Eze 34, Eze 36-39, Amo 9:14, Mic 4:12, Zep 3:20 | ESV | STEP

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 ^a“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord God: ^bAh, shepherds of Israel ^cwho have been feeding yourselves! ^dShould not shepherds feed the sheep? 3 ^eYou eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, ^fyou slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. 4 ^gThe weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, ^hthe injured you have not bound up, ⁱthe strayed you have not brought back, ^jthe lost you have not sought, and with force and ^kharshness you have ruled them. 5 ^lSo they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and ^mthey became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; 6 they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, ⁿwith none to search or seek for them.

7 “Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 8 ^oAs I live, declares the Lord God, surely because ^pmy sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep, 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 10 Thus says the Lord God, ^qBehold, I am against the shepherds, and ^rI will require my sheep at their hand and ^sput a stop to their feeding the sheep. ^tNo longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. ^uI will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them.

The Lord God Will Seek Them Out

11 “For thus says the Lord God: ^vBehold, I, I ^wmyself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on ^xa day of clouds and ^ythick darkness. 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples ^zand gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on ^aathe mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 ^abI will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. ^acThere they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. 15 ^adI myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, ^aeand I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. 16 ^afI will seek the lost, ^agand I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and ^ahthe fat and the strong I will destroy. ^{▼▼Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate I will watch over} I will feed them in justice.

17 “As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord God: ^ajBehold, I judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and ^akmale goats. 18 Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture; and to drink of ^alclear water, that you must muddy the rest of the water with your feet? 19 And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have muddied with your feet?

20 “Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: Behold, I, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because you push with side and shoulder, and ^amthrust at all the ^anweak with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad, 22 I will rescue ^{▼▼Or save} my flock; ^apthey shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep. 23 And ^aqI will set up over them one shepherd, ^army servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24 And ^asI, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. ^atI am the Lord; I have spoken.

The Lord’s Covenant of Peace

25 ^au“I will make with them a covenant of peace and ^avbanish wild beasts from the land, ^awso that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. 26 And I will make them and the places all around my hill ^axa blessing, and ^ayI will send down the showers in their season; they shall be ^azshowers of blessing. 27 ^baAnd the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, ^bband they shall be secure in their land. And ^bcthey shall know that I am the Lord, when ^bdI break the bars of their yoke, and ^bedeliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them. 28 ^bfThey shall no more be a prey to the nations, ^bgnor shall the beasts of the land devour them. ^bhThey shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid. 29 And I will provide for them ^birenowned plantations so that ^bjthey shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no longer ^bksuffer the reproach of the nations. 30 And they shall know that ^blI am the Lord their God with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Lord God. 31 And you are my sheep, ^bmhuman sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord God.”

Ezekiel 36

Prophecy to the Mountains of Israel

1 “And you, ^bnson of man, prophesy to ^bothe mountains of Israel, and say, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord. 2 Thus says the Lord God: Because ^bpthe enemy said of you, ^bq‘Aha!’ and, ‘The ancient ^brheights have become our possession,’ 3 therefore prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord God: Precisely because ^bsthey made you desolate and crushed you from all sides, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, and ^btyou became the talk and evil gossip of the people, 4 therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God: Thus says the Lord God to ^buthe mountains and the hills, the ravines and the valleys, ^bvthe desolate wastes and the deserted cities, which have become ^bwa prey and derision to the rest of the nations all around, 5 therefore thus says the Lord God: Surely I have spoken in ^bxmy hot jealousy against the rest of the nations and ^byagainst all Edom, who ^bzgave my land to themselves as a possession ^cawith wholehearted joy and ^cbutter contempt, that they might make its pasturelands a prey. 6 Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to ^ccthe mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, Thus says the Lord God: ^cdBehold, I have spoken in my jealous wrath, because you have suffered ^cethe reproach of the nations. 7 Therefore thus says the Lord God: ^cfI swear that the nations that are all around you ^cgshall themselves suffer reproach.

8 “But you, O mountains of Israel, ^chshall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for ^cithey will soon come home. 9 For ^cjbehold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and ^ckyou shall be tilled and sown. 10 And ^clI will multiply people on you, the whole house of Israel, all of it. ^cmThe cities shall be inhabited and the waste places rebuilt. 11 And I will multiply on you ^cnman and beast, and ^cothey shall multiply and be fruitful. And I will cause you to be inhabited as in ^cpyour former times, and ^cqwill do more good to you than ever before. ^crThen you will know that I am the Lord. 12 I will let people walk on you, even my people Israel. ^csAnd they shall possess you, and you shall be their inheritance, and you shall no longer ^ctbereave them of children. 13 Thus says the Lord God: Because they say to you, ^cu‘You devour people, and you bereave your nation of children,’ 14 therefore you shall no longer devour people and no longer bereave your nation of children, declares the Lord God. 15 And I will not let you hear anymore ^cvthe reproach of the nations, and you shall no longer bear the disgrace of the peoples and no longer cause your nation to stumble, declares the Lord God.”

