For I know the plans I have for you”— this is the Lord’s declaration—“ plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

耶和华说：我知道我向你们所怀的意念是赐平安的意念，不是降灾祸的意念，要叫你们末后有指望。

我知道我向你们所怀的意念是赐平安的意念，不是降灾祸的意念，要叫你们末后有指望。这是耶和华说的。

我知道我向你们所怀的意念是赐平安的意念，不是降灾祸的意念，要叫你们末后有指望。这是耶和华说的。

因为我知道我为你们安排的计划。我的计划不是要降祸给你们，而是要赐福给你们，使你们的未来充满希望。这是耶和华说的。

因我自己知道我为你们所定的计划，是使你们得平安，而不是遭受灾祸的计划；要赐给你们美好的前程和盼望。’这是耶和华的宣告。

耶和華說：我知道我向你們所懷的意念是賜平安的意念，不是降災禍的意念，要叫你們末後有指望。

我知道我向你們所懷的意念是賜平安的意念，不是降災禍的意念，要叫你們末後有指望。這是耶和華說的。

我知道我向你們所懷的意念是賜平安的意念，不是降災禍的意念，要叫你們末後有指望。這是耶和華說的。

因為我知道我為你們安排的計劃。我的計劃不是要降禍給你們，而是要賜福給你們，使你們的未來充滿希望。這是耶和華說的。

因我自己知道我為你們所定的計劃，是使你們得平安，而不是遭受災禍的計劃；要賜給你們美好的前程和盼望。’這是耶和華的宣告。

因為我知道我向你們懷的意念、永恆主發神諭說、是賜福利的意念，不是降災禍的意念；是要給你們好的晚景和希望。

耶和華曰、我為爾所存之念、我自知之、乃平康之念、非災害之念也、俾爾終有所望、

耶和華又云、予待爾將若何、予自知之、欲錫平康、不加災害、終有可望。

主又云、我為爾所懷之意、惟我知之、我意賜爾平康、不加災害、爾曹終有可望、

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord,“ plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

I know the plans I have for you,” announces the Lord.“ I want you to enjoy success. I do not plan to harm you. I will give you hope for the years to come.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord.“ They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

For I know the plans I have for you”— this is the LORD’s declaration—“ plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord,‘ plans for prosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith Jehovah, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope in your latter end.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

For I know what I have planned for you,’ says the LORD.‘ I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you a future filled with hope.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,” says Yahweh,“ thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope and a future.

“ For My thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not My ways.” This is the Lord’s declaration.“ For as heaven is higher than earth, so My ways are higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return there without saturating the earth and making it germinate and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat,so My word that comes from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please and will prosper in what I send it to do.”You will indeed go out with joy and be peacefully guided; the mountains and the hills will break into singing before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart from generation to generation.

Lord my God, You have done many things— Your wonderful works and Your plans for us; none can compare with You. If I were to report and speak of them, they are more than can be told.

But they do not know the Lord’s intentions or understand His plan, that He has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.

But He is unchangeable; who can oppose Him? He does what He desires.

It is good to wait quietly for deliverance from the Lord.

I declare the end from the beginning, and from long ago what is not yet done, saying: My plan will take place, and I will do all My will.I call a bird of prey from the east, a man for My purpose from a far country. Yes, I have spoken; so I will also bring it about. I have planned it; I will also do it.

