Ezekiel 37
Christian Standard Bible
The Valley of Dry Bones
37 The hand of the Lord was on me,(A) and he brought me out by his Spirit(B) and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me all around them. There were a great many of them on the surface of the valley, and they were very dry. 3 Then he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
I replied, “Lord God, only you know.”(C)
4 He said to me, “Prophesy concerning these bones and say to them: Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Lord God says to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you will live.(D) 6 I will put tendons on you, make flesh grow on you, and cover you with skin. I will put breath in you so that you come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”(E)
7 So I prophesied as I had been commanded. While I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 As I looked, tendons appeared on them, flesh grew, and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. 9 He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath,[a] prophesy, son of man. Say to it: This is what the Lord God says: Breath, come from the four winds and breathe into these slain so that they may live!” (F) 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me; the breath entered them,(G) and they came to life and stood on their feet, a vast army.
11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel.(H) Look how they say, ‘Our bones are dried up,(I) and our hope has perished;(J) we are cut off.’(K) 12 Therefore, prophesy and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them,(L) my people, and lead you into the land of Israel. 13 You will know that I am the Lord, my people, when I open your graves and bring you up from them.(M) 14 I will put my Spirit in you,(N) and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I am the Lord. I have spoken, and I will do it.(O) This is the declaration of the Lord.’”
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:(P) 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.(Q) 17 Then join them together into a single stick so that they become one in your hand.(R) 18 When your people ask you, ‘Won’t you explain to us what you mean by these things?’—(S) 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,(T) 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.(U) I will gather them from all around and bring them into their own land. 22 I will make them one nation in the land,(V) on the mountains of Israel, and one king will rule over all of them.(W) 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,(X) their abhorrent things, and all their transgressions.(Y) I will save them from all their apostasies by which[b] they sinned,(Z) and I will cleanse them. Then they will be my people, and I will be their God.(AA) 24 My servant David will be king over them, and there will be one shepherd for all of them.(AB) They will follow my ordinances, and keep my statutes and obey them.(AC)
25 “‘They will live in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob,(AD) where your ancestors lived. They will live in it forever with their children and grandchildren, and my servant David will be their prince forever.(AE) 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them;(AF) it will be a permanent covenant(AG) with them. I will establish and multiply them and will set my sanctuary among them forever. 27 My dwelling place will be with them;(AH) I will be their God, and they will be my people.(AI) 28 When my sanctuary is among them forever, the nations will know that I, the Lord, sanctify Israel.’”(AJ)
Ezekiel 37
New Living Translation
A Valley of Dry Bones
37 The Lord took hold of me, and I was carried away by the Spirit of the Lord to a valley filled with bones. 2 He led me all around among the bones that covered the valley floor. They were scattered everywhere across the ground and were completely dried out. 3 Then he asked me, “Son of man, can these bones become living people again?”
“O Sovereign Lord,” I replied, “you alone know the answer to that.”
4 Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to these bones and say, ‘Dry bones, listen to the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again! 6 I will put flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
7 So I spoke this message, just as he told me. Suddenly as I spoke, there was a rattling noise all across the valley. The bones of each body came together and attached themselves as complete skeletons. 8 Then as I watched, muscles and flesh formed over the bones. Then skin formed to cover their bodies, but they still had no breath in them.
9 Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to the winds, son of man. Speak a prophetic message and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, O breath, from the four winds! Breathe into these dead bodies so they may live again.’”
10 So I spoke the message as he commanded me, and breath came into their bodies. They all came to life and stood up on their feet—a great army.
11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones represent the people of Israel. They are saying, ‘We have become old, dry bones—all hope is gone. Our nation is finished.’ 12 Therefore, prophesy to them and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: O my people, I will open your graves of exile and cause you to rise again. Then I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 When this happens, O my people, you will know that I am the Lord. 14 I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live again and return home to your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken, and I have done what I said. Yes, the Lord has spoken!’”
Reunion of Israel and Judah
15 Again a message came to me from the Lord: 16 “Son of man, take a piece of wood and carve on it these words: ‘This represents Judah and its allied tribes.’ Then take another piece and carve these words on it: ‘This represents Ephraim and the northern tribes of Israel.’[a] 17 Now hold them together in your hand as if they were one piece of wood. 18 When your people ask you what your actions mean, 19 say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will take Ephraim and the northern tribes and join them to Judah. I will make them one piece of wood in my hand.’
20 “Then hold out the pieces of wood you have inscribed, so the people can see them. 21 And give them this message from the Sovereign Lord: I will gather the people of Israel from among the nations. I will bring them home to their own land from the places where they have been scattered. 22 I will unify them into one nation on the mountains of Israel. One king will rule them all; no longer will they be divided into two nations or into two kingdoms. 23 They will never again pollute themselves with their idols[b] and vile images and rebellion, for I will save them from their sinful apostasy.[c] I will cleanse them. Then they will truly be my people, and I will be their God.
24 “My servant David will be their king, and they will have only one shepherd. They will obey my regulations and be careful to keep my decrees. 25 They will live in the land I gave my servant Jacob, the land where their ancestors lived. They and their children and their grandchildren after them will live there forever, generation after generation. And my servant David will be their prince forever. 26 And I will make a covenant of peace with them, an everlasting covenant. I will give them their land and increase their numbers,[d] and I will put my Temple among them forever. 27 I will make my home among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 28 And when my Temple is among them forever, the nations will know that I am the Lord, who makes Israel holy.”
Footnotes
- 37:16 Hebrew This is Ephraim’s wood, representing Joseph and all the house of Israel; similarly in 37:19.
- 37:23a The Hebrew term (literally round things) probably alludes to dung.
- 37:23b As in many Hebrew manuscripts and Greek version; Masoretic Text reads from all their dwelling places where they sinned.
- 37:26 Hebrew reads I will give them and increase their numbers; Greek version lacks the entire phrase.
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