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Ezekiel 37-39
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.”

A Message for Gog

38 This is another message that came to me from the Lord: 2 “Son of man, turn and face Gog of the land of Magog, the prince who rules over the nations of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him. 3 Give him this message from the Sovereign Lord: Gog, I am your enemy! 4 I will turn you around and put hooks in your jaws to lead you out with your whole army—your horses and charioteers in full armor and a great horde armed with shields and swords. 5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya[e] will join you, too, with all their weapons. 6 Gomer and all its armies will also join you, along with the armies of Beth-togarmah from the distant north, and many others.

7 “Get ready; be prepared! Keep all the armies around you mobilized, and take command of them. 8 A long time from now you will be called into action. In the distant future you will swoop down on the land of Israel, which will be enjoying peace after recovering from war and after its people have returned from many lands to the mountains of Israel. 9 You and all your allies—a vast and awesome army—will roll down on them like a storm and cover the land like a cloud.

10 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: At that time evil thoughts will come to your mind, and you will devise a wicked scheme. 11 You will say, ‘Israel is an unprotected land filled with unwalled villages! I will march against her and destroy these people who live in such confidence! 12 I will go to those formerly desolate cities that are now filled with people who have returned from exile in many nations. I will capture vast amounts of plunder, for the people are rich with livestock and other possessions now. They think the whole world revolves around them!’ 13 But Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish will ask, ‘Do you really think the armies you have gathered can rob them of silver and gold? Do you think you can drive away their livestock and seize their goods and carry off plunder?’

14 “Therefore, son of man, prophesy against Gog. Give him this message from the Sovereign Lord: When my people are living in peace in their land, then you will rouse yourself.[f] 15 You will come from your homeland in the distant north with your vast cavalry and your mighty army, 16 and you will attack my people Israel, covering their land like a cloud. At that time in the distant future, I will bring you against my land as everyone watches, and my holiness will be displayed by what happens to you, Gog. Then all the nations will know that I am the Lord.

17 “This is what the Sovereign Lord asks: Are you the one I was talking about long ago, when I announced through Israel’s prophets that in the future I would bring you against my people? 18 But this is what the Sovereign Lord says: When Gog invades the land of Israel, my fury will boil over! 19 In my jealousy and blazing anger, I promise a mighty shaking in the land of Israel on that day. 20 All living things—the fish in the sea, the birds of the sky, the animals of the field, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and all the people on earth—will quake in terror at my presence. Mountains will be thrown down; cliffs will crumble; walls will fall to the earth. 21 I will summon the sword against you on all the hills of Israel, says the Sovereign Lord. Your men will turn their swords against each other. 22 I will punish you and your armies with disease and bloodshed; I will send torrential rain, hailstones, fire, and burning sulfur! 23 In this way, I will show my greatness and holiness, and I will make myself known to all the nations of the world. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

The Slaughter of Gog’s Hordes

39 “Son of man, prophesy against Gog. Give him this message from the Sovereign Lord: I am your enemy, O Gog, ruler of the nations of Meshech and Tubal. 2 I will turn you around and drive you toward the mountains of Israel, bringing you from the distant north. 3 I will knock the bow from your left hand and the arrows from your right hand, and I will leave you helpless. 4 You and your army and your allies will all die on the mountains. I will feed you to the vultures and wild animals. 5 You will fall in the open fields, for I have spoken, says the Sovereign Lord. 6 And I will rain down fire on Magog and on all your allies who live safely on the coasts. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

7 “In this way, I will make known my holy name among my people of Israel. I will not let anyone bring shame on it. And the nations, too, will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 8 That day of judgment will come, says the Sovereign Lord. Everything will happen just as I have declared it.

9 “Then the people in the towns of Israel will go out and pick up your small and large shields, bows and arrows, javelins and spears, and they will use them for fuel. There will be enough to last them seven years! 10 They won’t need to cut wood from the fields or forests, for these weapons will give them all the fuel they need. They will plunder those who planned to plunder them, and they will rob those who planned to rob them, says the Sovereign Lord.

