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 b}like 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.”

The Valley of Dry Bones

1 ^dThe hand of the Lord was upon me, and ^ehe brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley;³ 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, ^f“Son of man, ^gcan these bones live?” And ^hI answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, ⁱ“Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, ^jO dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause ^kbreath⁴ to enter you, and you shall live. 6 ^lAnd I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and ^lcover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, ^mand you shall know that I am the Lord.”

7 So I prophesied ⁿas I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, ^oa rattling,⁵ 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 ^pthere was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, ⁱ“Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, ^fson of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from ^qthe four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied ⁿas he commanded me, and ^rthe breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

11 Then he said to me, ^f“Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and ^sour hope is lost; ^twe are indeed cut off.’ 12 Therefore ⁱprophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, ^uI will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And ^vI will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And ^wyou shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And ^xI 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; ^yI 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 ^z“Son of man, ^atake a stick⁶ and write on it, ‘For ^bJudah, and ^cthe people of Israel associated with him’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For ^bJoseph (the stick of ^dEphraim) and all the house of Israel associated with him.’ 17 And ^ejoin them one to another into one stick, that ^fthey may become ^gone in your hand. 18 And when ^hyour people say to you, ⁱ‘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 ^jthe 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 ^jstick of Judah,⁷ and ^kmake them one stick, ^gthat they may be one in my hand. 20 When the sticks on which you write are in your hand ^lbefore their eyes, 21 then say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, ^mI will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and ^mbring them to their own land. 22 And ⁿI will make them one nation in the land, on ^othe mountains of Israel. And ^pone king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer ^qtwo nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. 23 ^rThey shall not ^sdefile themselves anymore ^twith their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But ^uI will save them from all the backslidings⁸ in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and ^vthey shall be my people, and I will be their God.

24 “My servant ^wDavid ^xshall be king over them, and they shall all have ^yone shepherd. ^zThey shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. 25 ^aThey 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 ^bforever, and David my servant shall be their prince ^cforever. 26 ^dI will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be ^ean everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land⁹ and ^fmultiply them, and will ^gset my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. 27 ^hMy dwelling place shall be with them, ^vand I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 Then ⁱthe nations will know that ^jI am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when ^gmy sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.”

Our Eyes Look to the Lord Our God

A Song of ^mAscents.

Greeting

1 Paul, ^aan apostle of Christ Jesus ^bby the will of God according to ^cthe promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,

2 To Timothy, ^dmy beloved child:

^eGrace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Guard the Deposit Entrusted to You

3 ^fI thank God ^gwhom I serve, as did my ancestors, ^hwith a clear conscience, as I remember you ⁱconstantly in my prayers night and day. 4 ^jAs I remember your tears, ^kI long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of ^lyour sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and ^myour mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. 6 For this reason I remind you ⁿto fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us ^oa spirit not of fear but ^pof power and love and self-control.

8 Therefore ^qdo not be ashamed of ^rthe testimony about our Lord, nor of ^sme his prisoner, but ^tshare in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 ^uwho saved us and ^vcalled us to¹ a holy calling, ^wnot because of our works but because of ^vhis own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus ^xbefore the ages began,² 10 and which now has ^ybeen manifested through ^zthe appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, ^awho abolished death and ^bbrought life and ^cimmortality to light through the gospel, 11 ^dfor which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 12 ^ewhich is why I suffer as I do. But ^fI am not ashamed, for ^gI know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until ^hthat day ⁱwhat has been entrusted to me.³ 13 ^jFollow ^kthe pattern of ^lthe sound⁴ words ^mthat you have heard from me, in ⁿthe faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 By the Holy Spirit ^owho dwells within us, guard ⁱthe good deposit entrusted to you.

15 You are aware that ^pall who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16 May the Lord grant mercy to ^qthe household of Onesiphorus, for he often ^rrefreshed me and was not ashamed of ^smy chains, 17 but when he arrived in Rome ^the searched for me earnestly and found me— 18 may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on ^uthat day!—and you well know all the service he ^vrendered at Ephesus.

A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus

1 You then, ^wmy child, ^xbe strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and ^ywhat you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses ^zentrust to faithful men,^{5 a}who will be able to teach others also. 3 ^bShare in suffering as ^ca good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier ^dgets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. 5 ^eAn athlete is not ^fcrowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 It is ^gthe hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. 7 Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

8 Remember Jesus Christ, ^hrisen from the dead, the ⁱoffspring of David, ^jas preached in my gospel, 9 ^kfor which I am suffering, ^lbound with chains as a criminal. But ^mthe word of God is not bound! 10 Therefore ⁿI endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain ^othe salvation that is in Christ Jesus with ^peternal glory. 11 The saying is ^qtrustworthy, for:

for ^xhe cannot deny himself.

A Worker Approved by God

14 Remind them of these things, and ^ycharge them before God^{6 z}not to quarrel about words, ^awhich does no good, but only ruins the hearers. 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,⁷ a worker ^bwho has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. 16 But ^cavoid ^dirreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, 17 and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are ^eHymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have swerved from the truth, ^fsaying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. 19 But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: ^g“The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone ^hwho names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”

20 Now in ⁱa great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, ^jsome for honorable use, some for dishonorable. 21 Therefore, ^kif anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable,⁸ he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ^lready for every good work.

22 So ^mflee ⁿyouthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with ^othose who call on the Lord ^pfrom a pure heart. 23 Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant ^qcontroversies; you know that they breed quarrels. 24 And ^rthe Lord’s servant⁹ must not be quarrelsome but ^skind to everyone, ^table to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents ^uwith gentleness. God ^vmay perhaps grant them repentance ^wleading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from ^xthe snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.