And I will multiply people on you, all the house of Israel, all of it; and the cities will be inhabited and the ruins will be rebuilt.
Parallel translations
- WEB and I will multiply men on you, all the house of Israel, even all of it; and the cities shall be inhabited, and the waste places shall be built;
- KJV And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded:
- BSB I will multiply the people upon you—the house of Israel in its entirety. The cities will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt.
- NKJV I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, all of it; and the cities shall be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt.
- NLT I will greatly increase the population of Israel, and the ruined cities will be rebuilt and filled with people.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God will multiply people on the land—all Israel—so the cities are inhabited and ruins rebuilt. Population and restoration return to the desolate places.
Overview
The promise of multiplied inhabitants, rebuilt cities, and restored waste places reverses the depopulation of exile. 'All the house of Israel, even all of it' hints at a reunited people, healing the old division of north and south. This regathering and rebuilding anticipates the gathering of God's people into one body and the building of the church, the true house of God (Eph. 2:19-22).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Ezek 36:33Thus says the Lord Yahweh: In the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be built.
- Jer 30:19Out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of those who make merry. I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they will not be small.
- Jer 33:12Yahweh of Armies says: “Yet again shall there be in this place, which is waste, without man and without animal, and in all its cities, a habitation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down.
- Isa 27:6In days to come, Jacob will take root. Israel will blossom and bud. They will fill the surface of the world with fruit.
- Ezek 36:37Thus says the Lord Yahweh: For this, moreover, will I be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them: I will increase them with men like a flock.
- Jer 31:27–28“Behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of animal.
- Isa 61:4They will rebuild the old ruins. They will raise up the places long devastated. They will repair the ruined cities, that have been devastated for many generations.
- Isa 52:9Break out into joy, sing together, you waste places of Jerusalem; for Yahweh has comforted his people. He has redeemed Jerusalem.
- Isa 58:12Those who shall be of you shall build the old waste places; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called Repairer of the Breach, Restorer of Paths with Dwellings.
- Isa 49:17–23Your children hurry. Your destroyers and those who devastated you will leave you.
- Zech 8:3–6Yahweh says: “I have returned to Zion, and will dwell in the middle of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be called ‘The City of Truth;’ and the mountain of Yahweh of Armies, ‘The Holy Mountain.’”
- Isa 51:3For Yahweh has comforted Zion. He has comforted all her waste places, and has made her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of Yahweh. Joy and gladness will be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
- Isa 41:17–23The poor and needy seek water, and there is none. Their tongue fails for thirst. I, Yahweh, will answer them. I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
- Amos 9:14I will bring my people Israel back from captivity, and they will rebuild the ruined cities, and inhabit them; and they will plant vineyards, and drink wine from them. They shall also make gardens, and eat their fruit.
- Jer 31:10–14“Hear Yahweh’s word, you nations, and declare it in the islands afar off; and say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd does his flock.’
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Christ at the center
The promise of one Shepherd-King David, a new heart and new Spirit, and the river of life flowing from the temple all stream toward Christ, the good Shepherd who gives the Spirit.
How Ezekiel 36:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.