Ezekiel 37:1–14

THE VALLEY OF DRY BONES

37The 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. ²He led me all around them. There were a great many of them on the surface of the valley, and they were very dry. ³Then he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

I replied, “Lord God, only you know.”^c

⁴He said to me, “Prophesy concerning these bones and say to them: Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! ⁵This 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 the Lord.”^e

⁷So 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. ⁸As I looked, tendons appeared on them, flesh grew, and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. ⁹He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, 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 entered them,^g and they came to life and stood on their feet, a vast army.

¹¹Then 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. ¹³You will know that I am the Lord, 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 the Lord. I have spoken, and I will do it.^o This is the declaration of the Lord.’ ”