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| 1 Thou, therefore, Son of man, Prophesy unto the mountains of Israel,–and thou shalt say, Ye mountains of Israel, Hear ye the word of Yahweh. |
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| 2 Thus, saith My Lord, Yahweh, Because the enemy hath said concerning you, Aha! Even the high places of age-past times, for a possession, have become ours, |
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| 3 Therefore, prophesy, and thou shalt say, Thus, saith My Lord, Yahweh,–Because, even because, they have desolated and panted for you, on every side, That ye should become a possession to the rest of the nations, And ye have come up into the talk of the tongue and the slander of the people, |
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| 4 Therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear ye the word of My Lord, Yahweh,–Thus, saith My Lord, Yahweh, To the mountains and to the hills, to the channels and to the valleys, and to the desolate waste places, and to the cities that are forsaken, which have become a prey and a derision, to the rest of the nations, which are on every side: |
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| 5 Therefore, Thus, saith My Lord, Yahweh, Surely, in the fire of my jealousy, have I spoken against the rest of the nations, and against Edom, all of it,–Who have given my land to themselves for a possession, In the rejoicing of all the heart, In contempt of soul, To make of its produce a prey. |
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| 6 Therefore, prophesy, concerning the soil of Israel,–and say to the mountains and to the hills, to the channels and to the valleys, Thus, saith My Lord, Yahweh, Behold me! In my jealousy and in mine indignation, have I spoken, Because, the insult of the nations, ye have borne; |
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| 7 Therefore, Thus, saith My Lord, Yahweh, I myself, have lifted my hand,–Surely, the nations which are yours round about, they, their own shame, shall bear: |
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| 8 But, ye, O mountains of Israel, Your boughs, shall ye shoot forth, And, your fruit, shall ye bear, For my people Israel, For they have drawn near to enter, |
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| 9 For lo! I am towards you, Therefore will I turn towards you, And ye shall be tilled, and sown; |
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| 10 And I will multiply, upon you–men, All the house of Israel, All of it, Then shall the cities, be inhabited, And, the waste places, shall be built, |
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| 11 And I will multiply upon you–man and beast, And they shall multiply and be fruitful,–And I will cause you to be inhabited as in your former estates, And will do you more good than at your beginnings, So shall ye know, that, I, am Yahweh; |
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| 12 And I will bring upon you–men, even my people Israel, That they may possess thee, So shalt thou be theirs, as an inheritance,–And thou shalt no more again, make them childless. |
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| 13 Thus, saith My Lord, Yahweh, Because they are saying to you, A devourer of men, thou art, And, one that didst make childless thy nations, hast thou been, |
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| 14 Therefore, men, shalt thou not devour any more,–And, thy nations, shalt thou make childless no more, Declareth My Lord, Yahweh; |
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| 15 And I will not suffer to be heard against thee, any more, the insult of the nations, And, the reproach of the peoples, shalt thou not bear any more,–And, thy nations, shalt thou not cause to stumble any more, Declareth My Lord, Yahweh. |
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| 16 And the word of Yahweh came, unto me, saying: |
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| 17 Son of man, The house of Israel, were dwelling upon their own soil, But they defiled it, by their way, and by their doings. Like the defilement of her that is removed, became their way before me. |
Son of man – Ezekiel, representing the Lord in their midst, even in the land of their captivity--for 22 years delivering unto them the word of the Lord. R1373:4[R1373], R2503:1
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| 18 So I poured out mine indignation upon them, Because of the blood which they had shed upon the land,–Yea, with their manufactured gods, had they defiled it. |
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| 19 So I dispersed them among the nations, And they were scattered throughout the lands,–According to their way and according to their doings, I judged them. |
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| 20 But, when they entered among the nations where they did enter, then profaned they my holy, Name,–in that it was said of them, The people of Yahweh, these! Yet, from his land, have they come forth! |
Profaned my holy name – They brought disgrace upon the name of the Lord in all the countries whither they went. R1373:5[R1373]
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| 21 So then I had tender regard for my holy, Name,–Which the house of Israel, had profaned, among the nations, where they had entered. |
