²¹ Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb. When the body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came to life^(A) and stood up on his feet.

The Valley of Dry Bones

37 The hand of the Lord was on me,^(A) and he brought me out by the Spirit^(B) of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley;^(C) it was full of bones.^{(D) 2} 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. ³ He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.^(E)”

⁴ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!^{(F) 5} This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath^[a] enter you, and you will come to life.^{(G) 6} 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.^(H)’”

⁷ 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. ⁸ I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

⁹ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath;^(I) prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds^(J) and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” ¹⁰ So I prophesied as he commanded^(K) me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.^(L)

¹² so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured^(A) and the evil spirits left them.

¹⁵ As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by.^(A)

²⁸ “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming^(A) when all who are in their graves will hear his voice ²⁹ and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.^(B)

²⁵ Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come^(A) when the dead will hear^(B) the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.

⁵² and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. ⁵³ They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and^[a] went into the holy city^(A) and appeared to many people.

³⁵ Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out on him once more. The boy sneezed seven times^(A) and opened his eyes.^(B)

¹¹ But after the three and a half days^(A) the breath^[a] of life from God entered them,^(B) and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them.