Ezekiel 37:1-14
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Valley of Dry Bones
37 The hand of the Lord was on me,(A) and He brought me out by His Spirit(B) and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me all around them. There were a great many of them on the surface of the valley, and they were very dry. 3 Then He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
I replied, “Lord God, only You know.”(C)
4 He said to me, “Prophesy concerning these bones and say to them: Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Lord God says to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you will live.(D) 6 I will put tendons on you, make flesh grow on you, and cover you with skin. I will put breath in you so that you come to life. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.”(E)
7 So I prophesied as I had been commanded. While I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 As I looked, tendons appeared on them, flesh grew, and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. 9 He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath,[a] prophesy, son of man. Say to it: This is what the Lord God says: Breath, come from the four winds and breathe into these slain so that they may live!”(F) 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me; the breath[b] entered them,(G) and they came to life and stood on their feet, a vast army.
11 Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel.(H) Look how they say, ‘Our bones are dried up,(I) and our hope has perished;(J) we are cut off.’(K) 12 Therefore, prophesy and say to them: This is what the Lord God says: I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them,(L) My people, and lead you into the land of Israel. 13 You will know that I am Yahweh, My people, when I open your graves and bring you up from them.(M) 14 I will put My Spirit in you,(N) and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I am Yahweh. I have spoken, and I will do it.”(O) This is the declaration of the Lord.
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- Ezekiel 37:9 Or wind, or spirit
- Ezekiel 37:10 Or wind, or spirit
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.’”
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- 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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