Eze 36-37, Eze 39, Hos 2:14-23, 3:5, 14:2-9, Joe 2:28-32 | ESV | STEP | And you , son of man , prophesy to the mountains of Israel , and say , O mountains of Israel , hear the word of the Lord .

1 “And you, ^ason of man, prophesy to ^bthe mountains of Israel, and say, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord. 2 Thus says the Lord God: Because ^cthe enemy said of you, ^d‘Aha!’ and, ‘The ancient ^eheights have become our possession,’ 3 therefore prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord God: Precisely because ^fthey made you desolate and crushed you from all sides, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, and ^gyou 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 ^hthe mountains and the hills, the ravines and the valleys, ⁱthe desolate wastes and the deserted cities, which have become ^ja prey and derision to the rest of the nations all around, 5 therefore thus says the Lord God: Surely I have spoken in ^kmy hot jealousy against the rest of the nations and ^lagainst all Edom, who ^mgave my land to themselves as a possession ⁿwith wholehearted joy and ^outter contempt, that they might make its pasturelands a prey. 6 Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to ^pthe mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, Thus says the Lord God: ^qBehold, I have spoken in my jealous wrath, because you have suffered ^rthe reproach of the nations. 7 Therefore thus says the Lord God: ^sI swear that the nations that are all around you ^tshall themselves suffer reproach.

8 “But you, O mountains of Israel, ^ushall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for ^vthey will soon come home. 9 For ^wbehold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and ^xyou shall be tilled and sown. 10 And ^yI will multiply people on you, the whole house of Israel, all of it. ^zThe cities shall be inhabited and the waste places rebuilt. 11 And I will multiply on you ^aaman and beast, and ^abthey shall multiply and be fruitful. And I will cause you to be inhabited as in ^acyour former times, and ^adwill do more good to you than ever before. ^aeThen you will know that I am the Lord. 12 I will let people walk on you, even my people Israel. ^afAnd they shall possess you, and you shall be their inheritance, and you shall no longer ^agbereave them of children. 13 Thus says the Lord God: Because they say to you, ^ah‘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 ^aithe 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 ^aj“Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their own land, ^akthey defiled it by their ways and their deeds. Their ways before me were ^allike the uncleanness of a woman in her menstrual impurity. 18 So ^amI poured out my wrath upon them ^anfor the blood that they had shed in the land, for the idols ^aowith which they had defiled it. 19 ^apI scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries. ^aqIn accordance with their ways and their deeds I judged them. 20 But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, ^arthey 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 ^asfor 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: ^atIt is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, ^auwhich you have profaned among the nations to which you came. 23 ^avAnd I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. ^awAnd the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. 24 ^axI will take you ^ayfrom the nations and gather you from all the countries and ^azbring you into your own land. 25 ^baI will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from ^bball your uncleannesses, and ^bcfrom all your idols ^bdI will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you ^bea new heart, and ^bfa new spirit I will put within you. ^bgAnd I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 ^bhAnd I will put my Spirit within you, ^biand cause you to walk in my statutes and ^bjbe careful to obey my rules. ^{▼▼Or my just decrees} 28 ^blYou shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and ^bmyou shall be my people, and I will be your God. 29 And ^bnI will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And ^boI will summon the grain and make it abundant and ^bplay no famine upon you. 30 ^bqI will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, ^brthat you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. 31 Then ^bsyou will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. 32 ^btIt 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 ^buI cleanse you from all your iniquities, ^bvI 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 ^bwthe garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ 36 Then ^bxthe nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the Lord; I have rebuilt the ruined places and ^byreplanted that which was desolate. ^bzI am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.

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

Ezekiel 37

The Valley of Dry Bones

1 ^chThe hand of the Lord was upon me, and ^cihe 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, ^ck“Son of man, ^clcan these bones live?” And ^cmI answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, ^cn“Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, ^coO dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause ^cpbreath ^{▼▼Or spirit; also verses 6, 9, 10} to enter you, and you shall live. 6 ^crAnd I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and ^cscover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, ^ctand you shall know that I am the Lord.”