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| 22 Therefore, say thou to the house of Israel, Thus, saith My Lord, Yahweh, Not for your sakes, am I, working, O house of Israel, But for my holy, Name, which ye have profaned, among the nations where ye have entered; |
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| 23 Therefore will I hallow my great, Name, that hath been profaned among the nations, which ye have profaned in their midst,–So shall the nations know, that, I, am Yahweh, Declareth My Lord, Yahweh, When I have hallowed myself in you, before their eyes. |
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| 24 Therefore will I take you from among the nations, And gather you out of all the lands,–And will bring you upon your own soil; |
From among the heathen – Out of all nations. OV67:1
And gather you – This great regathering of all Israel to the land of promise, which shall by and by include their risen dead, is already begun. R1374:1
Out of all countries – From every quarter of the world. OV67:1
Into your own land – Not all Jews, but some of the most pious and zealous, will gather in Palestine. OV67:1
This unquestionably refers to the literal and final regathering of Israel to Palestine. R1373:6
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| 25 And I will throw upon you clean water, and ye shall be clean,–From all your uncleannesses and from all your manufactured gods, will I cleanse you; |
Then will I – Through the Millennial reign of Christ. A333
Not before, but after, their return. R101:6, R1373:5
Sprinkle clean water – Pure truth and righteous influence. R1374:2, R101:6
Would seem to signify the application of the truth. R2503:5
Had some fulfilment in those who returned from Babylonian captivity, who were influenced by the truth of the promises made to the fathers. R2503:6
Cleanse you – There will be no desire nor temptation to idolatrous worship then. Satan shall be bound. R1374:2
In chastising, correcting, forgiving, restoring and promising to reinstate them to his favor, he is illustrating his great love and mercy toward the whole world. R1373:4
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| 26 And I will give you a new heart, And, a new spirit, will I put within you,–And I will take away the heart of stone, out of your flesh, And will give you a heart of flesh; |
A new heart – Renewed, or repaired; such as belongs to perfect manhood. R636:6, R1374:2, R5164:4
God purposes to settle the whole matter for rich and poor in his own way--and his way must be the best way. He purposes to change the hearts of men. R5154:6; HG578:3
The work of re-writing the divine character in the heart, which will progress in the world for 1000 years, is already begun in the Church. We write these qualities within our own hearts. R5309:5
The new heart condition is essential also to spiritual Israel--to be free from idols and separated to the Lord God. R2505:1
The creating of man was a momentary act, but the re-creating, the re-generation, the re-newing, the re-storing of the heart will be a gradual work. R1374:4, R2503:6
Will I give you – Jesus did not do this at the first advent. This was to be still a future work, the work of the Kingdom. R5886:1
A new spirit – Such as Adam had before sin entered. R111:1
New will, new mind, new disposition. This must come first before the new heart condition can be attained. R2504:3, R2503:1
I will take away – By means of the afflictions of the time of trouble. R2504:1
The gradual work of the Mediatorial Kingdom by instruction in righteousness. R5292:3, R2504:2
Sin is now written on the hearts of all humanity. This must first be blotted out and the former image--the law of God-- reinstated before men will be perfect men. R276:4
Through the better sacrifices, the antitypical Mediator will have the power to start the people with a clean slate. R5292:3
The stony heart – Of self-will and self-gratification; calloused and depraved. R2504:1, R636:6
The stony heart condition means "me," "my," "mine," "right if I can, wrong if I must." R2504:1
Not take away their flesh and make them spiritual beings. R276:4
It will be a time for melting and mellowing all hearts. R1655:3
Israel is probably as much, and probably no more, affected with the stony heart condition than any other nation. R2504:1
I will give you – Under the New covenant, the Lord will take away the sins and stony hearts of mankind. But the New covenant does not become personal between God and mankind until the Mediator steps out of the way. R4903:4
This change of heart is entirely aside from the making of the New covenant. It will take 1000 years to remove the stoniness out of the hearts of man and to make them stand without a mediator. R5164:4
An heart of flesh – The restored image of God. A310; R276:4, R2504:2
Tender, sympathetic, generous, godlike. R3202:6, R1374:2, R4777:2, R5154:6
Under the gracious terms of the New covenant during the Millennium. R5947:1, R4903:4, R4309:6
This work will proceed from Israel to all the families of the earth. R5058:5
The Mediator will have the power to start the people with a clean slate. R5292:3
With spiritual Israel the new heart is not a heart of flesh, for they are begotten unto the high calling to partake of the divine nature. R2505:4