“ For this is what the Lord God says: See, I Myself will search for My flock and look for them.As a shepherd looks for his sheep on the day he is among his scattered flock, so I will look for My flock. I will rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered on a cloudy and dark day.I will bring them out from the peoples, gather them from the countries, and bring them into their own land. I will shepherd them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the land.I will tend them with good pasture, and their grazing place will be on Israel’s lofty mountains. There they will lie down in a good grazing place; they will feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.I will tend My flock and let them lie down.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.“ I will seek the lost, bring back the strays, bandage the injured, and strengthen the weak, but I will destroy the fat and the strong. I will shepherd them with justice.“ The Lord God says to you, My flock: I am going to judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and male goats.Isn’t it enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of the pasture with your feet? Or isn’t it enough that you drink the clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?Yet My flock has to feed on what your feet have trampled, and drink what your feet have muddied.“ Therefore, this is what the Lord God says to them: See, I Myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.Since you have pushed with flank and shoulder and butted all the weak ones with your horns until you scattered them all over,I will save My flock, and they will no longer be prey for you. I will judge between one sheep and another.I will appoint over them a single shepherd, My servant David, and he will shepherd them. He will tend them himself and will be their shepherd.I, Yahweh, will be their God, and My servant David will be a prince among them. I, Yahweh, have spoken.“ I will make a covenant of peace with them and eliminate dangerous animals in the land, so that they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the forest.I will make them and the area around My hill a blessing: I will send down showers in their season— showers of blessing.The trees of the field will give their fruit, and the land will yield its produce; My flock will be secure in their land. They will know that I am Yahweh when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslave them.They will no longer be prey for the nations, and the wild animals of the land will not consume them. They will live securely, and no one will frighten them.I will establish for them a place renowned for its agriculture, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land. They will no longer endure the insults of the nations.Then they will know that I, Yahweh their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.“ You are My flock, the human flock of My pasture, and I am your God.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

Go, proclaim these words to the north, and say: Return, unfaithful Israel. This is the Lord’s declaration. I will not look on you with anger, for I am unfailing in My love. This is the Lord’s declaration. I will not be angry forever.Only acknowledge your guilt— you have rebelled against the Lord your God. You have scattered your favors to strangers under every green tree and have not obeyed My voice. This is the Lord’s declaration.“ Return, you faithless children”— this is the Lord’s declaration—“ for I am your master, and I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.I will give you shepherds who are loyal to Me, and they will shepherd you with knowledge and skill.When you multiply and increase in the land, in those days”— the Lord’s declaration—“ no one will say any longer,‘ The ark of the Lord’s covenant.’ It will never come to mind, and no one will remember or miss it. It will never again be made.At that time Jerusalem will be called, Yahweh’s Throne, and all the nations will be gathered to it, to the name of Yahweh in Jerusalem. They will cease to follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts.In those days the house of Judah will join with the house of Israel, and they will come together from the land of the north to the land I have given your ancestors to inherit.”I thought: How I long to make you My sons and give you a desirable land, the most beautiful inheritance of all the nations. I thought: You will call Me, my Father, and never turn away from Me.

