The Lord told Ezekiel, This is what the Lord says, Set your face against the mountain called Seir and tell My words against it, saying, I will make you so empty.

All your cities will have no people or animals or stuff, just wind and dust blowing through. Then you will know that I am the Lord who is controlling everything.

I am going to do this because you always hated My people, the children of Israel. You always hated them and didn’t ever stop even for a minute.

You stuck them with the sword and spilled their blood all over the ground. So your hills and your valleys and your rivers will be full of the your dead ones laying around.

Because you said, I will take these two countries of the Lord’s and keep them for myself. You said lots of big words against Me. I heard all of them.

The whole world

will be really happy when I make you empty.

You were so happy when the house of Israel was made empty, so I will do the same thing to you. And they will know that I am the Lord.

The Lord then told Ezekiel, Tell the mountains of Israel, O mountains of Israel, hear what the Lord says: Because the enemy said, we will take you to keep for ourselves.

My fire burns against them because they hated you so much.

But look at this, ‘I am for you.’ Your branches will shoot out real far and be full of fat fruit.

I will fill you up with good men who will plow your land and plant crops and have lots of food and not be sad or empty anymore.

You won’t be embarrassed or ashamed and the people of the nations won’t take your stuff anymore. I did bad to them because they turned away from Me to the bad ones, but now I will be kind and help them.

I will make them clean again. I will put My Spirit in them and take away their badness and they will live in the land I gave their fathers

And they will always have plenty of food for everyone. Then you will remember and be sad for all the bad stuff you did.

I will build all the ruined places and plant the empty fields. I have said it and I will do it.

Their empty cities will be filled with lots of happy people and they will know that I am the Lord.

The hand of the Lord came on Ezekiel and the Lord picked up Ezekiel and carried him to a valley and set him down there. The valley was full of dry old bones of people who had been dead for a long time.

The Lord asked Ezekiel, Can these bones live again? Ezekiel said, O Lord God, you know if they can.

Then the Lord said, Talk over these bones because I will cause breath to go into them and they will live.

All of the muscles and skin will come back on them and they will live again. And they will know that I am the Lord who can do everything.

So Ezekiel talked and said over the bones what the Lord told him and stood there and watched as the bones started shaking all through the valley and the bones got together at each right place and the muscles and skin came back on them and they stood up on their feet. But there was no breath in them.

Then the Lord said to Ezekiel, Talk to the wind and say, This is what the Lord God says, Come from the four winds, O Spirit of life, and breath on these dead ones so that they will be alive.

So Ezekiel did what the Lord said and the wind came and the breath came into them and they were alive, a very great army standing on their feet.

Then the Lord said to Ezekiel, These bones are the whole family of Israel. They say, Our bones are dry, our good thinking about tomorrow is all gone, and we are cut off.

But say to them, This is what the Lord God says, Look, O My people, I will open your graves and bring you back to My special land of Israel, and then you will be sure that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves and brought you out.

I will put My Spirit on you and you will live. And I will put you in your own land. Then you will know that I said it and I did it.

And Ezekiel, the Lord said, Go out in front of the people and take a stick and write the name of Judah on it. And then take another stick and write the name of Joseph on it for Ephraim and all the rest of the house of Israel.

Now tie the two sticks together real tight so they are like one stick in your hand.

Then when the people ask you what you did with the sticks and what it means, tell them that I will take My two countries and make them be one country.

I will take My people from all over the world and bring them back to My land, to the mountains of Israel, and they will be only one country of people.

And I will put one king over them. And they won’t make themselves dirty and stinky with the statues they make for gods anymore. They won’t do anything from the bad one anymore.

I will save them from all the places they were captured and they will be My people and I will be their God.

They will do what I say and it will be very good for them. It will be happy and quiet and full of good things and no more hurting and crying.

My tent will be in them middle of them. I will be theirs and they will be Mine.

And all the countries will know that I, the Lord, do make them special when My house is in the middle of them forever.

Later, the Lord told Ezekiel, Set your face against the country called Gog that is far to the north of you.

Tell them, This is what the Lord God says, I am against you, O Gog. I will turn you back and put a hook in your jaw and bring you and your army out with all their horses and swords and spears and shields and helmets.

Get ready for a big battle because after many days big trouble is coming. You will plan to go up and steal everything from My people after I bring them home to My special land and make them safe and happy again.

It will make Me so mad that everything in the world will shake when I get mad about this: all the birds and the fish and animals and people. The mountains will tumble over and all the walls will fall down.

All the men will fight each other with swords and I will rain down big hailstones with fire and melting rocks on them.

Then all the countries of the world will see and know that I am the Lord when I will burn you up with a big fire.