23 And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.

24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.

25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.

26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.

29 I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you.

30 And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen.

31 Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations.

32 Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord God, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel.

33 Thus saith the Lord God; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded.

34 And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by.

35 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.

36 Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the Lord build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it.

37 Thus saith the Lord God; I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock.

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.

37 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,

And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.

And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest.

Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.

Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:

And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.

And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.

Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.

10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.

11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.

12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.

13 And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,

14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord.

23 I will show the holiness of my great name,(A) which has been profaned(B) among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord,(C) declares the Sovereign Lord, when I am proved holy(D) through you before their eyes.(E)

24 “‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land.(F) 25 I will sprinkle(G) clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse(H) you from all your impurities(I) and from all your idols.(J) 26 I will give you a new heart(K) and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone(L) and give you a heart of flesh.(M) 27 And I will put my Spirit(N) in you and move you to follow my decrees(O) and be careful to keep my laws.(P) 28 Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people,(Q) and I will be your God.(R) 29 I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine(S) upon you. 30 I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine.(T) 31 Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices.(U) 32 I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake, declares the Sovereign Lord. Be ashamed(V) and disgraced for your conduct, people of Israel!(W)

33 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On the day I cleanse(X) you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins(Y) will be rebuilt.(Z) 34 The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through it. 35 They will say, “This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden;(AA) the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited.(AB) 36 Then the nations around you that remain will know that I the Lord have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.’(AC)

37 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Once again I will yield to Israel’s plea(AD) and do this for them: I will make their people as numerous as sheep,(AE) 38 as numerous as the flocks for offerings(AF) at Jerusalem during her appointed festivals. So will the ruined cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the Lord.(AG)

The Valley of Dry Bones

37 The hand of the Lord was on me,(AH) and he brought me out by the Spirit(AI) of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley;(AJ) it was full of bones.(AK) He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.(AL)

Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!(AM) This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath[a] enter you, and you will come to life.(AN) I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.(AO)’”

So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath;(AP) prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds(AQ) and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded(AR) me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.(AS)

11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’(AT) 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel.(AU) 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord,(AV) when I open your graves and bring you up from them.(AW) 14 I will put my Spirit(AX) in you and you will live, and I will settle(AY) you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.(AZ)’”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 37:5 The Hebrew for this word can also mean wind or spirit (see verses 6-14).