The Lord’s Concern for His Holy Name

16 The word of the Lord came to me: 17 ^cw“Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their own land, ^cxthey defiled it by their ways and their deeds. Their ways before me were ^cylike the uncleanness of a woman in her menstrual impurity. 18 So ^czI poured out my wrath upon them ^dafor the blood that they had shed in the land, for the idols ^dbwith which they had defiled it. 19 ^dcI scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries. ^ddIn accordance with their ways and their deeds I judged them. 20 But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, ^dethey profaned my holy name, in that people said of them, ‘These are the people of the Lord, and yet they had to go out of his land.’ 21 But I had concern ^dffor my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they came.

I Will Put My Spirit Within You

22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: ^dgIt is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, ^dhwhich you have profaned among the nations to which you came. 23 ^diAnd I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. ^djAnd the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. 24 ^dkI will take you ^dlfrom the nations and gather you from all the countries and ^dmbring you into your own land. 25 ^dnI will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from ^doall your uncleannesses, and ^dpfrom all your idols ^dqI will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you ^dra new heart, and ^dsa new spirit I will put within you. ^dtAnd I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 ^duAnd I will put my Spirit within you, ^dvand cause you to walk in my statutes and ^dwbe careful to obey my rules. ^{▼▼Or my just decrees} 28 ^dyYou shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and ^dzyou shall be my people, and I will be your God. 29 And ^eaI will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And ^ebI will summon the grain and make it abundant and ^eclay no famine upon you. 30 ^edI will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, ^eethat you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. 31 Then ^efyou will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. 32 ^egIt is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord God; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel.

33 “Thus says the Lord God: On the day that ^ehI cleanse you from all your iniquities, ^eiI will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt. 34 And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by. 35 And they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like ^ejthe garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ 36 Then ^ekthe nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the Lord; I have rebuilt the ruined places and ^elreplanted that which was desolate. ^emI am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.

37 “Thus says the Lord God: This also ^enI will let the house of Israel ask me to do for them: ^eoto increase their people like ^epa flock. 38 Like the flock for sacrifices, ^{▼▼Hebrew flock of holy things} ^erlike the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so ^esshall the waste cities be filled with flocks of people. ^etThen they will know that I am the Lord.”

Ezekiel 37

The Valley of Dry Bones

1 ^euThe hand of the Lord was upon me, and ^evhe brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; ^{▼▼Or plain; also verse 2} it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, ^ex“Son of man, ^eycan these bones live?” And ^ezI answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, ^fa“Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, ^fbO dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause ^fcbreath ^{▼▼Or spirit; also verses 6, 9, 10} to enter you, and you shall live. 6 ^feAnd I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and ^ffcover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, ^fgand you shall know that I am the Lord.”

7 So I prophesied ^fhas I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, ^fia rattling, ^{▼▼Or an earthquake (compare 3:12, 13)} and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But ^fkthere was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, ^fl“Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, ^fmson of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from ^fnthe four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied ^foas he commanded me, and ^fpthe breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

11 Then he said to me, ^fq“Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and ^frour hope is lost; ^fswe are indeed cut off.’ 12 Therefore ^ftprophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, ^fuI will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And ^fvI will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And ^fwyou shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And ^fxI will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; ^fyI have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”

I Will Be Their God, They Shall Be My People

15 The word of the Lord came to me: 16 ^fz“Son of man, ^gatake a stick ^{▼▼Or one piece of wood; also verses 17, 19, 20} and write on it, ‘For ^gcJudah, and ^gdthe people of Israel associated with him’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For ^geJoseph (the stick of ^gfEphraim) and all the house of Israel associated with him.’ 17 And ^ggjoin them one to another into one stick, that ^ghthey may become ^gione in your hand. 18 And when ^gjyour people say to you, ^gk‘Will you not tell us what you mean by these?’ 19 say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am about to take ^glthe stick of Joseph (that is in the hand of Ephraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with him. And I will join with it the ^gmstick of Judah, ^{▼▼Hebrew And I will place them on it, the stick of Judah} and ^gomake them one stick, ^gpthat they may be one in my hand. 20 When the sticks on which you write are in your hand ^gqbefore their eyes, 21 then say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, ^grI will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and ^gsbring them to their own land. 22 And ^gtI will make them one nation in the land, on ^guthe mountains of Israel. And ^gvone king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer ^gwtwo nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. 23 ^gxThey shall not ^gydefile themselves anymore ^gzwith their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But ^haI will save them from all the backslidings ^{▼▼Many Hebrew manuscripts; other Hebrew manuscripts dwellings} in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and ^hcthey shall be my people, and I will be their God.

