1 Also thou sonne of man, prophecie vnto the mountaines of Israel, and say; Ye mountaines of Israel, Heare the word of the Lord.
2 Thus saith the Lord God, Because the enemy had said against you, Aha, euen the ancient high places are ours in possession:
3 Therfore prophecie and say, Thus saith the Lord God, Because they haue made you desolate, and swallowed you vp on euery side, that ye might be a possession vnto the residue of the heathen, and ye are taken vp in the lips of talkers, and are an infamy of the people:
4 Therefore ye mountaines of Israel, heare the word of the Lord God, Thus saith the Lord God to the mountaines and to the hilles, to the riuers and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes, and to the cities that are forsaken, which became a pray and derision to the residue of the heathen that are round about:
5 Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Surely in the fire of my ielousie haue I spoken against the residue of the heathen, and against al Idumea, which haue appointed my land into their possession, with the ioy of all their heart, with despitefull minds to cast it out for a praye.
6 Prophecie therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say vnto the mountaines and to the hilles, to the riuers and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I haue spoken in my iealousie and in my furie, because ye haue borne the shame of the heathen,
7 Therefore thus saith the Lord God, I haue lifted vp mine hand, Surely the heathen that are about you, they shall beare their shame.
8 ¶ But ye, O mountaines of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yeeld your fruit to my people of Israel, for they are at hand to come.
9 For behold, I am for you, and I will turne vnto you, and ye shall be tilled and sowen.
10 And I will multiplie men vpon you, all the house of Israel, euen all of it, and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded.
11 And I will multiply vpon you man and beast, and they shall increase and bring fruite, and I will settle you after your olde estates: and will doe better vnto you, then at your beginnings, and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
12 Yea I will cause men to walke vpon you, euen my people Israel, and they shall possesse thee, and thou shalt be their inheritance, and thou shalt no more henceforth bereaue them of men.
13 Thus saith the Lord God, Because they say vnto you, Thou land deuourest vp men, and hast bereaued thy nations,
14 Therefore thou shalt deuoure men no more, neither bereaue thy nations any more, saith the Lord God.
15 Neither will I cause men to heare in thee the shame of the heathen any more, neither shalt thou beare the reproch of the people any more, neither shalt thou cause the nations to fall any more, saith the Lord God.
16 ¶ Moreouer the worde of the Lord came vnto me, saying,
17 Sonne of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their owne way, and by their doings: their way was before me as the vncleannesse of a remooued woman.
18 Wherefore I powred my furie vpon them for the blood that they had shed vpon the land, and for their idoles wherewith they had polluted it.
19 And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countreys: according to their way and according to their doings I iudged them.
20 And when they entred vnto the heathen whither they went, they prophaned my holy Name, when they said to them, These are the people of the Lord, and are gone forth out of his land.
21 ¶ But I had pitie for mine holy Name, which the house of Israel had prophaned among the heathen, whither they went.
22 Therefore say vnto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God, I doe not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy Names sake, which ye haue prophaned among the heathen, whither ye went.
23 And I will sanctifie my great Name which was prophaned among the heathen, which ye haue prophaned in the midst of them, and the heathen shall know, that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.
24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countreys, and will bring you into your owne land.
25 ¶ Then will I sprinckle cleane water vpon you, and ye shalbe cleane: from all your filthinesse, and from all your idoles wil I cleanse you.
26 A new heart also will I giue you, and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the stonie heart out of your flesh, and I will giue you an heart of flesh.
27 And I wil put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walke in my Statutes, and ye shall keepe my iudgements, and doe them.
28 And ye shall dwel in the land that I gaue to your fathers, and ye shall be my people, and I wil be your God.
29 I wil also saue you from all your vncleannesses, and I will call for the corne, and will increase it, and lay no famine vpon you.
30 And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that yee shall receiue no more reproch of famine among the heathen.
31 Then shall yee remember your owne euil waies, and your doings that were not good, and shall lothe your selues in your owne sight for your iniquities, and for your abominations.
32 Not for your sakes doe I this, saith the Lord God, be it knowen vnto you: be ashamed and confounded for your owne wayes, O house of Israel.
33 Thus saith the Lord God, In the day that I shall haue cleansed you from all your iniquities, I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shalbe builded.
34 And the desolate land shalbe tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by.
35 And they shall say, This land that was desolate, is become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities, are become fenced, and are inhabited.
36 Then the heathen that are left round about you, shall know that I the Lord build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the Lord haue spoken it, and I wil doe it.
37 Thus saith the Lord God, I wil yet for this bee enquired of by the house of Israel, to doe it for them: I will increase them with men like a flocke.
38 As the holy flocke, as the flocke of Ierusalem in her solemne feastes, so shal the waste cities be filled with flocks of men, and they shall know that I am the Lord.
The land shall be delivered from heathen oppressors. (1-15) The people are reminded of former sins, and promised deliverance. (16-24) Also holiness, and gospel blessings. (25-38)1-15 Those who put contempt and reproach on God's people, will have them turned on themselves. God promises favour to his Israel. We have no reason to complain, if the more unkind men are, the more kind God is. They shall come again to their own border. It was a type of the heavenly Canaan, of which all God's children are heirs, and into which they all shall be brought together. And when God returns in mercy to a people who return to him in duty, all their grievances will be set right. The full completion of this prophecy must be in some future event.
16-24 The restoration of that people, being typical of our redemption by Christ, shows that the end aimed at in our salvation is the glory of God. The sin of a people defiles their land; renders it abominable to God, and uncomfortable to themselves. God's holy name is his great name; his holiness is his greatness, nor does any thing else make a man truly great.
25-38 Water is an emblem of the cleansing our polluted souls from sin. But no water can do more than take away the filth of the flesh. Water seems in general the sacramental sign of the sanctifying influences of the Holy Ghost; yet this is always connected with the atoning blood of Christ. When the latter is applied by faith to the conscience, to cleanse it from evil works, the former is always applied to the powers of the soul, to purify it from the pollution of sin. All that have an interest in the new covenant, have a new heart and a new spirit, in order to their walking in newness of life. God would give a heart of flesh, a soft and tender heart, complying with his holy will. Renewing grace works as great a change in the soul, as the turning a dead stone into living flesh. God will put his Spirit within, as a Teacher, Guide, and Sanctifier. The promise of God's grace to fit us for our duty, should quicken our constant care and endeavour to do our duty. These are promises to be pleaded by, and will be fulfilled to, all true believers in every age.
Commentary by Matthew Henry, 1710.