Ezekiel 37–39

37TH CHAPTER

The Valley of Dry Bones

¹The power of the Lord came over me. The Lord brought me out by his Spirit and put me down in the middle of a valley. The valley was filled with bones. ²He led me all around them. I saw that there were very many bones at the bottom of the valley, and they were very dry. 

³Then he asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” 

I answered, “Only you know, Almighty Lord.” 

⁴Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones. Tell them, ‘Dry bones, listen to the Lord’s word. ⁵This is what the Almighty Lord says to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you will live. ⁶I will put ligaments on you, place muscles on you, and cover you with skin. I will put breath in you, and you will live. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’ ” 

⁷So I prophesied as I was commanded. While I was prophesying, suddenly there was a rattling noise, and the bones came together, one bone ⸤attaching itself⸥ to another. ⁸As I looked, I saw that ligaments were on them, muscles were on them, and skin covered them. Yet, there was no breath in them. 

⁹Then the Lord said to me, “Prophesy to the breath!^aProphesy, son of man. Tell the breath, ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says: Come from the four winds, Breath, and breathe on these people who were killed so that they will live.’ ” 

¹⁰So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath entered them. Then they came to life and stood on their feet. There were enough of them to form a very large army. 

¹¹The Lord also said to me, “Son of man, all the people of Israel are like these bones. The people say, ‘Our bones are dry, and our hope has vanished. We are completely destroyed.’ ¹²So prophesy. Tell them, ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says: My people, I will open your graves and take you out of them. I will bring you to Israel. ¹³Then, my people, you will know that I am the Lord, because I will open your graves and bring you out of your graves. ¹⁴I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live. I will place you in your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’ ” 

¹⁵The Lord spoke his word to me again. He said, ¹⁶“Son of man, take a stick and write on it: ‘For Judah and for the Israelites who are associated with it.’ Then take another stick and write on it, ‘The stick of Ephraim, for Joseph and for all the people of Israel associated with it.’ ¹⁷Then join both sticks together so that they will be one in your hand. Your people will say to you, ¹⁸‘Tell us what you mean by this.’ ¹⁹Then say to them, ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says: I will take Joseph’s stick, which is in Ephraim’s hand, and the tribes of Israel associated with it, and I will put them with Judah’s stick. I will make them into one stick. They will be one in my hand.’ ²⁰When you hold the sticks in your hand, let the people see them. 

²¹“Then tell them, ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they’ve gone. I will gather them from everywhere and bring them to their own land. ²²I will form them into one nation in the land on the mountains of Israel. One king will rule all of them. They will no longer be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms. ²³They will no longer dishonor themselves with their idols, with their detestable things, or with their rebellious acts. I will forgive them for all the times they turned away from me and sinned. I will cleanse them so that they will be my people, and I will be their God. 

²⁴“ ‘My servant David will be their king, and all of them will have one shepherd. They will live by my rules, and they will obey my laws. ²⁵They will live in the land that I gave my servant Jacob, the land where their ancestors lived. They, their children, and their grandchildren will live in it permanently. My servant David will always be their prince. ²⁶I will promise them peace. This promise^bwill last forever. I will establish them, make them increase in number, and put my holy place among them permanently. ²⁷My dwelling place will be with them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. ²⁸Then the nations will know that I, the Lord, have set Israel apart as holy, because my holy place will be among them permanently.’ ” 

38TH CHAPTER

The Destruction of Gog and Its Army

¹The Lord spoke his word to me. He said, ²“Son of man, turn to Gog from the land of Magog. He is the chief prince of ⸤the nations of⸥ Meshech and Tubal. Prophesy against him. ³Tell him, ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says: I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. ⁴I will turn you around and put hooks in your jaws. I will lead you out with all your military forces, with horses and riders. Your soldiers will be fully armed. They will carry large and small shields and be able to use swords. ⁵Persia, Sudan, and Put will be with you. They, too, will have shields and helmets. ⁶Gomer will come with all its troops and with the nation of Togarmah from the far north. There will be many armies with you. 