“ At that time”— this is the Lord’s declaration—“ I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be My people.”This is what the Lord says: They found favor in the wilderness— the people who survived the sword. When Israel went to find rest,the Lord appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have continued to extend faithful love to you.Again I will build you so that you will be rebuilt, Virgin Israel. You will take up your tambourines again and go out in joyful dancing.You will plant vineyards again on the mountains of Samaria; the planters will plant and will enjoy the fruit.For there will be a day when watchmen will call out in the hill country of Ephraim,“ Get up, let’s go up to Zion, to Yahweh our God!”For this is what the Lord says: Sing with joy for Jacob; shout for the chief of the nations! Proclaim, praise, and say,“ Lord, save Your people, the remnant of Israel!”Watch! I am going to bring them from the northern land. I will gather them from remote regions of the earth— the blind and the lame will be with them, along with those who are pregnant and those about to give birth. They will return here as a great assembly!They will come weeping, but I will bring them back with consolation. I will lead them to wadis filled with water by a smooth way where they will not stumble, for I am Israel’s Father, and Ephraim is My firstborn.Nations, hear the word of the Lord, and tell it among the far off coastlands! Say: The One who scattered Israel will gather him. He will watch over him as a shepherd guards his flock,for the Lord has ransomed Jacob and redeemed him from the power of one stronger than he.They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will be radiant with joy because of the Lord’s goodness, because of the grain, the new wine, the fresh oil, and because of the young of the flocks and herds. Their life will be like an irrigated garden, and they will no longer grow weak from hunger.Then the young woman will rejoice with dancing, while young and old men rejoice together. I will turn their mourning into joy, give them consolation, and bring happiness out of grief.I will refresh the priests with an abundance, and My people will be satisfied with My goodness. This is the Lord’s declaration.This is what the Lord says: A voice was heard in Ramah, a lament with bitter weeping— Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted for her children because they are no more.This is what the Lord says: Keep your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for the reward for your work will come— this is the Lord’s declaration— and your children will return from the enemy’s land.There is hope for your future— this is the Lord’s declaration— and your children will return to their own territory.I have heard Ephraim moaning,“ You disciplined me, and I have been disciplined like an untrained calf. Restore me, and I will return, for you, Lord, are my God.After I returned, I repented; After I was instructed, I struck my thigh in grief. I was ashamed and humiliated because I bore the disgrace of my youth.”Isn’t Ephraim a precious son to Me, a delightful child? Whenever I speak against him, I certainly still think about him. Therefore, My inner being yearns for him; I will truly have compassion on him. This is the Lord’s declaration.Set up road markers for yourself; establish signposts! Keep the highway in mind, the way you have traveled. Return, Virgin Israel! Return to these cities of yours.How long will you turn here and there, faithless daughter? For the Lord creates something new in the land— a female will shelter a man.This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says:“ When I restore their fortunes, they will once again speak this word in the land of Judah and in its cities,‘ May the Lord bless you, righteous settlement, holy mountain.’Judah and all its cities will live in it together— also farmers and those who move with the flocks—for I satisfy the thirsty person and feed all those who are weak.”At this I awoke and looked around. My sleep had been most pleasant to me.“ The days are coming”— this is the Lord’s declaration—“ when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast.Just as I watched over them to uproot and to tear them down, to demolish and to destroy, and to cause disaster, so will I be attentive to build and to plant them,” says the Lord.“ In those days, it will never again be said: The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.Rather, each will die for his own wrongdoing. Anyone who eats sour grapes— his own teeth will be set on edge.“ Look, the days are coming”— this is the Lord’s declaration—“ when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt— a covenant they broke even though I had married them”— the Lord’s declaration.“ Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days”— the Lord’s declaration.“ I will put My teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people.

After this I will pour out My Spirit on all humanity; then your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old men will have dreams, and your young men will see visions.I will even pour out My Spirit on the male and female slaves in those days.I will display wonders in the heavens and on the earth: blood, fire, and columns of smoke.The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and awe-inspiring Day of the Lord comes.Then everyone who calls on the name of Yahweh will be saved, for there will be an escape for those on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, as the Lord promised, among the survivors the Lord calls.

Take words of repentance with you and return to the Lord. Say to Him:“ Forgive all our sin and accept what is good, so that we may repay You with praise from our lips.Assyria will not save us, we will not ride on horses, and we will no longer proclaim,‘ Our gods!’ to the work of our hands. For the fatherless receives compassion in You.”I will heal their apostasy; I will freely love them, for My anger will have turned from him.I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like the lily and take root like the cedars of Lebanon.His new branches will spread, and his splendor will be like the olive tree, his fragrance, like the forest of Lebanon.The people will return and live beneath his shade. They will grow grain and blossom like the vine. His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon.Ephraim, why should I have anything more to do with idols? It is I who answer and watch over him. I am like a flourishing pine tree; your fruit comes from Me.Let whoever is wise understand these things, and whoever is insightful recognize them. For the ways of the Lord are right, and the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them.

“ Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God.“ Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and announce to her that her time of forced labor is over, her iniquity has been pardoned, and she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.”A voice of one crying out: Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert.Every valley will be lifted up, and every mountain and hill will be leveled; the uneven ground will become smooth and the rough places, a plain.And the glory of the Lord will appear, and all humanity together will see it, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.A voice was saying,“ Cry out!” Another said,“ What should I cry out?”“ All humanity is grass, and all its goodness is like the flower of the field.The grass withers, the flowers fade when the breath of the Lord blows on them; indeed, the people are grass.The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God remains forever.”Zion, herald of good news, go up on a high mountain. Jerusalem, herald of good news, raise your voice loudly. Raise it, do not be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah,“ Here is your God!”See, the Lord God comes with strength, and His power establishes His rule. His reward is with Him, and His gifts accompany Him.He protects His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them in the fold of His garment. He gently leads those that are nursing.Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand? Who has gathered the dust of the earth in a measure or weighed the mountains in a balance and the hills in the scales?Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, or who gave Him His counsel?Who did He consult with? Who gave Him understanding and taught Him the paths of justice? Who taught Him knowledge and showed Him the way of understanding?Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are considered as a speck of dust in the scales; He lifts up the islands like fine dust.Lebanon is not enough for fuel, or its animals enough for a burnt offering.All the nations are as nothing before Him; they are considered by Him as nothingness and emptiness.Who will you compare God with? What likeness will you compare Him to?To an idol?— something that a smelter casts, and a metalworker plates with gold and makes silver welds for it?To one who shapes a pedestal, choosing wood that does not rot? He looks for a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not fall over.Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not considered the foundations of the earth?God is enthroned above the circle of the earth; its inhabitants are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like thin cloth and spreads them out like a tent to live in.He reduces princes to nothing and makes judges of the earth irrational.They are barely planted, barely sown, their stem hardly takes root in the ground when He blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind carries them away like stubble.“ Who will you compare Me to, or who is My equal?” asks the Holy One.Look up and see: who created these? He brings out the starry host by number; He calls all of them by name. Because of His great power and strength, not one of them is missing.Jacob, why do you say, and Israel, why do you assert:“ My way is hidden from the Lord, and my claim is ignored by my God”?Do you not know? Have you not heard? Yahweh is the everlasting God, the Creator of the whole earth. He never grows faint or weary; there is no limit to His understanding.He gives strength to the weary and strengthens the powerless.Youths may faint and grow weary, and young men stumble and fall,but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint.

Therefore, I am going to persuade her, lead her to the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.There I will give her vineyards back to her and make the Valley of Achor into a gateway of hope. There she will respond as she did in the days of her youth, as in the day she came out of the land of Egypt.In that day— this is the Lord’s declaration— you will call Me,“ My husband,” and no longer call Me,“ My Baal.”For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth; they will no longer be remembered by their names.On that day I will make a covenant for them with the wild animals, the birds of the sky, and the creatures that crawl on the ground. I will shatter bow, sword, and weapons of war in the land and will enable the people to rest securely.I will take you to be My wife forever. I will take you to be My wife in righteousness, justice, love, and compassion.I will take you to be My wife in faithfulness, and you will know Yahweh.On that day I will respond— this is the Lord’s declaration. I will respond to the sky, and it will respond to the earth.The earth will respond to the grain, the new wine, and the oil, and they will respond to Jezreel.I will sow her in the land for Myself, and I will have compassion on No Compassion; I will say to Not My People: You are My people, and he will say,“ You are My God.”

Sing for joy, Daughter Zion; shout loudly, Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem!The Lord has removed your punishment; He has turned back your enemy. The King of Israel, Yahweh, is among you; you need no longer fear harm.On that day it will be said to Jerusalem:“ Do not fear; Zion, do not let your hands grow weak.Yahweh your God is among you, a warrior who saves. He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will bring you quietness with His love. He will delight in you with shouts of joy.”I will gather those who have been driven from the appointed festivals; they will be a tribute from you and a reproach on her.Yes, at that time I will deal with all who afflict you. I will save the lame and gather the scattered; I will make those who were disgraced throughout the earth receive praise and fame.At that time I will bring you back, yes, at the time I will gather you. I will give you fame and praise among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes. Yahweh has spoken.

Then each of the leaders of Judah will think to himself: The residents of Jerusalem are my strength through the Lord of Hosts, their God.On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves; they will consume all the peoples around them on the right and the left, while Jerusalem continues to be inhabited on its site, in Jerusalem.The Lord will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of David’s house and the glory of Jerusalem’s residents may not be greater than that of Judah.On that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that on that day the one who is weakest among them will be like David on that day, and the house of David will be like God, like the Angel of the Lord, before them.On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.“ Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the house of David and the residents of Jerusalem, and they will look at Me whom they pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly for Him as one weeps for a firstborn.

