Add parallel Print Page Options

Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones

37 The (A)hand of Yahweh was upon me, and He (B)brought me out [a]by the Spirit of Yahweh and caused me to rest in the middle of the (C)valley; and it was full of bones. He caused me to pass among them all around, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and behold, they were very dry. He said to me, “Son of man, (D)can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord Yahweh, (E)You know.” Then He said to me, “(F)Prophesy over these bones and say to them, ‘O dry bones, (G)hear the word of Yahweh.’ Thus says Lord Yahweh to these bones, ‘Behold, I will cause [b](H)breath to enter you that you may come to life. I will put sinews on you, make flesh come up upon you, cover you with skin, and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will (I)know that I am Yahweh.’”

So I prophesied (J)as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a [c]noise, and behold, a rumbling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, sinews were on them, and flesh came up upon them, and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Come from the four [d]winds, O breath, and (K)breathe on these who were killed, that they may (L)come to life.”’” 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the (M)breath came into them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, an (N)exceedingly great military force.

11 Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the (O)whole house of Israel; behold, they say, ‘Our (P)bones are dried up, and our hope has perished. We are [e]completely (Q)cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Behold, I will open your graves and (R)cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 Then you will know that I am Yahweh, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, My people. 14 And I will (S)put My [f]Spirit within you, and you will come to life, and I will [g]place you on your own land. Then you will know that I, Yahweh, have spoken and done it,” declares Yahweh.’”

Israel Will No Longer Be Divided

15 The word of Yahweh came again to me saying, 16 “Now as for you, son of man, take for yourself (T)one stick and write on it, ‘For (U)Judah and for the sons of Israel, his companions’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For (V)Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel, his companions.’ 17 Then (W)draw them together for yourself one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand. 18 And when the sons of your people speak to you saying, ‘Will you not declare to us (X)what you mean by these?’ 19 say to them, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will put them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand.”’ 20 And the sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes. 21 And speak to them, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Behold, I will (Y)take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; 22 and I will make them (Z)one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and (AA)one king will be king for all of them; and they will no longer be two nations and no longer be divided into two kingdoms. 23 They also will (AB)no longer defile themselves with their idols or with their detestable things or with any of their transgressions; but (AC)I will save them from all their [h]places of habitation in which they have sinned, and I will cleanse them. And they will be My people, and I will be their God.

Yahweh Cuts a Covenant

24 “And My servant (AD)David will be king over them, and they will all have (AE)one shepherd; and they will walk in My judgments and keep My statutes and do them. 25 They will inhabit the land that I gave to Jacob My servant, which your fathers inhabited; and they will inhabit it, they, and their sons and their sons’ sons, forever; and (AF)David My servant will be their prince forever. 26 And I will cut a (AG)covenant of peace with them; it will be an (AH)everlasting covenant with them. And I will give them the land and (AI)multiply them and will set My (AJ)sanctuary in their midst forever. 27 My [i](AK)dwelling place also will be with them; and (AL)I will be their God, and they will be My people. 28 And the nations will know that I am Yahweh (AM)who sanctifies Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forever.”’”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 37:1 Or in
  2. Ezekiel 37:5 Or spirit, so in ch
  3. Ezekiel 37:7 Or voice, thunder
  4. Ezekiel 37:9 Lit spirit, breath; cf. 37:1, 5, 9
  5. Ezekiel 37:11 Lit cut off to ourselves
  6. Ezekiel 37:14 Or breath
  7. Ezekiel 37:14 Or give you rest, cf. 37:1
  8. Ezekiel 37:23 Or backslidings
  9. Ezekiel 37:27 Or tabernacle

Valley of dry bones

37 The Lord’s power overcame me, and while I was in the Lord’s spirit, he led me out and set me down in the middle of a certain valley. It was full of bones. He led me through them all around, and I saw that there were a great many of them on the valley floor, and they were very dry.

He asked me, “Human one, can these bones live again?”

I said, “Lord God, only you know.”

He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, Dry bones, hear the Lord’s word! The Lord God proclaims to these bones: I am about to put breath in you, and you will live again. I will put sinews on you, place flesh on you, and cover you with skin. When I put breath in you, and you come to life, you will know that I am the Lord.”

I prophesied just as I was commanded. There was a great noise as I was prophesying, then a great quaking, and the bones came together, bone by bone. When I looked, suddenly there were sinews on them. The flesh appeared, and then they were covered over with skin. But there was still no breath in them.

He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, human one! Say to the breath, The Lord God proclaims: Come from the four winds, breath! Breathe into these dead bodies and let them live.”

10 I prophesied just as he commanded me. When the breath entered them, they came to life and stood on their feet, an extraordinarily large company.

11 He said to me, “Human one, these bones are the entire house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope has perished. We are completely finished.’ 12 So now, prophesy and say to them, The Lord God proclaims: I’m opening your graves! I will raise you up from your graves, my people, and I will bring you to Israel’s fertile land. 13 You will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and raise you up from your graves, my people. 14 I will put my breath[a] in you, and you will live. I will plant you on your fertile land, and you will know that I am the Lord. I’ve spoken, and I will do it. This is what the Lord says.”

Divided kingdom united

15 The Lord’s word came to me: 16 You, human one, take a stick, and write on it, “Belonging to Judah and to the Israelites associated with him.” Take another stick and write on it, “Stick of Ephraim belonging to Joseph and everyone of the house of Israel associated with him.” 17 Join them to each other to make a single stick so that they become one stick in your hand. 18 When your people ask you, “Why won’t you tell us what these sticks mean to you?” 19 say to them, The Lord God proclaims: I’m taking Joseph’s stick, which has been in Ephraim’s hand, and the tribes of Israel associated with him, and I’m putting it with Judah’s stick, and I’m making them into a single stick so that they will be one stick in my hand. 20 When the two sticks that you’ve written on are in your hand in their sight, 21 speak to them, This is what the Lord God says: I will take the Israelites from among the nations where they’ve gone, I will gather them from all around, and I will bring them to their fertile land. 22 I will make them into a single nation in the land on Israel’s highlands. There will be just one king for all of them. They will no longer be two nations, and they will no longer be divided into two kingdoms. 23 They will no longer defile themselves with their idols or their worthless things or with any of their rebellions. I will deliver them from all the places where they sinned, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God. 24 My servant David will be king over them. There will be just one shepherd for all of them. They will follow my case laws and carefully observe my regulations. 25 They will live on the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where their ancestors lived. They will live on it, they and their children and their grandchildren, forever. My servant David will be their prince forever. 26 I will make a covenant of peace for them. It will be their covenant forever. I will grant it to them and allow them to increase. I will set my sanctuary among them forever. 27 My dwelling will be with them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people. 28 The nations will know that I, the Lord, make Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them forever.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 37:14 Or spirit