7 So I prophesied ^cuas I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, ^cva 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 ^cxthere was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, ^cy“Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, ^czson of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from ^dathe four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied ^dbas he commanded me, and ^dcthe breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

11 Then he said to me, ^dd“Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and ^deour hope is lost; ^dfwe are indeed cut off.’ 12 Therefore ^dgprophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, ^dhI will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And ^diI will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And ^djyou shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And ^dkI 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; ^dlI 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 ^dm“Son of man, ^dntake a stick ^{▼▼Or one piece of wood; also verses 17, 19, 20} and write on it, ‘For ^dpJudah, and ^dqthe people of Israel associated with him’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For ^drJoseph (the stick of ^dsEphraim) and all the house of Israel associated with him.’ 17 And ^dtjoin them one to another into one stick, that ^duthey may become ^dvone in your hand. 18 And when ^dwyour people say to you, ^dx‘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 ^dythe 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 ^dzstick of Judah, ^{▼▼Hebrew And I will place them on it, the stick of Judah} and ^ebmake them one stick, ^ecthat they may be one in my hand. 20 When the sticks on which you write are in your hand ^edbefore their eyes, 21 then say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, ^eeI will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and ^efbring them to their own land. 22 And ^egI will make them one nation in the land, on ^ehthe mountains of Israel. And ^eione king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer ^ejtwo nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. 23 ^ekThey shall not ^eldefile themselves anymore ^emwith their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But ^enI will save them from all the backslidings ^{▼▼Many Hebrew manuscripts; other Hebrew manuscripts dwellings} in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and ^epthey shall be my people, and I will be their God.

24 “My servant ^eqDavid ^ershall be king over them, and they shall all have ^esone shepherd. ^etThey shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. 25 ^euThey 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 ^evforever, and David my servant shall be their prince ^ewforever. 26 ^exI will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be ^eyan everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land ^{▼▼Hebrew lacks in their land} and ^famultiply them, and will ^fbset my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. 27 ^fcMy dwelling place shall be with them, ^fdand I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 Then ^fethe nations will know that ^ffI am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when ^fgmy sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.”

Ezekiel 39

1 “And you, ^fhson of man, ^fiprophesy against ^fjGog and say, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, ^fkI am against you, O Gog, ^flchief prince of ^fmMeshech ^{▼▼Or Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech} and ^foTubal. 2 ^fpAnd I will turn you about and drive you forward, and bring you up from ^fqthe uttermost parts of the north, and lead you against the ^frmountains of Israel. 3 Then ^fsI will strike your bow from your left hand, and ^ftwill make your arrows drop out of your right hand. 4 ^fuYou shall fall on ^fvthe mountains of Israel, you and all your ^fwhordes and the peoples who are with you. ^fxI 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 ^fyI have spoken, declares the Lord God. 6 ^fzI will send fire on ^gaMagog and on those ^gbwho dwell securely in ^gcthe coastlands, and ^gdthey shall know that I am the Lord.

7 “And ^gemy holy name I will make known in the midst of my people Israel, and ^gfI will not let my holy name be profaned anymore. And ^ggthe nations shall know that I am ^ghthe Lord, the Holy One in Israel. 8 ^giBehold, it is coming and it will be brought about, declares the Lord God. That is the day ^gjof which I have spoken.

9 “Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and ^gkmake fires of the weapons and burn them, shields and bucklers, bow and arrows, ^glclubs ^{▼▼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 ^gnthey will make their fires of the weapons. ^goThey 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 ^gpGog 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 ^gqHamon-gog. ^{▼▼ Hamon-gog means the multitude of Gog} 12 For ^gsseven months the house of Israel will be burying them, in order ^gtto cleanse the land. 13 All the people of the land will bury them, and it will bring them renown on the day that ^guI 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 ^gvto cleanse it. At ^{▼▼Or Until} the end of ^gxseven 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 ^gyHamon-gog. 16 (Hamonah ^{▼▼ Hamonah means multitude} is also the name of the city.) Thus shall they cleanse the land.

