuilding the ancient waste places and raising up foundations of many generations.
Supported by JFB