Breath of Life

³³ The LORD God proclaims: On the day that I cleanse you of all your guilt, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the ruins will be rebuilt. ³⁴ The desolate land will be farmed, and it won’t be like it was when it seemed a wasteland to all who passed by. ³⁵ They will say, “This land, which was a desolation, has become like the garden of Eden.” And the cities that were ruined, ravaged, and razed are now fortified and inhabited. ³⁶ The surviving nations around you will know that I, the LORD, have rebuilt what was torn down and have planted what was made desolate. I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will do it. ³⁷ The LORD God proclaims: I will also allow the house of Israel to ask me to do this for them: that I increase them like a human flock. ³⁸ Like the holy flock, like the flock of Jerusalem at its festivals, the ruined cities will be filled with a human flock. Then they will know that I am the LORD.