Ezekiel 36:36 (GNV)

Passage

Then the residue of the heathen that are left round about you, shall know that I the Lord builde the ruinous places, and plant the desolate places: I the Lord haue spoken it, and wil do it.

Nearby Context

Ezekiel 36:34 And the desolate land shalbe tilled, whereas it lay waste in the sight of all that passed by.

Ezekiel 36:35 For they sayd, This waste land was like the garden of Eden, and these waste and desolate and ruinous cities were strong, and were inhabited.

Ezekiel 36:36 Then the residue of the heathen that are left round about you, shall know that I the Lord builde the ruinous places, and plant the desolate places: I the Lord haue spoken it, and wil do it.

Ezekiel 36:37 Thus saith the Lord God, I will yet for this be sought of ye house of Israel, to performe it vnto them: I wil encrease them with men like a flocke.

Ezekiel 36:38 As the holy flocke, as the flocke of Ierusalem in their solemne feastes, so shall the desolate cities be filled with flockes of men, and they shall know, that I am the Lord.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "residue", "heathen", "left", "round", "shall", "lord", "builde", and "ruinous". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "residue" and "heathen", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 35's "For they sayd This waste land was..." into verse 37's "Thus saith the Lord God I will...", so "residue" and "heathen" belong inside that flow. In Ezekiel context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "residue" and "heathen" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.