11 “And I will make a vast graveyard for Gog and his hordes in the Valley of the Travelers, east of the Dead Sea.[g] It will block the way of those who travel there, and they will change the name of the place to the Valley of Gog’s Hordes. 12 It will take seven months for the people of Israel to bury the bodies and cleanse the land. 13 Everyone in Israel will help, for it will be a glorious victory for Israel when I demonstrate my glory on that day, says the Sovereign Lord.

14 “After seven months, teams of men will be appointed to search the land for skeletons to bury, so the land will be made clean again. 15 Whenever bones are found, a marker will be set up so the burial crews will take them to be buried in the Valley of Gog’s Hordes. 16 (There will be a town there named Hamonah, which means ‘horde.’) And so the land will finally be cleansed.

17 “And now, son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Call all the birds and wild animals. Say to them: Gather together for my great sacrificial feast. Come from far and near to the mountains of Israel, and there eat flesh and drink blood! 18 Eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of princes as though they were rams, lambs, goats, and bulls—all fattened animals from Bashan! 19 Gorge yourselves with flesh until you are glutted; drink blood until you are drunk. This is the sacrificial feast I have prepared for you. 20 Feast at my banquet table—feast on horses and charioteers, on mighty men and all kinds of valiant warriors, says the Sovereign Lord.

21 “In this way, I will demonstrate my glory to the nations. Everyone will see the punishment I have inflicted on them and the power of my fist when I strike. 22 And from that time on the people of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God. 23 The nations will then know why Israel was sent away to exile—it was punishment for sin, for they were unfaithful to their God. Therefore, I turned away from them and let their enemies destroy them. 24 I turned my face away and punished them because of their defilement and their sins.

Restoration for God’s People

25 “So now, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will end the captivity of my people[h]; I will have mercy on all Israel, for I jealously guard my holy reputation! 26 They will accept responsibility for[i] their past shame and unfaithfulness after they come home to live in peace in their own land, with no one to bother them. 27 When I bring them home from the lands of their enemies, I will display my holiness among them for all the nations to see. 28 Then my people will know that I am the Lord their God, because I sent them away to exile and brought them home again. I will leave none of my people behind. 29 And I will never again turn my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit upon the people of Israel. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”

Footnotes

  1. 37:16 Hebrew This is Ephraim’s wood, representing Joseph and all the house of Israel; similarly in 37:19.
  2. 37:23a The Hebrew term (literally round things) probably alludes to dung.
  3. 37:23b As in many Hebrew manuscripts and Greek version; Masoretic Text reads from all their dwelling places where they sinned.
  4. 37:26 Hebrew reads I will give them and increase their numbers; Greek version lacks the entire phrase.
  5. 38:5 Hebrew Paras, Cush, and Put.
  6. 38:14 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads then you will know.
  7. 39:11 Hebrew the sea.
  8. 39:25 Hebrew of Jacob.
  9. 39:26 A few Hebrew manuscripts read They will forget.
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Ezekiel 37-39
New International Version

The Valley of Dry Bones

37 The hand of the Lord was on me,(A) and he brought me out by the Spirit(B) of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley;(C) it was full of bones.(D) 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.(E)”

4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!(F) 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath[a] enter you, and you will come to life.(G) 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.(H)’”

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath;(I) prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds(J) and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded(K) me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.(L)

11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’(M) 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel.(N) 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord,(O) when I open your graves and bring you up from them.(P) 14 I will put my Spirit(Q) in you and you will live, and I will settle(R) you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.(S)’”

One Nation Under One King

15 The word of the Lord came to me: 16 “Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, ‘Belonging to Judah and the Israelites(T) associated with him.(U)’ Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, ‘Belonging to Joseph (that is, to Ephraim) and all the Israelites associated with him.’ 17 Join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand.(V)

