Ezekiel 37:15-23
New Living Translation
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.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 37:16 Hebrew This is Ephraim’s wood, representing Joseph and all the house of Israel; similarly in 37:19.
- 37:23a The Hebrew term (literally round things) probably alludes to dung.
- 37:23b As in many Hebrew manuscripts and Greek version; Masoretic Text reads from all their dwelling places where they sinned.
Ezekiel 37:15-23
English Standard Version
I Will Be Their God; They Shall Be My People
15 The word of the Lord came to me: 16 (A)“Son of man, (B)take a stick[a] and write on it, ‘For (C)Judah, and (D)the people of Israel associated with him’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For (E)Joseph (the stick of (F)Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with him.’ 17 And (G)join them one to another into one stick, that (H)they may become (I)one in your hand. 18 And when (J)your people say to you, (K)‘Will you not tell us what you mean by these?’ 19 say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am about to take (L)the stick of Joseph (that is in the hand of Ephraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with him. And I will join with it the (M)stick of Judah,[b] and (N)make them one stick, (O)that they may be one in my hand. 20 When the sticks on which you write are in your hand (P)before their eyes, 21 then say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, (Q)I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and (R)bring them to their own land. 22 And (S)I will make them one nation in the land, on (T)the mountains of Israel. And (U)one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer (V)two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. 23 (W)They shall not (X)defile themselves anymore (Y)with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But (Z)I will save them from all the backslidings[c] in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and (AA)they shall be my people, and I will be their God.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Ezekiel 37:16 Or one piece of wood; also verses 17, 19, 20
- Ezekiel 37:19 Hebrew And I will place them on it, the stick of Judah
- Ezekiel 37:23 Many Hebrew manuscripts; other Hebrew manuscripts dwellings
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
