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 (A)one stick and write on it, ‘For (B)Judah and for the sons of Israel, his companions’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For (C)Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel, his companions.’ 17 Then (D)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 (E)what [a]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 (F)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 (G)one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and (H)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 (I)no longer defile themselves with their idols, or with their detestable things, or with any of their offenses; but (J)I will rescue them from all their [b]dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. And they will be My people, and I will be their God.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 37:18 Lit these are to you
  2. Ezekiel 37:23 Another reading is offenses

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.

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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.