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| 1 And thou, son of man, prophesy unto mountains of Israel, and thou hast said, O mountains of Israel, hear a word of Jehovah. |
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| 2 Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because the enemy said against you, Aha, and the high places of old for a possession have been to us, |
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| 3 therefore, prophesy, and thou hast said: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because, even because, of desolating, And of swallowing you up from round about, For your being a possession to the remnant of the nations, And ye are taken up on the tip of the tongue, And [are] an evil report of the people. |
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| 4 Therefore, O mountains of Israel, Hear a word of the Lord Jehovah: Thus said the Lord Jehovah, to mountains, and to hills, To streams, and to valleys, And to wastes that [are] desolate, And to cities that are forsaken, That have been for a prey, And for a scorn, to the remnant of the nations who [are] round about. |
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| 5 Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Have I not, in the fire of My jealousy, Spoken against the remnant of the nations, And against Edom all of it, Who gave My land to themselves for a possession, With the joy of the whole heart with despite of soul, For the sake of casting it out for a prey |
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| 6 Therefore, prophesy concerning the ground of Israel, And thou hast said to mountains, and to hills, To streams, and to valleys, Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I, in My jealousy, and in My fury, I have spoken, Because the shame of nations ye have borne. |
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| 7 Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: I I have lifted up My hand, Do not the nations who [are] with you from round about they their own shame bear |
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| 8 And ye, O mountains of Israel, Your branch ye give out, and your fruits ye bear for My people Israel, For they have drawn near to come. |
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| 9 For, lo, I [am] for you, and have turned to you, And ye have been tilled and sown. |
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| 10 And I have multiplied on you men, All the house of Israel all of it, And the cities have been inhabited, And the wastes are built. |
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| 11 And I have multiplied on you man and beast, And they have multiplied and been fruitful, And I have caused you to dwell according to your former states, And I have done better than at your beginnings, And ye have known that I [am] Jehovah. |
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| 12 And I have caused man to walk over you, My people Israel, And they possess thee, and thou hast been to them for an inheritance, And thou dost add no more to bereave them. |
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| 13 Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because they are saying to you: A devourer of men [art] thou, And a bereaver of thy nations thou hast been, |
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| 14 Therefore, man thou devourest no more, And thy nations thou causest not to stumble any more, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah. |
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| 15 And I proclaim not unto thee any more the shame of the nations, And the reproach of peoples thou bearest no more, And thy nations stumble not any more, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.' |
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| 16 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying, |
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| 17 'Son of man, The house of Israel are dwelling on their land, And they defile it by their way and by their doings, As the uncleanness of a separated one hath their way been 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 And I do pour out My fury upon them For the blood that they shed on the land, And with their idols they have defiled it. |
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| 19 And I scatter them among nations, And they are spread through lands, According to their way, and according to their doings, I have judged them. |
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| 20 And one goeth in unto the nations whither they have gone, And they pollute My holy name by saying to them, The people of Jehovah [are] these, And from His land they have gone 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 And I have pity on My holy name, That the house of Israel have polluted among nations whither they have gone in. |
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| 22 Therefore, say to the house of Israel, Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Not for your sake am I working, O house of Israel, But for My holy name, That ye have polluted among nations whither ye have gone in. |
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| 23 And I have sanctified My great name, That is profaned among nations, That ye have polluted in your midst, And known have the nations that I [am] Jehovah, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, In My being sanctified in you before your eyes. |
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| 24 And I have taken you out of the nations, And have gathered you out of all the lands, And I have brought you in unto your land, |
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 have sprinkled over you clean water, And ye have been clean; From all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols, I do 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 have given to you a new heart, And a new spirit I give in your midst, And I have turned aside the heart of stone out of your flesh, And I have given to 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 I give in your midst, And I have done this, so that in My statutes ye walk, And My judgments ye keep, and have done them. |
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 have dwelt in the land that I have given to your fathers, And ye have been to Me for a people, And I I am to you for God. |
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 have saved you from all your uncleannesses, And I have called unto the corn, and multiplied it, And I have put no famine upon you. |
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 have multiplied the fruit of the tree, And the increase of the field, So that ye receive not any more a reproach of famine among 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 And ye have remembered your ways that [are] evil, And your doings that [are] not good, And have been loathsome in your own faces, 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 sake am I working, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Be it known to you, Be ashamed and confounded, because of your ways, O house of Israel. |
Be ashamed – React with confusion and repentance. R1374:5
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| 33 Thus said the Lord Jehovah: In the day of My cleansing you from all your iniquities, I have caused the cities to be inhabited, And the wastes have been built, |
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| 34 And the desolate land is tilled, Instead of which it was a desolation before the eyes of every passer by, |
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| 35 And they have said: This land, that was desolated, Hath been as the garden of Eden, And the cities the wasted, And the desolated, and the broken down, Fenced places have remained. |
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 And known have the nations who are left round about you, That I Jehovah have built the thrown down, I have planted the desolated: I Jehovah have spoken, and I have done [it]. |
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 said the Lord Jehovah: Yet this I am required, By the house of Israel to do to them, I multiply them as a flock of 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 As a flock of holy ones, as a flock of Jerusalem, In her appointed seasons, So are the waste cities full of flocks of men, And they have known that I [am] Jehovah!' |
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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