Ezekiel 37:1-28
37 The hand of Jehovah was upon me, and by his spirit Jehovah took me and set me down in the middle of the valley plain,+ and it was full of bones.
2 He had me pass all around them, and I saw that there were very many bones lying in the valley plain, and they were very dry.+
3 He asked me: “Son of man, can these bones come to life?” To that I said: “Sovereign Lord Jehovah, you are the one who knows.”+
4 So he said to me: “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, ‘You dry bones, hear the word of Jehovah:
5 “ ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says to these bones: “I will cause breath to enter you, and you will come to life.+
6 I will put sinews and flesh on you, and I will cover you with skin and put breath in you, and you will come to life; and you will have to know that I am Jehovah.” ’ ”
7 Then I prophesied just as I had been commanded. As soon as I prophesied, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones began to come together, bone to bone.
8 Then I saw sinews and flesh come on them, and skin covered over them. But there was still no breath in them.
9 He then said to me: “Prophesy to the wind. Prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: “From the four winds come in, O wind,* and blow upon these people who were killed, so that they may come to life.” ’ ”
10 So I prophesied just as he commanded me, and breath* came into them, and they began to live and to stand on their feet,+ an extremely large army.
11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel.+ Here they are saying, ‘Our bones are dry, and our hope has perished.+ We are completely cut off.’
12 So prophesy and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: “I will open your graves+ and raise you up from your graves, my people, and bring you to the land of Israel.+
13 And you will have to know that I am Jehovah when I open your graves and when I raise you up out of your graves, O my people.” ’+
14 ‘I will put my spirit in you and you will come to life,+ and I will settle you on your land; and you will have to know that I myself, Jehovah, have spoken and I have done it,’ declares Jehovah.”
15 The word of Jehovah again came to me, saying:
16 “And you, son of man, take a stick and write on it, ‘For Judah and for the people of Israel who are with him.’*+ Then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Eʹphra·im, and all the house of Israel who are with him.’*+
17 Then bring them close to each other so that they become just one stick in your hand.+
18 When your people* say to you, ‘Will you not tell us what these things mean?’
19 tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: “I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Eʹphra·im, and the tribes of Israel who are with him, and I will join them to the stick of Judah; and I will make them one stick,+ and they will become one in my hand.” ’
20 The sticks that you write on should be in your hand for them to see.
21 “Then tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: “I will take the Israelites from among the nations where they have gone, and I will collect them together from every direction and bring them to their land.+
22 I will make them one nation in the land,+ on the mountains of Israel, and one king will rule over all of them,+ and they will no longer be two nations; nor will they be divided any longer into two kingdoms.+
23 They will no longer defile themselves with their disgusting idols* and their detestable practices and all their transgressions.+ I will save them from all their unfaithfulness by which they have sinned, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I myself will be their God.+
24 “ ‘ “My servant David will be their king,+ and they will all have one shepherd.+ They will walk in my judicial decisions and carefully observe my statutes.+
25 They will dwell on the land that I gave to my servant, to Jacob, where your forefathers lived,+ and they will dwell on it forever,+ they and their children* and their children’s children;+ and David my servant will be their chieftain* forever.+
26 “ ‘ “And I will make a covenant of peace with them;+ it will be an eternal covenant with them. I will establish them and make them many+ and place my sanctuary among them forever.
27 My tent* will be with* them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.+
28 And the nations will have to know that I, Jehovah, am sanctifying Israel when my sanctuary is in their midst forever.” ’ ”+
Footnotes
^ Or “breath; spirit.”
^ Or “spirit.”
^ Or “who are his partners.”
^ Or “who are his partners.”
^ Lit., “the sons of your people.”
^ The Hebrew term may be related to a word for “dung” and is used as an expression of contempt.
^ Or “prince.”
^ Lit., “sons.”
^ Or “dwelling place; home.”
^ Or “over.”
