The Valley of Dry Bones

37 (A)The hand of the Lord was upon me, and (B)he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley;[a] it was full of bones. And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. And he said to me, (C)“Son of man, (D)can these bones live?” And (E)I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Then he said to me, (F)“Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, (G)O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause (H)breath[b] to enter you, and you shall live. (I)And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and (J)cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, (K)and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

So I prophesied (L)as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, (M)a rattling,[c] and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But (N)there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, (O)“Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, (P)son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from (Q)the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied (R)as he commanded me, and (S)the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

11 Then he said to me, (T)“Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and (U)our hope is lost; (V)we are indeed cut off.’ 12 Therefore (W)prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, (X)I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And (Y)I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And (Z)you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And (AA)I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; (AB)I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 37:1 Or plain; also verse 2
  2. Ezekiel 37:5 Or spirit; also verses 6, 9, 10
  3. Ezekiel 37:7 Or an earthquake (compare 3:12, 13)

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) 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.(E)

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

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;(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)

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.’(M) 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.(N) 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord,(O) when I open your graves and bring you up from them.(P) 14 I will put my Spirit(Q) in you and you will live, and I will settle(R) you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.(S)’”

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Footnotes

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

By Grace Through Faith

(A)And you were (B)dead in the trespasses and sins (C)in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following (D)the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in (E)the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in (F)the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body[a] and the mind, and (G)were by nature (H)children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.[b] But[c] God, being (I)rich in mercy, (J)because of the great love with which he loved us, even (K)when we were dead in our trespasses, (L)made us alive together with Christ—(M)by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and (N)seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable (O)riches of his grace in (P)kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For (Q)by grace you have been saved (R)through faith. And this is (S)not your own doing; (T)it is the gift of God, (U)not a result of works, (V)so that no one may boast. 10 For (W)we are his workmanship, (X)created in Christ Jesus (Y)for good works, (Z)which God prepared beforehand, (AA)that we should walk in them.

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Footnotes

  1. Ephesians 2:3 Greek flesh
  2. Ephesians 2:3 Greek like the rest
  3. Ephesians 2:4 Or And

Made Alive in Christ

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,(A) in which you used to live(B) when you followed the ways of this world(C) and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air,(D) the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.(E) All of us also lived among them at one time,(F) gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a](G) and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us,(H) God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions(I)—it is by grace you have been saved.(J) And God raised us up with Christ(K) and seated us with him(L) in the heavenly realms(M) in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace,(N) expressed in his kindness(O) to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace(P) you have been saved,(Q) through faith(R)—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works,(S) so that no one can boast.(T) 10 For we are God’s handiwork,(U) created(V) in Christ Jesus to do good works,(W) which God prepared in advance for us to do.

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Footnotes

  1. Ephesians 2:3 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit.