And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited.

EZEKIEL 36:35KJV
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Ezekiel 36:35 (KJV)

What does Ezekiel 36:35 mean?

Ezekiel 36:35 describes how people will see a once desolate land transformed into a place as beautiful and fertile as the garden of Eden, with ruined cities rebuilt, protected, and filled with people again. This verse promises a dramatic restoration, showing that devastation will be replaced by life, security, and community.

In this passage, God is speaking through the prophet Ezekiel to the people of Israel, who have experienced destruction and exile. The verse uses vivid language to assure them that their homeland, once laid waste, will become fruitful and thriving again. The comparison to the garden of Eden highlights the completeness and goodness of this renewal.

The Hebrew behind Ezekiel 36:35

  • The word for "desolate" is שָׁמֵם (shamem), which means laid waste or devastated. Its repetition in the verse emphasizes just how barren the land had become before this promised change.
  • "Garden" is גַּן (gan), and "Eden" is עֵדֶן (eden), together evoking the biblical paradise, a symbol of perfect beauty and abundance. This comparison underlines the extraordinary nature of the restoration.
  • The word for "fenced" is בָּצוּר (batsur), meaning fortified or protected. This suggests not just rebuilding but also safety and stability for the people returning to these cities.

Why Ezekiel 36:35 matters

  • This verse clarifies that the restoration God promises is not just spiritual or symbolic but includes real, visible changes to the land and cities of Israel.
  • The strong imagery of Eden shows that God’s renewal is thorough, reversing even the deepest losses and making things better than before.
  • In the wider context of Ezekiel 36, this promise is part of God’s assurance that Israel’s suffering and exile are not the end, but that hope and restoration are coming.

Where else these words appear

“waste” Hebrew H2720 · used in 10 verses

  • Leviticus 7:10 And every meat offering, mingled with oil, and dry, shall all the sons of Aaron have, one as much as another.
  • Proverbs 17:1 Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife.
  • Ezekiel 36:38 As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the LORD.

“Eden” Hebrew H5731 · used in 16 verses

  • Genesis 2:8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
  • Genesis 4:16 And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
  • Ezekiel 31:9 I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied him.

“garden” Hebrew H1588 · used in 37 verses

  • Genesis 2:8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
  • Genesis 13:10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
  • Song of Solomon 6:2 My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.

“fenced” Hebrew H1219 · used in 38 verses

  • Genesis 11:6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
  • 2 Kings 18:13 Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them.
  • Isaiah 27:10 Yet the defenced city shall be desolate, and the habitation forsaken, and left like a wilderness: there shall the calf feed, and there shall he lie down, and consume the branches thereof.