This is what the Lord says: I will certainly restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tents and show compassion on his dwellings. Every city will be rebuilt on its mound; every citadel will stand on its proper site.Thanksgiving will come out of them, a sound of celebration. I will multiply them, and they will not decrease; I will honor them, and they will not be insignificant.His children will be as in past days; his congregation will be established in My presence. I will punish all his oppressors.Jacob’s leader will be one of them; his ruler will issue from him. I will invite him to Me, and he will approach Me, for who would otherwise risk his life to approach Me? This is the Lord’s declaration.You will be My people, and I will be your God.

Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout in triumph, Daughter Jerusalem! Look, your King is coming to you; He is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem. The bow of war will be removed, and He will proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion will extend from sea to sea, from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.As for you, because of the blood of your covenant, I will release your prisoners from the waterless cistern.Return to a stronghold, you prisoners who have hope; today I declare that I will restore double to you.For I will bend Judah as My bow; I will fill that bow with Ephraim. I will rouse your sons, Zion, against your sons, Greece. I will make you like a warrior’s sword.Then the Lord will appear over them, and His arrow will fly like lightning. The Lord God will sound the trumpet and advance with the southern storms.The Lord of Hosts will defend them. They will consume and conquer with slingstones; they will drink and be rowdy as if with wine. They will be as full as the sprinkling basin, like those at the corners of the altar.The Lord their God will save them on that day as the flock of His people; for they are like jewels in a crown, sparkling over His land.How lovely and beautiful they will be! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine, the young women.

Shepherd Your people with Your staff, the flock that is Your possession. They live alone in a woodland surrounded by pastures. Let them graze in Bashan and Gilead as in ancient times.I will perform miracles for them as in the days of your exodus from the land of Egypt.Nations will see and be ashamed of all their power. They will put their hands over their mouths, and their ears will become deaf.They will lick the dust like a snake; they will come trembling out of their hiding places like reptiles slithering on the ground. They will tremble in the presence of Yahweh our God; they will stand in awe of You.Who is a God like You, removing iniquity and passing over rebellion for the remnant of His inheritance? He does not hold on to His anger forever, because He delights in faithful love.He will again have compassion on us; He will vanquish our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.You will show loyalty to Jacob and faithful love to Abraham, as You swore to our fathers from days long ago.

For the Lord of Hosts says this:“ As I resolved to treat you badly when your fathers provoked Me to anger, and I did not relent,” says the Lord of Hosts,“ so I have resolved again in these days to do what is good to Jerusalem and the house of Judah. Don’t be afraid.

Afterward, the people of Israel will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They will come with awe to the Lord and to His goodness in the last days.

Look, the eyes of the Lord God are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth. However, I will not totally destroy the house of Jacob— this is the Lord’s declaration—for I am about to give the command, and I will shake the house of Israel among all the nations, as one shakes a sieve, but not a pebble will fall to the ground.All the sinners among My people who say:“ Disaster will never overtake or confront us,” will die by the sword.In that day I will restore the fallen booth of David: I will repair its gaps, restore its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old,so that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that are called by My name— this is the Lord’s declaration— He will do this.Hear this! The days are coming— this is the Lord’s declaration— when the plowman will overtake the reaper and the one who treads grapes, the sower of seed. The mountains will drip with sweet wine, and all the hills will flow with it.I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel. They will rebuild and occupy ruined cities, plant vineyards and drink their wine, make gardens and eat their produce.I will plant them on their land, and they will never again be uprooted from the land I have given them. Yahweh your God has spoken.

