Ezekiel 37
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Valley of Dry Bones
37 The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones.(A) 2 He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. 3 He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.”(B) 4 Then 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: I will cause breath[a] to enter you, and you shall live.(C) 6 I will lay sinews on you and will cause flesh to come upon you and cover you with skin and put breath[b] in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”(D)
7 So I prophesied as I had been commanded, and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them, but there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath:[c] Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath,[d] and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.”(E) 10 I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.(F)
11 Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’(G) 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves and bring you up from your graves, O my people, and I will bring you back to the land of Israel.(H) 13 And you shall know that I am the Lord when I open your graves and bring you up from your graves, O my people.(I) 14 I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.”(J)
The Two Sticks
15 The word of the Lord came to me: 16 Mortal, take a stick and write on it, “For Judah and the Israelites associated with it”; then take another stick and write on it, “For Joseph (the stick of Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with it”;(K) 17 and join them together into one stick, so that they may become one in your hand. 18 And when your people say to you, “Will you not show us what you mean by these?” 19 say to them, “Thus says the Lord God: I am about to take the stick of Joseph (which is in the hand of Ephraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with it, and I will put the stick of Judah upon it[e] and make them one stick, in order that they may be one in my hand.”(L) 20 When the sticks on which you write are in your hand before their eyes, 21 then say to them, “Thus says the Lord God: I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone and will gather them from every quarter and bring them to their own land.(M) 22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king shall be king over them all. Never again shall they be two nations, and never again shall they be divided into two kingdoms.(N) 23 They shall never again defile themselves with their idols and their detestable things or with any of their transgressions. I will save them from all the apostasies into which they have fallen[f] and will cleanse them. Then they shall be my people, and I will be their God.(O)
24 “My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall follow my ordinances and be careful to observe my statutes.(P) 25 They shall live in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, in which your ancestors lived; they and their children and their children’s children shall live there forever, and my servant David shall be their prince forever.(Q) 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them, and I will bless[g] them and multiply them and will set my sanctuary among them forevermore.(R) 27 My dwelling place shall be over them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.(S) 28 Then the nations shall know that I the Lord sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary is among them forevermore.”(T)
Ezekiel 37
English Standard Version
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. 2 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. 3 And he said to me, (C)“Son of man, (D)can these bones live?” And (E)I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, (F)“Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, (G)O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause (H)breath[b] to enter you, and you shall live. 6 (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.”
7 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. 8 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. 9 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.”
I Will Be Their God; They Shall Be My People
15 The word of the Lord came to me: 16 (AC)“Son of man, (AD)take a stick[d] and write on it, ‘For (AE)Judah, and (AF)the people of Israel associated with him’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For (AG)Joseph (the stick of (AH)Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with him.’ 17 And (AI)join them one to another into one stick, that (AJ)they may become (AK)one in your hand. 18 And when (AL)your people say to you, (AM)‘Will you not tell us what you mean by these?’ 19 say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am about to take (AN)the stick of Joseph (that is in the hand of Ephraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with him. And I will join with it the (AO)stick of Judah,[e] and (AP)make them one stick, (AQ)that they may be one in my hand. 20 When the sticks on which you write are in your hand (AR)before their eyes, 21 then say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, (AS)I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and (AT)bring them to their own land. 22 And (AU)I will make them one nation in the land, on (AV)the mountains of Israel. And (AW)one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer (AX)two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. 23 (AY)They shall not (AZ)defile themselves anymore (BA)with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But (BB)I will save them from all the backslidings[f] in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and (BC)they shall be my people, and I will be their God.
24 “My servant (BD)David (BE)shall be king over them, and they shall all have (BF)one shepherd. (BG)They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. 25 (BH)They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children's children shall dwell there (BI)forever, and David my servant shall be their prince (BJ)forever. 26 (BK)I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be (BL)an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land[g] and (BM)multiply them, and will (BN)set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. 27 (BO)My dwelling place shall be with them, (BP)and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 Then (BQ)the nations will know that (BR)I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when (BS)my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 37:1 Or plain; also verse 2
- Ezekiel 37:5 Or spirit; also verses 6, 9, 10
- Ezekiel 37:7 Or an earthquake (compare 3:12, 13)
- Ezekiel 37:16 Or one piece of wood; also verses 17, 19, 20
- Ezekiel 37:19 Hebrew And I will place them on it, the stick of Judah
- Ezekiel 37:23 Many Hebrew manuscripts; other Hebrew manuscripts dwellings
- Ezekiel 37:26 Hebrew lacks in their land
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
