Ezekiel 36:16-37:14

English Standard Version

The Lord's Concern for His Holy Name

¹⁶The word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁷^(A)“Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their own land, ^(B)they defiled it by their ways and their deeds. Their ways before me were ^(C)like the uncleanness of a woman in her menstrual impurity. ¹⁸So ^(D)I poured out my wrath upon them ^(E)for the blood that they had shed in the land, for the idols ^(F)with which they had defiled it. ¹⁹^(G)I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries. ^(H)In accordance with their ways and their deeds I judged them. ²⁰But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, ^(I)they profaned my holy name, in that people said of them, ‘These are the people of the Lord, and yet they had to go out of his land.’ ²¹But I had concern ^(J)for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they came.

I Will Put My Spirit Within You

²²“Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: ^(K)It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, ^(L)which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. ²³^(M)And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. ^(N)And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. ²⁴^(O)I will take you ^(P)from the nations and gather you from all the countries and ^(Q)bring you into your own land. ²⁵^(R)I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from ^(S)all your uncleannesses, and ^(T)from all your idols ^(U)I will cleanse you. ²⁶And I will give you ^(V)a new heart, and ^(W)a new spirit I will put within you. ^(X)And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷^(Y)And I will put my Spirit within you, ^(Z)and cause you to walk in my statutes and ^(AA)be careful to obey my rules.^[a] ²⁸^(AB)You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and ^(AC)you shall be my people, and I will be your God. ²⁹And ^(AD)I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And ^(AE)I will summon the grain and make it abundant and ^(AF)lay no famine upon you. ³⁰^(AG)I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, ^(AH)that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. ³¹Then ^(AI)you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. ³²^(AJ)It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord God; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel.

³³“Thus says the Lord God: On the day that ^(AK)I cleanse you from all your iniquities, ^(AL)I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt. ³⁴And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by. ³⁵And they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like ^(AM)the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ ³⁶Then ^(AN)the nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the Lord; I have rebuilt the ruined places and ^(AO)replanted that which was desolate. ^(AP)I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.

³⁷“Thus says the Lord God: This also ^(AQ)I will let the house of Israel ask me to do for them: ^(AR)to increase their people like ^(AS)a flock. ³⁸Like the flock for sacrifices,^[b] ^(AT)like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so ^(AU)shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of people. ^(AV)Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

The Valley of Dry Bones

37 ^(AW)The hand of the Lord was upon me, and ^(AX)he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley;^[c] it was full of bones. ²And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. ³And he said to me, ^(AY)“Son of man, ^(AZ)can these bones live?” And ^(BA)I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” ⁴Then he said to me, ^(BB)“Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, ^(BC)O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. ⁵Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause ^(BD)breath^[d] to enter you, and you shall live. ⁶^(BE)And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and ^(BF)cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, ^(BG)and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

⁷So I prophesied ^(BH)as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, ^(BI)a rattling,^[e] and the bones came together, bone to its bone. ⁸And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But ^(BJ)there was no breath in them. ⁹Then he said to me, ^(BK)“Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, ^(BL)son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from ^(BM)the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” ¹⁰So I prophesied ^(BN)as he commanded me, and ^(BO)the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

¹¹Then he said to me, ^(BP)“Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and ^(BQ)our hope is lost; ^(BR)we are indeed cut off.’ ¹²Therefore ^(BS)prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, ^(BT)I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And ^(BU)I will bring you into the land of Israel. ¹³And ^(BV)you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. ¹⁴And ^(BW)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; ^(BX)I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”