He will stand and shepherd them in the strength of Yahweh, in the majestic name of Yahweh His God. They will live securely, for then His greatness will extend to the ends of the earth.He will be their peace. When Assyria invades our land, when it marches against our fortresses, we will raise against it seven shepherds, even eight leaders of men.They will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword, the land of Nimrod with a drawn blade. So He will rescue us from Assyria when it invades our land, when it marches against our territory.Then the remnant of Jacob will be among many peoples like dew from the Lord, like showers on the grass, which do not wait for anyone or linger for mankind.

“ Son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say: Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord.This is what the Lord God says: Because the enemy has said about you,‘ Good! The ancient heights have become our possession,’therefore, prophesy and say: This is what the Lord God says: Because they have made you desolate and have trampled you from every side, so that you became a possession for the rest of the nations and an object of people’s gossip and slander,therefore, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God. This is what the Lord God says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, to the desolate ruins and abandoned cities, which have become plunder and a mockery to the rest of the nations all around.“ This is what the Lord God says: Certainly in My burning zeal I speak against the rest of the nations and all of Edom, who took My land as their own possession with wholehearted rejoicing and utter contempt so that its pastureland became plunder.Therefore, prophesy concerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: This is what the Lord God says: Look, I speak in My burning zeal because you have endured the insults of the nations.Therefore this is what the Lord God says: I swear that the nations all around you will endure their own insults.“ You, mountains of Israel, will produce your branches and bear your fruit for My people Israel, since their arrival is near.Look! I am on your side; I will turn toward you, and you will be tilled and sown.I will fill you with people, with the whole house of Israel in its entirety. The cities will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt.I will fill you with people and animals, and they will increase and be fruitful. I will make you inhabited as you once were and make you better off than you were before. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.I will cause people, My people Israel, to walk on you; they will possess you, and you will be their inheritance. You will no longer deprive them of their children.“ This is what the Lord God says: Because people are saying to you,‘ You devour men and deprive your nation of children,’therefore, you will no longer devour men and deprive your nation of children.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.“ I will no longer allow the insults of the nations to be heard against you, and you will not have to endure the reproach of the peoples anymore; you will no longer cause your nation to stumble.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.The word of the Lord came to me:“ Son of man, while the house of Israel lived in their land, they defiled it with their conduct and actions. Their behavior before Me was like menstrual impurity.So I poured out My wrath on them because of the blood they had shed on the land, and because they had defiled it with their idols.I dispersed them among the nations, and they were scattered among the countries. I judged them according to their conduct and actions.When they came to the nations where they went, they profaned My holy name, because it was said about them,‘ These are the people of Yahweh, yet they had to leave His land in exile.’Then I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they went.“ Therefore, say to the house of Israel: This is what the Lord God says: It is not for your sake that I will act, house of Israel, but for My holy name, which you profaned among the nations where you went.I will honor the holiness of My great name, which has been profaned among the nations— the name you have profaned among them. The nations will know that I am Yahweh”— the declaration of the Lord God—“ when I demonstrate My holiness through you in their sight.“ For I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries, and will bring you into your own land.I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.I will place My Spirit within you and cause you to follow My statutes and carefully observe My ordinances.Then you will live in the land that I gave your fathers; you will be My people, and I will be your God.I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will summon the grain and make it plentiful, and will not bring famine on you.I will also make the fruit of the trees and the produce of the field plentiful, so that you will no longer experience reproach among the nations on account of famine.“ Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and detestable practices.It is not for your sake that I will act”— the declaration of the Lord God—“ let this be known to you. Be ashamed and humiliated because of your ways, house of Israel!“ This is what the Lord God says: On the day I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the ruins will be rebuilt.The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of everyone who passes by.Then they will say,‘ This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden. The cities that were once ruined, desolate, and destroyed are now fortified and inhabited.’Then the nations that remain around you will know that I, Yahweh, have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I, Yahweh, have spoken and I will do it.“ This is what the Lord God says: I will respond to the house of Israel and do this for them: I will multiply them in number like a flock.

But didn’t My words and My statutes that I commanded My servants the prophets overtake your ancestors? They repented and said: As the Lord of Hosts purposed to deal with us for our ways and deeds, so He has dealt with us.”