18 “When your people ask you, ‘Won’t you tell us what you mean by this?’(W) 19 say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am going to take the stick of Joseph—which is in Ephraim’s hand—and of the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join it to Judah’s stick. I will make them into a single stick of wood, and they will become one in my hand.’(X) 20 Hold before their eyes the sticks you have written on 21 and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land.(Y) 22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel.(Z) There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms.(AA) 23 They will no longer defile(AB) themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding,[b](AC) and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.(AD)

24 “‘My servant David(AE) will be king(AF) over them, and they will all have one shepherd.(AG) They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees.(AH) 25 They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your ancestors lived.(AI) They and their children and their children’s children will live there forever,(AJ) and David my servant will be their prince forever.(AK) 26 I will make a covenant of peace(AL) with them; it will be an everlasting covenant.(AM) I will establish them and increase their numbers,(AN) and I will put my sanctuary among them(AO) forever.(AP) 27 My dwelling place(AQ) will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.(AR) 28 Then the nations will know that I the Lord make Israel holy,(AS) when my sanctuary is among them forever.(AT)’”

The Lord’s Great Victory Over the Nations

38 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face against Gog,(AU) of the land of Magog,(AV) the chief prince of[c] Meshek and Tubal;(AW) prophesy against him 3 and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Gog, chief prince of[d] Meshek and Tubal.(AX) 4 I will turn you around, put hooks(AY) in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army—your horses, your horsemen fully armed, and a great horde with large and small shields, all of them brandishing their swords.(AZ) 5 Persia, Cush[e](BA) and Put(BB) will be with them, all with shields and helmets, 6 also Gomer(BC) with all its troops, and Beth Togarmah(BD) from the far north(BE) with all its troops—the many nations with you.

7 “‘Get ready; be prepared,(BF) you and all the hordes gathered about you, and take command of them. 8 After many days(BG) you will be called to arms. In future years you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations(BH) to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and now all of them live in safety.(BI) 9 You and all your troops and the many nations with you will go up, advancing like a storm;(BJ) you will be like a cloud(BK) covering the land.(BL)

10 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind(BM) and you will devise an evil scheme.(BN) 11 You will say, “I will invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people(BO)—all of them living without walls and without gates and bars.(BP) 12 I will plunder and loot and turn my hand against the resettled ruins and the people gathered from the nations, rich in livestock and goods, living at the center of the land.[f]” 13 Sheba(BQ) and Dedan(BR) and the merchants of Tarshish(BS) and all her villages[g] will say to you, “Have you come to plunder? Have you gathered your hordes to loot, to carry off silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods and to seize much plunder?(BT)”’

14 “Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: In that day, when my people Israel are living in safety,(BU) will you not take notice of it? 15 You will come from your place in the far north,(BV) you and many nations with you, all of them riding on horses, a great horde, a mighty army.(BW) 16 You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud(BX) that covers the land.(BY) In days to come, Gog, I will bring you against my land, so that the nations may know me when I am proved holy(BZ) through you before their eyes.(CA)

17 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: You are the one I spoke of in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel. At that time they prophesied for years that I would bring you against them. 18 This is what will happen in that day: When Gog attacks the land of Israel, my hot anger will be aroused, declares the Sovereign Lord. 19 In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake(CB) in the land of Israel.(CC) 20 The fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble(CD) at my presence. The mountains will be overturned,(CE) the cliffs will crumble(CF) and every wall will fall to the ground.(CG) 21 I will summon a sword(CH) against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Sovereign Lord. Every man’s sword will be against his brother.(CI) 22 I will execute judgment(CJ) on him with plague and bloodshed;(CK) I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones(CL) and burning sulfur(CM) on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him.(CN) 23 And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.(CO)’

39 “Son of man, prophesy against Gog(CP) and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Gog, chief prince of[h] Meshek(CQ) and Tubal.(CR) 2 I will turn you around and drag you along. I will bring you from the far north(CS) and send you against the mountains of Israel.(CT) 3 Then I will strike your bow(CU) from your left hand and make your arrows(CV) drop from your right hand. 4 On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the nations with you. I will give you as food to all kinds of carrion birds(CW) and to the wild animals.(CX) 5 You will fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.(CY) 6 I will send fire(CZ) on Magog(DA) and on those who live in safety in the coastlands,(DB) and they will know(DC) that I am the Lord.

