Prophecy Against Mount Seir
1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 f“Son of man, gset your face hagainst iMount Seir, and prophesy against it, 3 and say to it, Thus says the Lord God: jBehold, I am against you, Mount Seir, and kI will stretch out my hand against you, land I will make you a desolation and a waste. 4 mI will lay your cities waste, and you shall become a desolation, and you shall know that I am the Lord. 5 Because nyou cherished perpetual enmity and gave over the people of Israel to the power of the sword oat the time of their calamity, pat the time of their final punishment, 6 therefore, qas I live, declares the Lord God, I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you; rbecause you did not hate bloodshed, therefore blood shall pursue you. 7 lI will make Mount Seir a waste mand a desolation, and I will cut off from it sall who come and go. 8 And I will fill tits mountains with the slain. On your hills and in your valleys and in all tyour ravines uthose slain with the sword shall fall. 9 lI will make you a perpetual desolation, and myour cities shall not be inhabited. Then vyou will know that I am the Lord.
10 “Because you said, w‘These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and xwe will take possession of them’—although the yLord was there— 11 therefore, qas I live, declares the Lord God, I will deal with you zaccording to the anger and zenvy that you showed because of your hatred against them. And aI will make myself known among them, when I judge you. 12 And you shall know that I am the Lord.
b“I have heard all the revilings that you uttered against the mountains of Israel, saying, ‘They are laid desolate; cthey are given us to devour.’ 13 And byou magnified yourselves against me dwith your mouth, and multiplied your words against me; I heard it. 14 Thus says the Lord God: eWhile the whole earth rejoices, I will make you desolate. 15 As you frejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so I will deal with you; you shall be desolate, gMount Seir, and all Edom, all of it. Then hthey will know that I am the Lord.
Prophecy to the Mountains of Israel
1 “And you, ison of man, prophesy to jthe mountains of Israel, and say, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord. 2 Thus says the Lord God: Because kthe enemy said of you, l‘Aha!’ and, ‘The ancient mheights have become our possession,’ 3 therefore prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord God: Precisely because nthey made you desolate and crushed you from all sides, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, and oyou 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 pthe mountains and the hills, the ravines and the valleys, qthe desolate wastes and the deserted cities, which have become ra prey and derision to the rest of the nations all around, 5 therefore thus says the Lord God: Surely I have spoken in smy hot jealousy against the rest of the nations and tagainst all Edom, who ugave my land to themselves as a possession vwith wholehearted joy and wutter contempt, that they might make its pasturelands a prey. 6 Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to jthe mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, Thus says the Lord God: xBehold, I have spoken in my jealous wrath, because you have suffered ythe reproach of the nations. 7 Therefore thus says the Lord God: zI swear that the nations that are all around you yshall themselves suffer reproach.
8 “But you, O mountains of Israel, ashall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for bthey will soon come home. 9 For cbehold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and dyou shall be tilled and sown. 10 And eI will multiply people on you, the whole house of Israel, all of it. fThe cities shall be inhabited and the waste places rebuilt. 11 And I will multiply on you gman and beast, and hthey shall multiply and be fruitful. And I will cause you to be inhabited as in iyour former times, and jwill do more good to you than ever before. kThen you will know that I am the Lord. 12 I will let people walk on you, even my people Israel. lAnd they shall possess you, and you shall be their inheritance, and you shall no longer mbereave them of children. 13 Thus says the Lord God: Because they say to you, n‘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 ythe 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 o“Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their own land, pthey defiled it by their ways and their deeds. Their ways before me were qlike the uncleanness of a woman in her menstrual impurity. 18 So rI poured out my wrath upon them sfor the blood that they had shed in the land, for the idols twith which they had defiled it. 19 uI scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries. vIn accordance with their ways and their deeds I judged them. 20 But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, wthey 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 xfor 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: yIt is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, wwhich you have profaned among the nations to which you came. 23 zAnd I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. aAnd the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. 24 bI will take you cfrom the nations and gather you from all the countries and dbring you into your own land. 25 eI will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from fall your uncleannesses, and gfrom all your idols hI will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you ia new heart, and ia new spirit I will put within you. iAnd I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 jAnd I will put my Spirit within you, iand cause you to walk in my statutes and kbe careful to obey my rules.1 28 lYou shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and myou shall be my people, and I will be your God. 29 And nI will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And oI will summon the grain and make it abundant and play no famine upon you. 30 qI will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, othat you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. 31 Then ryou will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. 32 yIt 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 sI cleanse you from all your iniquities, tI 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 uthe garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ 36 Then vthe nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the Lord; I have rebuilt the ruined places and wreplanted that which was desolate. xI am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.
37 “Thus says the Lord God: This also yI will let the house of Israel ask me to do for them: zto increase their people like aa flock. 38 Like the flock for sacrifices,2 blike the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so tshall the waste cities be filled with flocks of people. cThen they will know that I am the Lord.”
Greeting
1 Simeon1 Peter, a servant2 and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have obtained aa faith of equal standing with ours bby the righteousness of our cGod and Savior Jesus Christ:
2 dMay grace and peace be multiplied to you ein the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
Confirm Your Calling and Election
3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him fwho called us to3 his own glory and excellence,4 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become gpartakers of the divine nature, hhaving escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith iwith virtue,5 and virtue jwith knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control kwith steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness lwith brotherly affection, and brotherly affection mwith love. 8 For if these qualities6 are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or nunfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he ois blind, having forgotten that he was pcleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers,7 be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and qelection, for if you practice these qualities ryou will never fall. 11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you san entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
12 Therefore I intend talways to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in uthe truth that you have. 13 I think it right, as long as I am in this vbody,8 wto stir you up by way of reminder, 14 xsince I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, yas our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.
Christ’s Glory and the Prophetic Word
16 For we did not follow zcleverly devised amyths when we made known to you bthe power and ccoming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but dwe were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, e“This is my beloved Son,9 with whom I am well pleased,” 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on fthe holy mountain. 19 And gwe have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention has to a lamp shining in a dark place, until ithe day jdawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For kno prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God las they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