17 “As for you, ^hason of man, thus says the Lord God: ^hbSpeak to ^hcthe birds of every sort and to ^hdall beasts of the field: ‘Assemble and come, gather from all around to ^hethe 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 ^hfYou 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 ^hgfat 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 ^hhI will set my glory among the nations, and all the nations shall see ^himy judgment that I have executed, and ^hjmy hand that I have laid on them. 22 ^hkThe house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God, from that day forward. 23 And ^hlthe nations shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity, because they dealt so treacherously with me that ^hmI hid my face from them and ^hngave them into the hand of their adversaries, and they all fell by the sword. 24 I dealt with them ^hoaccording 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 ^hpI will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on ^hqthe whole house of Israel, and ^hrI will be jealous for my holy name. 26 They shall ^hsforget their shame and all the treachery they have practiced against me, when ^htthey dwell securely in their land with ^hunone to make them afraid, 27 ^hvwhen I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from their enemies’ lands, ^hwand through them have vindicated my holiness in the sight of many nations. 28 ^hxThen 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 ^hyAnd I will not hide my face anymore from them, when ^hzI pour out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, declares the Lord God.”

Hosea 2:14-23

The Lord’s Mercy on Israel

14 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
and ^iabring her into the wilderness,
and ^ibspeak tenderly to her.
15 And there I will give her her vineyards
and make the Valley of Achor ^{▼▼ Achor means trouble; compare Joshua 7:26} a door of hope.
And there she shall answer ^idas in the days of her youth,
as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.
16 “And ^iein that day, declares the Lord, you will call me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer will you call me ‘My Baal.’ 17 For ^ifI will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be remembered by name no more. 18 And ^igI will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground. And ^ihI will abolish ^{▼▼Hebrew break} the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you lie down in ^ijsafety. 19 And I will betroth you to me ^ikforever. ^ilI will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. 20 ^imI will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And ⁱⁿyou shall know the Lord.

21 “And ^ioin that day ^ipI will answer, declares the Lord,
I will answer the heavens,
and they shall answer the earth,
22 and the earth shall answer the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and they shall answer ^iqJezreel, ^{▼▼ Jezreel means God will sow}
23 and ^isI will sow her for myself in the land.
And ^itI ^iuwill have mercy on No Mercy, ^{▼▼Hebrew Lo-ruhama}
and ^iwI will say to Not My People, ^{▼▼Hebrew Lo-ammi} ^iy‘You are my people’;
and he shall say, ‘You are my God.’”

Hosea 3:5

5 Afterward ^izthe children of Israel shall return and ^jaseek the Lord their God, and ^jbDavid their king, ^jcand they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the ^jdlatter days.

Hosea 14:2-9

2 Take with you words
and return to the Lord;
say to him,
“Take away all iniquity;
accept ^jewhat is good,
and we will pay with bulls
^jfthe vows ^{▼▼Septuagint, Syriac pay the fruit} of our lips.
3 ^jhAssyria shall not save us;
^jiwe will not ride on horses;
and ^jjwe will say no more, ‘Our God,’
to the work of our hands.
^jkIn you the orphan finds mercy.”
4 I ^jlwill heal their apostasy;
^jmI will love them freely,
for my anger has turned from them.
5 ^jnI will be like the dew to Israel;
^johe shall blossom like the lily;
he shall take root like the trees ^jpof Lebanon;
6 his shoots shall spread out;
his beauty shall be ^jqlike the olive,
and his fragrance like Lebanon.
7 They shall return and ^jrdwell beneath my ^{▼▼Hebrew his} shadow;
they shall flourish like the grain;
they shall blossom like the vine;
their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 O ^jtEphraim, what have I to do with idols?
It is I who answer and look after you. ^{▼▼Hebrew him}
I am like an evergreen cypress;
^jvfrom me comes your fruit.
9 ^jwWhoever is wise, let him understand these things;
whoever is discerning, let him know them;
for the ways of the Lord are right,
and ^jxthe upright walk in them,
^jybut transgressors stumble in them.

Joel 2:28-32

The Lord Will Pour Out His Spirit

28 ^{▼▼Ch 3:1 in Hebrew} ^ka“And it shall come to pass afterward,
that ^kbI will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
^kcyour sons and ^kdyour daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams,
and your young men shall see visions.
29 ^keEven on the male and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit.
30 “And I will show ^kfwonders in the heavens and ^kgon the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. 31 ^khThe sun shall be turned to darkness, ^kiand the moon to blood, ^kjbefore the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 32 And it shall come to pass that ^kkeveryone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. ^klFor in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among ^kmthe survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.