First Reading

Thus says the Lord:

I will prove the holiness of my great name,

profaned among the nations,

in whose midst you have profaned it.

Thus the nations shall know that I am the Lord, says the Lord GOD,

when in their sight I prove my holiness through you.

For I will take you away from among the nations,

gather you from all the foreign lands,

and bring you back to your own land.

I will sprinkle clean water upon you

to cleanse you from all your impurities,

and from all your idols I will cleanse you.

I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you,

taking from your bodies your stony hearts

and giving you natural hearts.

I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes,

careful to observe my decrees.

You shall live in the land I gave your ancestors;

you shall be my people, and I will be your God.