24 “My servant ^hdDavid ^heshall be king over them, and they shall all have ^hfone shepherd. ^hgThey shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. 25 ^hhThey shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children’s children shall dwell there ^hiforever, and David my servant shall be their prince ^hjforever. 26 ^hkI will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be ^hlan everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land ^{▼▼Hebrew lacks in their land} and ^hnmultiply them, and will ^hoset my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. 27 ^hpMy dwelling place shall be with them, ^hqand I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 Then ^hrthe nations will know that ^hsI am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when ^htmy sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.”

Ezekiel 38

Prophecy Against Gog

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 ^hu“Son of man, ^hvset your face toward ^hwGog, of the land of ^hxMagog, the ^hychief prince of ^hzMeshech ^{▼▼Or Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech} and ^ibTubal, and ^icprophesy against him 3 and say, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, ^idI am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech ^{▼▼Or Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech} and Tubal. 4 ^ifAnd I will turn you about and ^igput hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and ^ihall your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great host, all of them with buckler and shield, wielding swords. 5 ⁱⁱPersia, ^ijCush, and ^ikPut are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; 6 ^ilGomer and all his ^imhordes; ⁱⁿBeth-togarmah from ^iothe uttermost parts of the north with all his hordes— ^ipmany peoples are with you.

7 ^iq“Be ready and keep ready, you and all your hosts that are assembled about you, and be a guard for them. 8 ^irAfter many days you will be mustered. ^isIn the latter years you will go against ^itthe land that is restored from war, the land whose people ^iuwere gathered from many peoples upon ^ivthe mountains of Israel, which had been a continual waste. Its people were brought out from the peoples and ^iwnow dwell securely, all of them. 9 You will advance, coming on ^ixlike a storm. You will be ^iylike a cloud covering the land, you and all your ^izhordes, and many peoples with you.

10 “Thus says the Lord God: On that day, ^jathoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil scheme 11 and say, ‘I will go up against ^jbthe land of unwalled villages. I will fall upon ^jcthe quiet people who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having no bars or gates,’ 12 to seize spoil and carry off plunder, to turn your hand against ^jdthe waste places that are now inhabited, and ^jethe people who were gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, ^jfwho dwell at the center of the earth. 13 ^jgSheba and ^jhDedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all ^jiits leaders ^{▼▼Hebrew young lions} will say to you, ‘Have you come to seize spoil? Have you assembled your hosts to carry off plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to seize great spoil?’

14 “Therefore, ^jkson of man, prophesy, and say to ^jlGog, Thus says the Lord God: On that day when my people Israel are ^jmdwelling securely, ^jnwill you not know it? 15 You will come from your place out of ^jothe uttermost parts of the north, you and ^jpmany peoples with you, ^jqall of them riding on horses, a great host, a mighty army. 16 You will come up against my people Israel, ^jrlike a cloud covering the land. ^jsIn the latter days I will bring you against my land, that the nations may know me, when through you, O Gog, ^jtI vindicate my holiness before their eyes.

17 “Thus says the Lord God: Are you ^juhe of whom I spoke in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel, who in those days prophesied for years that I would bring you against them? 18 But on that day, the day that Gog shall come against the land of Israel, declares the Lord God, ^jvmy wrath will be roused in my anger. 19 For ^jwin my jealousy and in my blazing wrath I declare, On that day ^jxthere shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. 20 ^jyThe fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field and all creeping things that creep on the ground, and all the people who are on the face of the earth, ^jzshall quake at my presence. And ^kathe mountains shall be thrown down, and the cliffs shall fall, and every wall shall tumble to the ground. 21 ^kbI will summon a sword against Gog ^{▼▼Hebrew against him} on all my mountains, declares the Lord God. ^kdEvery man’s sword will be against his brother. 22 With pestilence and bloodshed ^keI will enter into judgment with him, and ^kfI will rain upon him and ^kghis hordes and the many peoples who are with him ^khtorrential rains and hailstones, ^kifire and sulfur. 23 So I will show my greatness and my ^kjholiness and ^kkmake myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then ^klthey will know that I am the Lord.

