And I will make them one nation in the land, upon the mountains of Israel: For over 350 years, from the end of Solomon’s reign, the people of Israel had been two nations, even after the fall of the northern kingdom. Here God promises that when he brings the exiles back, he will make them into “a single nation” (Revised English Bible). The land refers to the land of Israel, and the mountains of Israel refers to the mountainous character of the land (see the comments on 6.2). A model for this clause is “I will make them one nation in the land, there on the mountains of Israel.”

And one king shall be king over them all: To be one nation meant that the Israelites had to have only one ruler. Good News Translation says “They will have one king to rule over them.”

And they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms: They had been two nations for over 350 years, but God promises here that the situation will change and they will not be divided any longer. An alternative interpretation says that after God has restored them to the land of Israel, they will “never again” be divided into two nations (so New Revised Standard Version, Contemporary English Version, New International Version, New International Reader’s Version, New Century Version, New American Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Either interpretation is acceptable. This sentence may be rendered “No longer [or, Never again] will they be two nations split into two kingdoms.”

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .