Beginning

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.’”

The Future Union of Israel and Judah

¹⁵ A message came to me from the Lord, and this is what it was: ¹⁶ “Now as for you, Son of Man, grab a stick of wood for yourself and write on it these words:

“Then grab another stick and write on it:

¹⁷ “Then join them together end-to-end so that they become a single baton in your hand. ¹⁸ When the descendants of your people ask you, ‘Would you please explain to us what you mean by this?’ ¹⁹ you are to tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Watch me! I’m taking the baton that represents Joseph, which Ephraim is holding in his hand, along with his companions the tribes of Israel, and I’m going to join them with the baton that represents Judah. I’m making them a single baton, that is, a complete baton in my hand.”

²⁰ “The batons on which you engrave your writing are to remain right in front of them in your hand. ²¹ Then tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Watch me take the Israelis out of the nations where they’ve gone and return them from every direction. I’m going to bring them back into their own land. ²² I’m going to make them a united people in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and I’ll set a single king to rule over them. They’ll never again be two separate people. They’ll never again be divided into two kingdoms. ²³ They will never again defile themselves with their idols, with other loathsome things, or with any of their sins. Instead, I will deliver them from all of the places where they have sinned, and then I’ll cleanse them. They will be my people and I will be their God.”’”

David’s Rule as King

²⁴ “‘“My servant King David will be there for them, and one shepherd will be appointed for them. They will live according to my decrees, keep my regulations, and practice them. ²⁵ They will live in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob and on which your ancestors lived. They will live in that land, along with their children and grandchildren, forever. David my servant will be their everlasting leader. ²⁶ I’ll make a secure covenant^[h] with them, one that will last forever. I will establish them, make them increase in population,^[i] and will place my sanctuary in their midst forever. ²⁷ I will pitch my tent among them and will be their God. They will be my people, ²⁸ and the nations will learn that I, the Lord, am the sanctifier of Israel when I place my sanctuary in their midst forever.”’”

The Prophecy against Gog

38 This message from the Lord came to me: ² “Son of Man, turn your attention toward Gog,^[j] from the land of Magog,^[k] leader of the head^[l] of Meshech,^[m] and of Tubal.^[n] Prophesy this against him: ³ ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Watch out! I’m coming after you, Gog, leader of the head^[o] of Meshech,^[p] and of Tubal.^{[q] 4} I’m going to turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and bring you out—you and your whole army—along with your horses and cavalry riders, all of them richly attired, a magnificent company replete with buckler and shield, and all of them wielding battle swords. ⁵ Persia,^[r] Cush,^[s] and Libya^[t] will be accompanying them, all of them equipped with shields and helmets. ⁶ Gomer^[u] with all its troops, and the household of Togarmah^[v] from the remotest parts of the north with all its troops—many people will accompany you. ⁷ Be prepared. Yes, prepare yourself—you and all of your many battalions that have gathered together around you to protect you.

⁸ “‘“Many days from now—in the latter years—you will be summoned to a land that has been restored from violence.^[w] You will be gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which formerly had been a continuous waste, but which will be populated with people who have been brought back from the nations. All of them will be living there securely. ⁹ You’ll arise suddenly, like a tornado, coming like a windstorm^[x] to cover the land, you and all your soldiers with you, along with many nations.”’”

The Invasion Strategy

¹⁰ “This is what the Lord God says: ‘This is what’s going to happen on the very day that you begin your invasion: You’ll be thinking,^[y] making evil plans, ¹¹ and boasting, “I’m going to invade a land comprised of open country^[z] that is at rest, its people^[aa] living confidently, all of whose inhabitants will be living securely, with neither fortification nor bars on their doors. ¹² I’m going to confiscate anything I can put my hands on. I’ll attack the restored ruins and the people who have been gathered together from the nations, who are acquiring livestock and other goods, and who live at the center of the world’s attention.”^{[ab] 13} ‘Businessmen based in Sheba,^[ac] Dedan,^[ad] Tarshish,^[ae] and all of its growling lions will ask you, “Are you coming for war spoils? Have you assembled your armies to carry off silver and gold, and to gather lots of war booty?”’”

God’s Rebuke to Gog

¹⁴ “Therefore, Son of Man, prophesy to Gog and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “When the day comes when my people are living securely, won’t you be aware of it? ¹⁵ You’ll come in from your home^[af] in the remotest parts of the north. You’ll come with many nations, all of them riding along on horses. You’ll be a huge, combined army. ¹⁶ You’ll come up to invade my people Israel like a storm cloud to cover the land. In the last days, Gog, I’ll bring you up to invade my land so that the world will learn to know me when I show them how holy I am before their very eyes.”’”

