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.’”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 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
International Standard Version
The Vision of the Valley of Bones
37 The Lord laid his hand on me and brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord to the middle of a valley that was filled with bones. 2 He led me here and there throughout[a] the valley, and I was amazed to see that the surface of the entire valley was covered with myriads of very dry bones! 3 The Lord[b] asked me, “Son of Man, will these bones ever live?”
“Lord God,” I replied, “you know the answer to that!”[c]
4 Then the Lord told me, “Prophesy to these bones. Tell them: ‘You dry bones, listen to the message from the Lord: “ 5 This is what the Lord God says to you[d] dry bones! ‘Pay attention! I’m bringing my Spirit into you right now, and you’re going to live! 6 I’m going to grow tendons on you, regenerate your flesh, cover you with skin, and make you breathe again so that you can come back to life and learn that I am the Lord.’”’”
The Bones are Raised to Life
7 So I prophesied, just as I had been ordered to do so. Immediately there was a noise and a rattling—and then all of a sudden the bones came together by themselves! Each bone came together, all of them attached together![e] 8 As I continued to watch, I saw tendons growing on the bones,[f] and muscles growing and covering them, and then skin covered the flesh from above. But the bodies weren’t breathing. 9 Then he ordered me, “Prophesy to the Spirit, Son of Man. Tell the Spirit, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Come from the four winds, you Spirit, and breathe into these people who have been killed, so they will live.”’” 10 So I prophesied as I had been ordered, breath entered them, and they began to live. They stood on their own feet as a vast, united army.
The Vision is Interpreted for Ezekiel
11 “These bones represent the entire house of Israel,” the Lord[g] explained to me. “Look how they keep saying, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our future is lost. We’ve been completely eliminated!’ 12 “Therefore prophesy to them, and tell them, ‘Watch me! I’m going to open your graves, lift you out of those graves, and bring my people back into the land of Israel. 13 Then you’ll learn that I am the Lord, when I’ve opened your graves and caused you to come up out of them, my people. 14 I’m going to place my Spirit in you all, and you will live. I’ll place you all into your land, and you’ll learn that I, the Lord, have been speaking and doing this,’ declares the Lord.’”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Ezekiel 37:2 Lit. me over them all around all around
- Ezekiel 37:3 Lit. He
- Ezekiel 37:3 The Heb. lacks the answer to that
- Ezekiel 37:5 Lit. these
- Ezekiel 37:7 Lit. together, one to another
- Ezekiel 37:8 Lit. on them
- Ezekiel 37:11 Lit. Israel,” he
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