Yehezkiel 36:18-23

36:18 So I poured my anger on them ¹  because of the blood they shed on the land and because of the idols with which they defiled it. ²  36:19 I scattered them among the nations; they were dispersed throughout foreign countries. In accordance with their behavior and their deeds I judged them. 36:20 But when they arrived in the nations where they went, they profaned my holy name. It was said of them, ‘These are the people of the Lord, yet they have departed from his land.’ 36:21 I was concerned for my holy reputation ³  which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they went.

36:22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake that I am about to act, O house of Israel, but for the sake of my holy reputation ⁴  which you profaned among the nations where you went. 36:23 I will magnify ⁵  my great name that has been profaned among the nations, that you have profaned among them. The nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the sovereign Lord, when I magnify myself among you in their sight.

Yehezkiel 36:36

36:36 Then the nations which remain around you will know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruins and replanted what was desolate. I, the Lord, have spoken – and I will do it!’

[36:18]  ¹ sn See Ezek 7:8; 9:8; 14:19; 20:8, 13, 21; 22:22; 30:15.

[36:18]  ² sn For the concept of defiling the land in legal literature, see Lev 18:28; Deut 21:23.

[36:21]  ³ tn Heb “name.”

[36:22]  ⁴ sn In Ezek 20:22 God refrained from punishment for the sake of his holy name. Here God’s reputation is the basis for Israel’s restoration.

[36:23]  ⁵ tn Or “sanctify,” Heb “make holy.”