Ezekiel 39

1 “And you, ^kmson of man, ^knprophesy against ^koGog and say, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, ^kpI am against you, O Gog, ^kqchief prince of ^krMeshech ^{▼▼Or Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech} and ^ktTubal. 2 ^kuAnd I will turn you about and drive you forward, and bring you up from ^kvthe uttermost parts of the north, and lead you against the ^kwmountains of Israel. 3 Then ^kxI will strike your bow from your left hand, and ^kywill make your arrows drop out of your right hand. 4 ^kzYou shall fall on ^lathe mountains of Israel, you and all your ^lbhordes and the peoples who are with you. ^lcI will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. 5 You shall fall in the open field, for ^ldI have spoken, declares the Lord God. 6 ^leI will send fire on ^lfMagog and on those ^lgwho dwell securely in ^lhthe coastlands, and ^lithey shall know that I am the Lord.

7 “And ^ljmy holy name I will make known in the midst of my people Israel, and ^lkI will not let my holy name be profaned anymore. And ^llthe nations shall know that I am ^lmthe Lord, the Holy One in Israel. 8 ^lnBehold, it is coming and it will be brought about, declares the Lord God. That is the day ^loof which I have spoken.

9 “Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and ^lpmake fires of the weapons and burn them, shields and bucklers, bow and arrows, ^lqclubs ^{▼▼Or javelins} and spears; and they will make fires of them for seven years, 10 so that they will not need to take wood out of the field or cut down any out of the forests, for ^lsthey will make their fires of the weapons. ^ltThey will seize the spoil of those who despoiled them, and plunder those who plundered them, declares the Lord God.

11 “On that day I will give to ^luGog a place for burial in Israel, the Valley of the Travelers, east of the sea. It will block the travelers, for there Gog and all his multitude will be buried. It will be called the Valley of ^lvHamon-gog. ^{▼▼ Hamon-gog means the multitude of Gog} 12 For ^lxseven months the house of Israel will be burying them, in order ^lyto cleanse the land. 13 All the people of the land will bury them, and it will bring them renown on the day that ^lzI show my glory, declares the Lord God. 14 They will set apart men to travel through the land regularly and bury those travelers remaining on the face of the land, so as ^mato cleanse it. At ^{▼▼Or Until} the end of ^mcseven months they will make their search. 15 And when these travel through the land and anyone sees a human bone, then he shall set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the Valley of ^mdHamon-gog. 16 (Hamonah ^{▼▼ Hamonah means multitude} is also the name of the city.) Thus shall they cleanse the land.

17 “As for you, ^mfson of man, thus says the Lord God: ^mgSpeak to ^mhthe birds of every sort and to ^miall beasts of the field: ‘Assemble and come, gather from all around to ^mjthe sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you, a great sacrificial feast on the mountains of Israel, and you shall eat flesh and drink blood. 18 ^mkYou shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth—of rams, of lambs, and of he-goats, of bulls, all of them ^mlfat beasts of Bashan. 19 And you shall eat fat till you are filled, and drink blood till you are drunk, at the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you. 20 And you shall be filled at my table with horses and charioteers, with mighty men and all kinds of warriors,’ declares the Lord God.

21 “And ^mmI will set my glory among the nations, and all the nations shall see ^mnmy judgment that I have executed, and ^momy hand that I have laid on them. 22 ^mpThe house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God, from that day forward. 23 And ^mqthe nations shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity, because they dealt so treacherously with me that ^mrI hid my face from them and ^msgave them into the hand of their adversaries, and they all fell by the sword. 24 I dealt with them ^mtaccording to their uncleanness and their transgressions, and hid my face from them.

The Lord Will Restore Israel

25 “Therefore thus says the Lord God: Now ^muI will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on ^mvthe whole house of Israel, and ^mwI will be jealous for my holy name. 26 They shall ^mxforget their shame and all the treachery they have practiced against me, when ^mythey dwell securely in their land with ^mznone to make them afraid, 27 ^nawhen I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from their enemies’ lands, ^nband through them have vindicated my holiness in the sight of many nations. 28 ^ncThen they shall know that I am the Lord their God, because I sent them into exile among the nations and then assembled them into their own land. I will leave none of them remaining among the nations anymore. 29 ^ndAnd I will not hide my face anymore from them, when ^neI pour out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, declares the Lord God.”

Amos 9:14

14 ^nfI will restore the fortunes of my people Israel,
and ^ngthey shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them;
^nhthey shall plant vineyards and drink their wine,
and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit.

Micah 4:12

12 But ⁿⁱthey do not know
the thoughts of the Lord;
they do not understand his plan,
that ^njhe has gathered them as sheaves to the threshing floor.

Zephaniah 3:20

20 ^nkAt that time I will bring you in,
at the time when I gather you together;
for I will make you renowned and praised
among all the peoples of the earth,
^nlwhen I restore your fortunes
before your eyes,” says the Lord.