7 “‘I will make known my holy name among my people Israel. I will no longer let my holy name be profaned,(DD) and the nations will know(DE) that I the Lord am the Holy One in Israel.(DF) 8 It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign Lord. This is the day(DG) I have spoken of.

9 “‘Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and use the weapons for fuel and burn them up—the small and large shields, the bows and arrows,(DH) the war clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them for fuel.(DI) 10 They will not need to gather wood from the fields or cut it from the forests, because they will use the weapons for fuel. And they will plunder(DJ) those who plundered them and loot those who looted them, declares the Sovereign Lord.(DK)

11 “‘On that day I will give Gog a burial place in Israel, in the valley of those who travel east of the Sea. It will block the way of travelers, because Gog and all his hordes will be buried(DL) there. So it will be called the Valley of Hamon Gog.[i](DM)

12 “‘For seven months the Israelites will be burying them in order to cleanse the land.(DN) 13 All the people of the land will bury them, and the day I display my glory(DO) will be a memorable day for them, declares the Sovereign Lord. 14 People will be continually employed in cleansing the land. They will spread out across the land and, along with others, they will bury any bodies that are lying on the ground.

“‘After the seven months they will carry out a more detailed search. 15 As they go through the land, anyone who sees a human bone will leave a marker beside it until the gravediggers bury it in the Valley of Hamon Gog, 16 near a town called Hamonah.[j] And so they will cleanse the land.’

17 “Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Call out to every kind of bird(DP) and all the wild animals: ‘Assemble and come together from all around to the sacrifice I am preparing for you, the great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel. There you will eat flesh and drink blood.(DQ) 18 You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the earth as if they were rams and lambs, goats and bulls—all of them fattened animals from Bashan.(DR) 19 At the sacrifice(DS) I am preparing for you, you will eat fat till you are glutted and drink blood till you are drunk. 20 At my table you will eat your fill of horses and riders, mighty men and soldiers of every kind,’ declares the Sovereign Lord.(DT)

21 “I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the punishment I inflict and the hand I lay on them.(DU) 22 From that day forward the people of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God. 23 And the nations will know that the people of Israel went into exile for their sin, because they were unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies, and they all fell by the sword.(DV) 24 I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their offenses, and I hid my face from them.(DW)

25 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will now restore the fortunes of Jacob[k](DX) and will have compassion(DY) on all the people of Israel, and I will be zealous for my holy name.(DZ) 26 They will forget their shame and all the unfaithfulness they showed toward me when they lived in safety(EA) in their land with no one to make them afraid.(EB) 27 When I have brought them back from the nations and have gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will be proved holy through them in the sight of many nations.(EC) 28 Then they will know that I am the Lord their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them(ED) to their own land, not leaving any behind.(EE) 29 I will no longer hide my face(EF) from them, for I will pour out my Spirit(EG) on the people of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord.(EH)”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 37:5 The Hebrew for this word can also mean wind or spirit (see verses 6-14).
  2. Ezekiel 37:23 Many Hebrew manuscripts (see also Septuagint); most Hebrew manuscripts all their dwelling places where they sinned
  3. Ezekiel 38:2 Or the prince of Rosh,
  4. Ezekiel 38:3 Or Gog, prince of Rosh,
  5. Ezekiel 38:5 That is, the upper Nile region
  6. Ezekiel 38:12 The Hebrew for this phrase means the navel of the earth.
  7. Ezekiel 38:13 Or her strong lions
  8. Ezekiel 39:1 Or Gog, prince of Rosh,
  9. Ezekiel 39:11 Hamon Gog means hordes of Gog.
  10. Ezekiel 39:16 Hamonah means horde.
  11. Ezekiel 39:25 Or now bring Jacob back from captivity
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Ezekiel 36
Ezekiel 40
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