⁷“ ‘Be prepared! Be prepared, you and all the soldiers assembled around you. You will be their leader. ⁸After a long time you will be called to service. In the years to come, you will attack a land that has been rebuilt after a war. Its people have been gathered from many nations and brought to the mountains of Israel, mountains that have been ruined for a long time. These people were brought there from the nations, and all of them live there safely. ⁹You will attack like a storm and cover the land like a cloud. Your troops and the many armies will be with you. 

¹⁰“ ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says: At that time ideas will enter your head, and you will make wicked plans. ¹¹You will say, “I’ll attack a land with unwalled villages. I will attack peaceful people who live safely. All of them live without walls, locks, or gates. ¹²I will come to rob them and loot them. I will use my power against the ruins that people are living in again. I will use it against the people who were gathered from the nations. These people have cattle and property, and they live in the world.” 

¹³“ ‘Sheba, Dedan, the merchants from Tarshish, and all their villages will ask you, “Did you come to rob these people of their possessions? Did you assemble all these soldiers to carry away large amounts of silver and gold and to take cattle and property?” ’ 

¹⁴“So prophesy, son of man. Tell Gog, ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says: At that time my people Israel will live safely, and you will know it. ¹⁵You will come from your place in the far north and many armies will be with you. All of you will ride on horses. You will be a large crowd and a mighty army. ¹⁶You will attack my people Israel like a cloud that covers the land. In the days to come, I will let you attack my land so that nations will know me. I will use you for my holy purpose as they watch. 

¹⁷“ ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says: You are the one I spoke about long ago through my servants the prophets of Israel. They prophesied in those days that I would bring you to attack them. ¹⁸On the day that Gog attacks the land of Israel, I will be filled with burning anger, declares the Almighty Lord. ¹⁹In my fiery anger I tell you this. On that day there will be a large earthquake in the land of Israel. ²⁰Fish, birds, wild animals, everything that crawls on the ground, and every person on earth will tremble in my presence. The mountains will be torn down, the cliffs will crumble, and every wall will fall to the ground. ²¹I will declare war against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Almighty Lord. Each person will use his sword against his relative. ²²I will punish Gog with plagues and death. I will send rainstorms, large hailstones, fire, and burning sulfur on his troops and on the many armies with him. ²³I will show my greatness and my holiness. I will reveal myself to many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’ ” 

39TH CHAPTER

¹⸤The Lord said,⸥ “Son of man, prophesy against Gog. Tell it, ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says: I am against you, Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. ²I will turn you around and lead you. I will bring you from the far north and have you attack the mountains of Israel. ³Then I will knock the bow out of your left hand and make you drop the arrows in your right hand. ⁴You will die on the mountains of Israel with your troops and the armies that are with you. I will let you become food for every bird of prey and for every wild animal. ⁵You will die in the open field because I said so, declares the Almighty Lord. ⁶I will send fire on Magog and on those who live safely on the coasts. Then they will know that I am the Lord. ⁷I will make my holy name known among my people Israel, and I will never let them dishonor my holy name again. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. 

⁸“ ‘It’s coming! It will happen! declares the Almighty Lord. This is the day I have spoken about. ⁹Those living in the cities of Israel will go out. They will set fire to weapons and burn them. They will burn small and large shields, bows and arrows, and war clubs and spears. They will burn them for seven years. ¹⁰They will not need to get wood from the field or cut down trees in the woods. They will make fires with the weapons. They will loot those who looted them, and they will grab things back from those who grabbed their things, declares the Almighty Lord. 

¹¹“ ‘When that day comes, I will give Gog a burial place in Israel. It will be in Travelers Valley, east of the Dead Sea. It will block those who travel ⸤through the valley⸥. Gog and his whole army will be buried there. So it will be called the valley of Gog’s troops. ¹²The people of Israel will be burying them there for seven months to make the land clean.^a13All the common people will be burying them. The people of Israel will be honored on the day of my victory, declares the Almighty Lord. 

¹⁴“ ‘People will be chosen to go…