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
New American Standard Bible
Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones
37 The (A)hand of the Lord was upon me, and He (B)brought me out [a]by the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the (C)valley; and it was full of bones. 2 He had me pass among them all around, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and behold, they were very dry. 3 Then He said to me, “Son of man, (D)can these bones live?” And I answered, “Lord [b]God, (E)You Yourself know.” 4 Again He said to me, “(F)Prophesy over these bones and say to them, ‘You dry bones, (G)hear the word of the Lord.’ 5 This is what the Lord God says to these bones: ‘Behold, I am going to make [c](H)breath enter you so that you may come to life. 6 And I will [d]attach tendons to you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin, and put breath in you so that you may come to life; and you will (I)know that I am the Lord.’”
7 So I prophesied (J)as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a loud noise, and behold, a [e]rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, tendons were on them, and flesh grew and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them. 9 Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘The Lord God says this: “Come from the four winds, breath, and (K)breathe on these slain, so that they (L)come to life.”’” 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the (M)breath entered them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, an (N)exceedingly great army.
The Vision Explained
11 Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the (O)entire house of Israel; behold, they say, ‘Our (P)bones are dried up and our hope has perished. We are [f]completely (Q)cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am going to 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 the Lord, 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 [g]Spirit within you and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken and done it,” declares the Lord.’”
Reunion of Judah and Israel
15 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, 16 “Now 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)put them together for yourself one to another into one stick, so 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 [h]you mean by these?’ 19 say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am going to 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 The sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes. 21 And say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am going to (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 will (AB)no longer defile themselves with their idols, or with their detestable things, or with any of their offenses; but (AC)I will rescue them from all their [i]dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. And they will be My people, and I will be their God.
The Davidic Kingdom
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 ordinances, and keep My statutes and [j]follow them. 25 And they will live on the land that I gave to My servant Jacob, in which your fathers lived; and they will live on it, they, and their sons and their sons’ sons, forever; and My servant (AF)David will be their leader forever. 26 And I will make a (AG)covenant of peace with them; it will be an (AH)everlasting covenant with them. And I will [k]place them and (AI)multiply them, and set My (AJ)sanctuary in their midst forever. 27 My (AK)dwelling place also will be among them; and (AL)I will be their God, and they will be My people. 28 And the nations will know that I am the Lord (AM)who sanctifies Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forever.”’”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 37:1 Or in
- Ezekiel 37:3 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
- Ezekiel 37:5 Or spirit, and so throughout the ch
- Ezekiel 37:6 Lit give
- Ezekiel 37:7 Or rustling
- Ezekiel 37:11 Lit cut off to ourselves
- Ezekiel 37:14 Or breath
- Ezekiel 37:18 Lit these are to you
- Ezekiel 37:23 Another reading is offenses
- Ezekiel 37:24 Lit do them
- Ezekiel 37:26 Lit give
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.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
