Ezekiel 36:26–28
God promises to replace the heart of stone with a heart of flesh
Study it word by word26And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh, and give you a heart of flesh.
27And my spirit I will put within you, and I will bring it about that you walk in my statutes, and keep my ordinances and do them.
28And you will live in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you will be my people, and I will be your Elohim.
In its context
24And I will take you from the nations, and gather you from all the lands, and bring you into your ground.
25And I will sprinkle on you clean water, and you will be clean; from all your uncleannesses and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
…
29And I will save you from all your uncleannesses; and I will call for the grain and multiply it, and I will not lay famine on you.
30And I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field, so that you will not again receive the reproach of famine among the nations.
Its words in the original
- נָתַתִּיnatati· give, put, set
Give, in a very wide sense: hand over, put, place, grant, allow, make something be.
- לֵבlev· heart
Heart. In Hebrew it is not only the place of feelings: it is the center of the person, where one thinks, decides and wills; also the middle of something.
- חָדָשׁchadash· new
New.
- רוּחַruach· spirit, wind, breath
The basic idea is "air in motion". The same word can be "wind"; "breath", the air that is breathed and keeps life; or "spirit": the mood or inner strength of a person, or the Spirit of God, his presence and power at work.
- קִרְבְּkirb· inside, midst
The inside, what is within; "in the midst of", "within".
- הֲסִרֹתִיhasiroti· turn aside, remove
Turn aside, turn away; remove, take away.
- אֶבֶןeven· stone
Stone; also a weight for scales.
- בְּשַׂרְbesar· flesh
Flesh: the body, and the person as weak and mortal. "One flesh" is the union of husband and wife; "my flesh" can mean "my family". "All flesh" is every living being. In the Old Testament it does not mean something bad in itself.
- עָשִׂיתִיasiti· do, make
Do, make, in the widest sense: build, produce, carry out, keep (a command), prepare.
- חֻקַּchuka· statute, allotted portion
What is fixed: an allotted portion, a rule, a statute; a limit.
- תֵּלֵכוּtelechu· go, walk
Go, walk, depart; in the causative form, lead or bring.
- מִשְׁפָּטַmishpata· justice, judgment
What is right and the decision that establishes it: the judgment of a judge, someone's right, a rule or ordinance, a custom. "Do righteousness and justice" is to treat each one as is due.
- תִּשְׁמְרוּtishmru· keep, guard
Keep: watch over, guard, protect; also keep a command or a covenant, observe.
- ישַׁבְתֶּםyshavtem· sit, dwell
Sit, sit down; from there stay in a place, live, dwell. In the causative form, settle someone, make to dwell. Also sit as judge or as king.
- אָרֶץarets· earth, land
The earth, in two senses: the whole world in contrast with the heavens, or a particular country or region ("the land of Egypt").
- אֲבֹתֵיavote· father
Father; also ancestor ("our fathers"), and the founder or head of a family or group.
- הְיִיתֶםheyitem· be, become, happen
Be, exist; also "become" or "happen". It is the verb of "there was", "it was" and "it came to pass".
- עָםam· people
People: a human group joined by kinship, history and destiny. "My people", said by God, is Israel. Also the people as a crowd, or troops.
- אלֹהִיםlohim· Elohim, God, gods
The Hebrew word usually translated "God". This translation keeps "Elohim" when it speaks of the one true God, the Creator, the God of Israel. The word ends like a plural, but it does not mean several: for him the verb is singular ("Elohim created"); the plural form expresses greatness. The same word as a common noun names the "gods" of other peoples, and there it is a true plural, translated "gods". It is also used of mighty ones or judges.