On that day, the words HOLY TO THE LORD will be on the bells of the horses. The pots in the house of the Lord will be like the sprinkling basins before the altar.Every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the Lord of Hosts. Everyone who sacrifices will come and take some of the pots to cook in. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord of Hosts.

A second angel followed, saying:“ It has fallen, Babylon the Great has fallen, who made all nations drink the wine of her sexual immorality, which brings wrath.”And a third angel followed them and spoke with a loud voice:“ If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand,he will also drink the wine of God’s wrath, which is mixed full strength in the cup of His anger. He will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the sight of the holy angels and in the sight of the Lamb,and the smoke of their torment will go up forever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or anyone who receives the mark of his name.This demands the perseverance of the saints, who keep God’s commands and their faith in Jesus.”Then I heard a voice from heaven saying,“ Write: The dead who die in the Lord from now on are blessed.”“ Yes,” says the Spirit,“ let them rest from their labors, for their works follow them!”Then I looked, and there was a white cloud, and One like the Son of Man was seated on the cloud, with a gold crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand.

“ As for you, son of man, prophesy against Gog and say: This is what the Lord God says: Look, I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.I will turn you around, drive you on, and lead you up from the remotest parts of the north. I will bring you against the mountains of Israel.Then I will knock your bow from your left hand and make your arrows drop from your right hand.You, all your troops, and the peoples who are with you will fall on the mountains of Israel. I will give you as food to every kind of predatory bird and to the wild animals.You will fall on the open field, for I have spoken.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.“ I will send fire against Magog and those who live securely on the coasts and islands. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.So I will make My holy name known among My people Israel and will no longer allow it to be profaned. Then the nations will know that I am Yahweh, the Holy One in Israel.Yes, it is coming, and it will happen.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.“ This is the day I have spoken about.“ Then the inhabitants of Israel’s cities will go out, kindle fires, and burn the weapons— the bucklers and shields, the bows and arrows, the clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them to make fires.They will not gather wood from the countryside or cut it down from the forests, for they will use the weapons to make fires. They will take the loot from those who looted them and plunder those who plundered them.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.“ Now on that day I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel— the Valley of the Travelers east of the Sea. It will block those who travel through, for Gog and all his hordes will be buried there. So it will be called the Valley of Hamon-gog.The house of Israel will spend seven months burying them in order to cleanse the land.All the people of the land will bury them and their fame will spread on the day I display My glory.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.“ They will appoint men on a full-time basis to pass through the land and bury the invaders who remain on the surface of the ground, in order to cleanse it. They will make their search at the end of the seven months.When they pass through the land and one of them sees a human bone, he will set up a marker next to it until the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon-gog.There will even be a city named Hamonah there. So they will cleanse the land.“ Son of man, this is what the Lord God says: Tell every kind of bird and all the wild animals: Assemble and come! Gather from all around to My sacrificial feast that I am slaughtering for you, a great feast on the mountains of Israel; you will eat flesh and drink blood.You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the earth’s princes: rams, lambs, male goats, and all the fattened bulls of Bashan.You will eat fat until you are satisfied and drink blood until you are drunk, at My sacrificial feast that I have prepared for you.At My table you will eat your fill of horses and riders, of mighty men and all the warriors.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.“ I will display My glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the judgment I have executed and the hand I have laid on them.From that day forward the house of Israel will know that I am Yahweh their God.And the nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile on account of their iniquity, because they dealt unfaithfully with Me. Therefore, I hid My face from them and handed them over to their enemies, so that they all fell by the sword.I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and transgressions, and I hid My face from them.“ So this is what the Lord God says: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have compassion on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for My holy name.They will feel remorse for their disgrace and all the unfaithfulness they committed against Me, when they live securely in their land with no one to frighten them.When I bring them back from the peoples and gather them from the countries of their enemies, I will demonstrate My holiness through them in the sight of many nations.They will know that I am Yahweh their God when I regather them to their own land after having exiled them among the nations. I will leave none of them behind.I will no longer hide My face from them, for I will pour out My Spirit on the house of Israel.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.