Ezekiel 37:1-14
New English Translation
The Valley of Dry Bones
37 The hand[a] of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and placed[b] me in the midst of the valley, and it was full of bones. 2 He made me walk all around among them.[c] I realized[d] there were a great many bones in the valley, and they were very dry. 3 He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said to him, “Sovereign Lord, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and tell them: ‘Dry bones, listen to the Lord’s message. 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: Look, I am about to infuse breath[e] into you and you will live. 6 I will put tendons[f] on you and muscles over you and will cover you with skin; I will put breath[g] in you, and you will live. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. There was a sound when I prophesied— I heard[h] a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 As I watched, I saw[i] tendons on them, then muscles appeared,[j] and skin covered over them from above, but there was no breath[k] in them.
9 He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath,[l]—prophesy, son of man—and say to the breath: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these corpses so that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as I was commanded, and the breath came into them; they lived and stood on their feet, an extremely great army.
11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are all the house of Israel. Look, they are saying, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope has perished; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy, and tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to open your graves and will raise you from your graves, my people. I will bring you to the land of Israel. 13 Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and raise you from your graves, my people. 14 I will place my breath[m] in you and you will live; I will give you rest in your own land. Then you will know that I am the Lord—I have spoken and I will act, declares the Lord.’”
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- Ezekiel 37:1 tn Or “power.” sn Hand in the OT can refer metaphorically to power, authority, or influence. In Ezekiel God’s hand being on the prophet is regularly associated with communication or a vision from God (3:14, 22; 8:1; 37:1; 40:1).
- Ezekiel 37:1 tn Heb “caused me to rest.”
- Ezekiel 37:2 tn Heb “and he made me pass over them, around, around.”
- Ezekiel 37:2 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and is here translated as “I realized” because it results from Ezekiel’s recognition of the situation around him. In Hebrew, the exclamation is repeated in the following sentence.
- Ezekiel 37:5 tn Heb “I am about to bring a spirit.”
- Ezekiel 37:6 tn The exact anatomical referent of the term is uncertain. In addition to v. 8, the term occurs only in Gen 32:32 (32:33 Heb); Job 10:11; 40:17; Is 48:4.
- Ezekiel 37:6 tn Or “a spirit.”
- Ezekiel 37:7 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
- Ezekiel 37:8 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
- Ezekiel 37:8 tn Heb “came up.”
- Ezekiel 37:8 tn Or “spirit.”
- Ezekiel 37:9 tn Or “spirit,” and several times in this verse.
- Ezekiel 37:14 tn Or “spirit.” This is likely an allusion to Gen 2 and God’s breath that creates life.
Ezekiel 37:1-14
Common English Bible
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. 2 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.
3 He asked me, “Human one, can these bones live again?”
I said, “Lord God, only you know.”
4 He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, Dry bones, hear the Lord’s word! 5 The Lord God proclaims to these bones: I am about to put breath in you, and you will live again. 6 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.”
7 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. 8 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.
9 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.”
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- Ezekiel 37:14 Or spirit
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