The Valley of Dry Bones

37 dThe hand of the Lord was upon me, and ehe brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley;1 it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, f“Son of man, gcan these bones live?” And hI answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, i“Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, jO dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause kbreath2 to enter you, and you shall live. 6 lAnd I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and lcover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, mand you shall know that I am the Lord.”

7 So I prophesied nas I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, oa rattling,3 and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But pthere was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, i“Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, fson of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from qthe four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied nas he commanded me, and rthe breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

11 Then he said to me, f“Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and sour hope is lost; twe are indeed cut off.’ 12 Therefore iprophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, uI will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And vI will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And wyou shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And xI will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; yI have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”