The Dry Bones Live

37 The ^(A)hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out ^(B)in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. ² Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. ³ And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

So I answered, “O Lord God, ^(C)You know.”

⁴ Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! ⁵ Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will ^(D)cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. ⁶ I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. ^(E)Then you shall know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”

⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. ⁸ Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them.

⁹ Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the ^[a]breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: ^(F)“Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” ’ ” ¹⁰ So I prophesied as He commanded me, ^(G)and ^[b]breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.

¹¹ Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the ^(H)whole house of Israel. They indeed say, ^(I)‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!’ ¹² Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, ^(J)O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and ^(K)bring you into the land of Israel. ¹³ Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. ¹⁴ I ^(L)will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,” says the Lord.’ ”

Rejected by His Own

⁴¹ The Jews then ^[a]complained about Him, because He said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” ⁴² And they said, ^(A)“Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”

⁴³ Jesus therefore answered and said to them, ^[b]“Do not murmur among yourselves. ^44 (B)No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me ^(C)draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁴⁵ It is written in the prophets, ^(D)‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ ^(E)Therefore everyone who ^[c]has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. ^46 (F)Not that anyone has seen the Father, ^(G)except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. ⁴⁷ Most assuredly, I say to you, ^(H)he who believes ^[d]in Me has everlasting life. ^48 (I)I am the bread of life. ^49 (J)Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. ^50 (K)This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread ^(L)which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and ^(M)the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”

⁵² The Jews therefore ^(N)quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?”

⁵³ Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless ^(O)you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. ^54 (P)Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁵⁵ For My flesh is ^[e]food indeed, and My blood is ^[f]drink indeed. ⁵⁶ He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood ^(Q)abides in Me, and I in him. ⁵⁷ As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. ^58 (R)This is the bread which came down from heaven—not ^(S)as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”