The Reunification of Israel

¹⁵ The word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁶ “Son of man, take a single stick and write on it:^(A) Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him. Then take another stick and write on it: Belonging to Joseph—the stick of Ephraim—and all the house of Israel associated with him.^{(B) 17} Then join them together into a single stick so that they become one in your hand.^{(C) 18} When your people ask you, ‘Won’t you explain to us what you mean by these things?’—^{(D) 19} tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: I am going to take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel associated with him, and put them together with the stick of Judah. I will make them into a single stick so that they become one in my hand.’

²⁰ “When the sticks you have written on are in your hand and in full view of the people,^{(E) 21} tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: I am going to take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone.^(F) I will gather them from all around and bring them into their own land. ²² I will make them one nation in the land,^(G) on the mountains of Israel, and one king will rule over all of them.^(H) They will no longer be two nations and will no longer be divided into two kingdoms. ²³ They will not defile themselves anymore with their idols,^(I) their abhorrent things, and all their transgressions.^(J) I will save them from all their apostasies by which^[a] they sinned,^(K) and I will cleanse them. Then they will be my people, and I will be their God.^{(L) 24} My servant David will be king over them, and there will be one shepherd for all of them.^(M) They will follow my ordinances, and keep my statutes and obey them.^(N)

²⁵ “‘They will live in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob,^(O) where your ancestors lived. They will live in it forever with their children and grandchildren, and my servant David will be their prince forever.^{(P) 26} I will make a covenant of peace with them;^(Q) it will be a permanent covenant^(R) with them. I will establish and multiply them and will set my sanctuary among them forever. ²⁷ My dwelling place will be with them;^(S) I will be their God, and they will be my people.^{(T) 28} When my sanctuary is among them forever, the nations will know that I, the Lord, sanctify Israel.’”^(U)

Announcement of Restoration