Add parallel Print Page Options

24 “‘I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries; then I will bring you to your land. 25 I will sprinkle you with pure water,[a] and you will be clean from all your impurities. I will purify you from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will remove the heart of stone[b] from your body and give you a heart of flesh.[c] 27 I will put my Spirit within you;[d] I will take the initiative, and you will obey my statutes[e] and carefully observe my regulations.[f] 28 Then you will live in the land I gave to your fathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God.[g]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 36:25 sn The Lord here uses a metaphor from the realm of ritual purification. For the use of water in ritual cleansing, see Exod 30:19-20; Lev 14:51; Num 19:18; Heb 10:22.
  2. Ezekiel 36:26 sn That is, a heart that symbolizes a will that is stubborn and unresponsive (see 1 Sam 25:37). In Rabbinic literature a “stone” was associated with an evil inclination (b. Sukkah 52a).
  3. Ezekiel 36:26 sn That is, a heart that symbolizes a will that is responsive and obedient to God.
  4. Ezekiel 36:27 tn Or “in the midst of you.” The word “you” is plural.
  5. Ezekiel 36:27 tn Heb “and I will do that which in my statutes you will walk.” The awkward syntax (verb “to do, act” + accusative sign + relative clause + prepositional phrase + second person verb) is unique, though Eccl 3:14 contains a similar construction. In the last line of that verse we read that “God acts so that (relative pronoun) they fear before him.” However, unlike Ezek 36:27, the statement has no accusative sign before the relative pronoun.
  6. Ezekiel 36:27 tn Heb “and my laws you will guard and you will do them.” Jer 31:31-34 is parallel to this passage.
  7. Ezekiel 36:28 sn This promise reflects the ancient covenantal ideal (see Exod 6:7).

24 “‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land.(A) 25 I will sprinkle(B) clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse(C) you from all your impurities(D) and from all your idols.(E) 26 I will give you a new heart(F) and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone(G) and give you a heart of flesh.(H) 27 And I will put my Spirit(I) in you and move you to follow my decrees(J) and be careful to keep my laws.(K) 28 Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people,(L) and I will be your God.(M)

Read full chapter