²² therefore, I will ^(A)save My flock, and they will no longer be plunder; and I will judge between one sheep and another.

²³ “Then I will ^(B)appoint over them one ^(C)shepherd, My servant ^(D)David, and he will feed them; he will feed them himself and be their shepherd. ²⁴ And I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant ^(E)David will be prince among them; I the Lord have spoken.

²⁵ “And I will make a ^(F)covenant of peace with them and ^(G)eliminate harmful animals from the land, so that they may ^(H)live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. ²⁶ I will make them and the places around My hill a ^(I)blessing. And I will make ^(J)showers fall in their season; they will be showers of ^(K)blessing. ²⁷ Also the tree of the field will yield its fruit and the earth will yield its produce, and they will be ^(L)secure on their land. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I have ^(M)broken the bars of their yoke and have saved them from the hand of those who enslaved them. ²⁸ They will no longer be plunder to the nations, and the animals of the earth will not devour them; but they will ^(N)live securely, and no one will make them afraid. ²⁹ I will establish for them a ^(O)renowned planting place, and they will ^(P)not again be ^[a]victims of famine in the land, and they will not ^(Q)endure the insults of the nations anymore. ³⁰ Then they will know that ^(R)I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people,” declares the Lord God. ³¹ “As for you, My ^(S)sheep, ^[b]the ^(T)sheep of My pasture, you are mankind, and I am your God,” declares the Lord God.

¹⁶ Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁷ “Son of man, when the house of Israel was living on their own land, they ^(A)defiled it by their ways and their deeds; their way before Me was like ^(B)the uncleanness of a woman in her impurity. ¹⁸ Therefore I ^(C)poured out My wrath on them for the blood which they had shed on the land, because they had defiled it with their idols. ¹⁹ I also ^(D)scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed throughout the lands. ^(E)According to their ways and their deeds I judged them. ²⁰ When they came to the nations where they went, they ^(F)profaned My holy name, because it was said of them, ‘These are the ^(G)people of the Lord, yet they have left His land.’ ²¹ But I had ^[a]concern for My ^(H)holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations where they went.

Israel to Be Renewed for His Name’s Sake

²² “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “It is ^(I)not for your sake, house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went. ²³ And I will ^(J)vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned among them. Then the ^(K)nations will know that I am the Lord,” declares the Lord God, “when I show Myself holy among you in their sight. ²⁴ For I will ^(L)take you from the nations, and gather you from all the lands; and I will bring you into your own land. ²⁵ Then I will ^(M)sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your ^(N)filthiness and from all your ^(O)idols. ²⁶ Moreover, I will give you a ^(P)new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the ^(Q)heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will ^(R)put My Spirit within you and bring it about that you walk in My statutes, and are careful and ^[b]follow My ordinances. ²⁸ And you will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be ^(S)My people, and I will be your God. ²⁹ Moreover, I will save you from all your uncleanness; and I will call for the grain and multiply it, and I ^(T)will not ^[c]bring a famine on you. ³⁰ Instead, I will ^(U)multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field, so that you will not receive again the disgrace of famine among the nations. ³¹ Then you will ^(V)remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for your wrongdoings and your abominations. ³² I am not doing this ^(W)for your sake,” declares the Lord God; “let that be known to you. Be ashamed and humiliated for your ways, house of Israel!”

³³ ‘This is what the Lord God says: “On the day that I cleanse you from all your wrongdoings, I will populate the ^(X)cities, and the ^(Y)places of ruins will be rebuilt. ³⁴ The desolated land will be cultivated instead of being a desolation in the sight of everyone who passes by. ³⁵ And they will say, ‘This desolated land has become like the ^(Z)Garden of Eden; and the waste, desolated and ruined cities are fortified and inhabited.’ ³⁶ Then the nations around you that are left will know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted that which was desolated; I, the Lord, have spoken, and I ^(AA)will do it.”

³⁷ ‘This is what the Lord God says: “This too I will let the house of Israel ask Me to do for them: I will increase their people like a flock. ³⁸ Like the ^(AB)flock ^[d]for sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so will the waste cities be filled with ^(AC)flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”’”