Ezekiel 36:34 (YLT)

Passage

And the desolate land is tilled, Instead of which it was a desolation before the eyes of every passer by,

Nearby Context

Ezekiel 36:32 Not for your sake am I working, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Be it known to you, Be ashamed and confounded, because of your ways, O house of Israel.

Ezekiel 36:33 Thus said the Lord Jehovah: In the day of My cleansing you from all your iniquities, I have caused the cities to be inhabited, And the wastes have been built,

Ezekiel 36:34 And the desolate land is tilled, Instead of which it was a desolation before the eyes of every passer by,

Ezekiel 36:35 And they have said: This land, that was desolated, Hath been as the garden of Eden, And the cities--the wasted, And the desolated, and the broken down, Fenced places have remained.

Ezekiel 36:36 And known have the nations who are left round about you, That I Jehovah have built the thrown down, I have planted the desolated: I Jehovah have spoken, and I have done <FI>it<Fi> .

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "desolate", "land", "tilled", "instead", "desolation", "before", "eyes", and "passer". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "desolate" and "land", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 33's "Thus said the Lord Jehovah In the..." into verse 35's "And they have said This land that...", so "desolate" and "land" 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 "desolate" and "land" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.