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| 27 And, my spirit, will I put within you, And will cause, That, in my statutes, ye shall walk, And, my regulations, ye shall observe, and do; |
Put my spirit – A new will, mind or disposition, in harmony with God; the spirit of righteousness, truth and love; the spirit of grace and supplication. R2504:3,5, R1374:4
This does not refer to spiritual Israel, although spiritual Israel has a somewhat similar experience in advance. R2504:5
The same outpouring of the holy Spirit upon fleshly Israel is referred to by the Prophet Zechariah (Zech. 12:10) and directly applied to t R2504:5
Cause you to walk – Inclining and enabling them to be obedient. R1374:4
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| 28 And ye shall dwell in the land which I gave to your fathers,–And ye shall become my, people, And, I, will become your, God;
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Ye shall be my people – All who, under the New covenant, shall become his people, typified by Israel. R1655:3
After he has made provision for all, only those who accept of those New covenant favors will be recognized by him as "my people." R1374:4
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| 29 And I will save you, out of all your uncleannesses,–And will call for the corn, and will increase it, And will not lay upon you, famine; |
Will increase it – The land, which has been so long desolate and unproductive, will return to its former fertility. R107:4*
Artesian wells, irrigating canals, miracle wheat, the draining of marshes are all evidences of how these scriptures may be fulfilled. R4431:6
In connection with the transformation of heart and will, will come the blessing which the Lord promised upon the earth--it shall yield its increase. R2504:6
Many fold. R4431:6
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| 30 And I will multiply, The fruit of the tree, and, The increase of the field,–To the end that ye may not receive any more, the reproach of famine, among the nations. |
Multiply the fruit – Burbank and others have, under divine guidance, worked miracles in horticulture. R5058:2
Increase of the field – In a larger sense, the renewed earth, Paradise restored. R1374:4
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| 31 Then shall ye call to mind, Your ways that were wicked, and, Your doings that were not good,–And shall become loathsome in your own sight, For your iniquities, and, For your abominations. |
Shall ye remember – The restored being will recognize himself and neighbors of former acquaintance. R604:3
The restored ones will be reminded of their unworthiness of the free, unmerited gifts of God. R1374:5
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| 32 Not, for your sakes, am I, working, Declareth My Lord, Yahweh, be it known to you,–Turn ye pale and then blush for your ways, O house of Israel. |
Be ashamed – React with confusion and repentance. R1374:5
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| 33 Thus, saith My Lord, Yahweh, In the day when I cleanse you, from all your iniquities, Then will I cause the cities to be inhabited, And the waste places, shall be built; |
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| 34 And, the land that was made desolate, shall be tilled,–Whereas it was a desolation, before the eyes of every passer-by; |
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| 35 And they shall say, This land that was made desolate, hath become like the garden of Eden,–And, the cities that were waste and deserted and thrown down, now fenced, are inhabited; |
Land that was desolate – The land of Israel--the blessings beginning there will illustrate divine providence operating on behalf of those who are influenced by the truth and its spirit. R2504:6
The garden of Eden – The word "paradise" signifies "a delightful garden, park or pleasure ground." The Garden of Eden was the original Paradise, and mankind will be restored to that Edenic condition. Q845:1
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| 36 So shall the nations that may be left remaining round about you know, that, I Yahweh–Have built that which was thrown down, and, Have planted that which was made desolate,–I, Yahweh, have spoken, and performed. |
Then – In the Millennium. A333
Shall know – As these blessings progress, all will be witnesses of God's faithful goodness to his people. R1374:5
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| 37 Thus, saith My Lord, Yahweh, Even yet–for this, will I be prevailed upon by the house of Israel, to work for them,–I will multiply them–Like a flock–with men: |
Be inquired of – Cooperation necessary, prayer being a token of the soul's sincere desire. R1374:5
Like a flock – Every soul that longs for the truth is one of the Lord's lost sheep, and will be found during the Millennium. R1374:5
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| 38 Like a flock of holy offerings, Like the flock of Jerusalem, in her appointed feasts, So, shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men,–And they shall know, that, I, am Yahweh. |
Flocks of men – "Other sheep I have that are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd." (John 10:16) R1374:5
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