A Prediction for the Distant Future

¹⁷ “This is what the Lord God says: ‘Surely you’re the one about whom I spoke years ago in the writings^[ag] of my servants, Israel’s prophets, aren’t you? They predicted back then that I would bring you up after many years, didn’t they? ¹⁸ So it will be that on that day, when Gog^[ah] invades the land of Israel,’ declares the Lord God, ‘my zeal will ignite my anger. ¹⁹ Because of my zeal and burning anger, at that time^[ai] there will be a massive earthquake throughout the land of Israel. ²⁰ I’m going to shake the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the wild beasts, all the creatures that crawl on the earth, and every single human being who lives on the surface of the earth. Mountains will collapse, as will their mountain passages, and every wall will fall to the ground. ²¹ Then I’ll call for war against Gog^[aj] on top of every mountain,’ declares the Lord God, ‘and every weapon of war will be turned against their fellow soldier. ²² I’ll judge them with disease and bloodshed. I’ll shower him, his soldiers, and the vast army that accompanies him with a torrential flood, hailstones, fire, and sulfur. ²³ I will exalt myself and demonstrate my holiness, making myself known to many people, who will learn that I am the Lord.’”

The Destruction of Gog

39 “Now as for you, Son of Man, prophesy against Gog^[ak] and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord God has to say: “Watch out, Gog, you leader of the head^[al] of Meshech and of Tubal! ² I’m going to turn you around, drag you along to your destruction,^[am] and bring you up from the farthest parts of the north, and carry you to the mountains of Israel. ³ There I will strike your bow from your left hand and your arrows from your right, causing your fall. ⁴ You will collapse on the mountains of Israel, along with all of your soldiers and the nations that have accompanied you. There the raptors, vultures,^[an] and wild animals will feed on you. ⁵ You will fall dead in the open fields, because I have ordered this to happen,’ declares the Lord God. ⁶ ‘I’m also going to incinerate Magog, along with those who are settled down and at home in the islands. That’s when they’ll learn that I am the Lord. ⁷ I’ll make my holiness and reputation^[ao] known in the midst of my people Israel, and I won’t let my holiness be profaned anymore. The nations will learn that I, the Lord, am holy in the midst of Israel. ⁸ Pay attention! It’s coming and will certainly happen,’ declares the Lord God. ‘This will be the day about which I’ve spoken!’”’”

The Aftermath of the Battle

⁹ “After all this happens, the people who live in the cities of Israel will be kindling fires for seven years, using small shields, large shields, bows, arrows, clubs, personal weapons, and spears to do so. ¹⁰ They won’t need to cut down trees from the fields nor gather firewood from the forests, because they will light fires with the weapons as they plunder the plunderers and loot the looters!” declares the Lord God. ¹¹ “When all of this happens, I’m going to set aside a grave site for Gog in Israel’s Traveler’s Valley,^[ap] near the approach^[aq] to the Dead Sea. She^[ar] will block off everyone who tries to bypass it. There they will bury Gog, and rename the area ‘Valley of Gog’s Gang’.^{[as] 12} The house of Israel will be burying them for seven months in order to purify the land. ¹³ Everyone in the land will be involved in the burials, and this will serve as a reminder for them that I have glorified myself,” declares the Lord God. ¹⁴ “Men will be assigned to travel continuously throughout the land, exploring for seven full months as they go about burying the bodies that remain from the battle^[at] on the surface of the ground, so that the land may be sterilized. ¹⁵ As scouts go searching throughout the land, whenever they see someone’s bones, they will place a sign beside the remains until the remains have been buried in the Valley of Gog’s Gang. ¹⁶ They’ll also name the city that is there ‘Hamonah,’^[au] as they purify the land.”

An Invitation to Dine on Human Flesh

¹⁷ “Now as for you, Son of Man, this is what the Lord God has to say: ‘Tell all of the birds and wild beasts, “Come! Gather together and participate in the sacrifice that I’m going to make for you. This great sacrifice will take place on the mountains of Israel, where you’ll be eating flesh and drinking blood. ¹⁸ You’ll eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the world’s princes, drinking the blood of these rams, lambs, goats, bulls, all of them fattened as if they’re from Bashan, fit for slaughter! ¹⁹ You’ll eat until you’re fat and satiated. You’ll drink blood until you’re drunk from the sacrifice that I’m going to make for all of you. ²⁰ You’ll be fully satiated at my table, dining on^[av] horse flesh, horsemen, elite soldiers, and every kind of warrior,” declares the Lord God. ²¹ ‘I’m going to display my glory among the people, and every nation will see the judgment that I administer by my own hand among them. ²² The house of Israel will learn that I am the Lord their God from that day forward! ²³ The nations will also learn that because of Israel’s sin the house of Israel went into captivity, since they were unfaithful in their behavior toward me. As a result, I hid my presence from them, turned them over to the control of their enemies, and they died by violence.^{[aw] 24} It was because of their defilement and transgression that I treated them this way by hiding my presence from them.’”

The Final Restoration of Israel

²⁵ “Therefore this is what the Lord God has to say: ‘I’m going to restore the resources of Jacob and show mercy to the entire house of Israel. I’ll be zealous for my own reputation^[ax] and for my holiness. ²⁶ They’ll forget their shame and all of their unfaithfulness by which they behaved so unfaithfully toward me. They will live on their land in confidence, not in fear. ²⁷ When I bring them back from the nations and gather them together from the lands that belong to their enemies, I will demonstrate my holiness through them right in front of the eyes of the world,^{[ay] 28} and they will learn that I am the Lord their God, who sent them into exile and who gathered them back to their land. I will not leave any of them remaining in exile. ²⁹ I’ll no longer hide my presence from them again when I pour out my Spirit on the house of Israel,’ declares the Lord God.”