^37:1The hand¹ of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and placed² me in the midst of the valley, and it was full of bones. ^37:2He made me walk all around among them.³ I realized⁴ there were a great many bones in the valley and they were very dry. ^37:3He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said to him, “Sovereign Lord, you know.” ^37:4Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and tell them: ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. ^37:5This is what the sovereign Lord says to these bones: Look, I am about to infuse breath⁵ into you and you will live. ^37:6I will put tendons⁶ on you and muscles over you and will cover you with skin; I will put breath⁷ in you and you will live. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’ ”

^37:7So I prophesied as I was commanded. There was a sound when I prophesied—I heard⁸ a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to bone. ^37:8As I watched, I saw⁹ tendons on them, then muscles appeared,¹⁰ and skin covered over them from above, but there was no breath¹¹ in them.

^37:9He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath,¹²—prophesy, son of man—and say to the breath: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these corpses so that they may live.’ ” ^37:10So I prophesied as I was commanded, and the breath came into them; they lived and stood on their feet, an extremely great army.

^37:11Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are all the house of Israel. Look, they are saying, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope has perished; we are cut off.’ ^37:12Therefore prophesy, and tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to open your graves and will raise you from your graves, my people. I will bring you to the land of Israel. ^37:13Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and raise you from your graves, my people. ^37:14I will place my breath¹³ in you and you will live; I will give you rest in your own land. Then you will know that I am the Lord—I have spoken and I will act, declares the Lord.’ ”

^37:15The word of the Lord came to me: ^37:16“As for you, son of man, take one branch, and write on it, ‘For Judah, and for the Israelites associated with him.’ Then take another branch and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the branch of Ephraim and all the house of Israel associated with him.’ ^37:17Join¹⁴ them as one stick;¹⁵ they will be as one in your hand. ^37:18When your people¹⁶ say to you, ‘Will you not tell us what these things mean?’ ^37:19tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to take the branch of Joseph which is in the hand of Ephraim and the tribes of Israel associated with him, and I will place them on the stick of Judah,¹⁷ and make them into one stick—they will be one in my hand.’¹⁸^37:20The sticks you write on will be in your hand in front of them. ^37:21Then tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to take the Israelites from among the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from round about and bring them to their land. ^37:22I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king will rule over them all. They will never again be two nations and never again be divided into two kingdoms.¹⁹^37:23They will not defile themselves with their idols, their detestable things, and all their rebellious deeds. I will save them from all their unfaithfulness²⁰ by which they sinned. I will purify them; they will become my people and I will become their God.

^37:24“ ‘My servant David will be king over them; there will be one shepherd for all of them. They will follow²¹ my regulations and carefully observe my statutes.²²^37:25They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, in which your fathers lived; they will live in it—they and their children and their grandchildren forever. David my servant will be prince over them forever. ^37:26I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be a perpetual covenant with them.²³ I will establish them,²⁴ increase their numbers, and place my sanctuary among them forever. ^37:27My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. ^37:28Then, when my sanctuary is among them forever, the nations will know that I, the Lord, sanctify Israel.’ ”²⁵

A Prophecy Against Gog

^38:1The word of the Lord came to me: ^38:2“Son of man, turn toward¹ Gog,² of the land of Magog,³ the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.⁴ Prophesy against him ^38:3and say: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look,⁵ I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. ^38:4I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and bring you out with all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them fully armed, a great company with shields of different types,⁶ all of them armed with swords. ^38:5Persia,⁷ Ethiopia, and Put⁸ are with them, all of them with shields and helmets. ^38:6They are joined by⁹ Gomer with all its troops, and by Beth Togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops—many peoples are with you.¹⁰

^38:7“ ‘Be ready and stay ready, you and all your companies assembled around you, and be a guard for them.¹¹^38:8After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come to a land restored from the ravages of war,¹² with many peoples gathered on the mountains of Israel that had long been in ruins. Its people¹³ were brought out from the peoples, and all of them will be living securely. ^38:9You will advance;¹⁴ you will come like a storm. You will be like a cloud covering the earth, you, all your troops, and the many other peoples with you.

^38:10“ ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind,¹⁵ and you will devise an evil plan. ^38:11You will say, “I will invade¹⁶ a land of unwalled towns; I will advance against¹⁷ those living quietly in security—all of them living without walls and barred gates—^38:12to loot and plunder, to attack¹⁸ the inhabited ruins and the people gathered from the nations, who are acquiring cattle and goods, who live at the center¹⁹ of the earth.” ^38:13Sheba and Dedan and the traders of Tarshish with all its young warriors²⁰ will say to you, “Have you come to loot? Have you assembled your armies to plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to haul away a great amount of spoils?” ’

^38:14“Therefore, prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: On that day when my people Israel are living securely, you will take notice²¹^38:15and come from your place, from the remote parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a vast army. ^38:16You will advance²² against my people Israel like a cloud covering the earth. In the latter days I will bring you against my land so that the nations may acknowledge me, when before their eyes I magnify myself²³ through you, O Gog.

^38:17“ ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Are you the one of whom I spoke in former days by my servants²⁴ the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days²⁵ that I would bring you against them? ^38:18On that day, when Gog invades²⁶ the land of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord, my rage will mount up in my anger. ^38:19In my zeal, in the fire of my fury,²⁷ I declare that on that day there will be a great earthquake²⁸ in the land of Israel. ^38:20The fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the wild beasts, all the things that creep on the ground, and all people who live on the face of the earth will shake²⁹ at my presence. The mountains will topple, the cliffs³⁰ will fall, and every wall will fall to the ground. ^38:21I will call for a sword to attack³¹ Gog³² on all my mountains, declares the sovereign Lord; every man’s sword will be against his brother. ^38:22I will judge him with plague and bloodshed. I will rain down on him, his troops and the many peoples who are with him a torrential downpour, hailstones, fire, and brimstone. ^38:23I will exalt and magnify myself; I will reveal myself before many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’

^39:1“As for you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal! ^39:2I will turn you around and drag you along;¹ I will lead you up from the remotest parts of the north and bring you against the mountains of Israel. ^39:3I will knock your bow out of your left hand and make your arrows fall from your right hand. ^39:4You will fall dead on the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the people who are with you. I give you as food to every kind of bird and every wild beast. ^39:5You will fall dead in the open field; for I have spoken, declares the sovereign Lord. ^39:6I will send fire on Magog and those who live securely in the coastlands; then they will know that I am the Lord.

^39:7“ ‘I will make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; I will not let my holy name be profaned anymore. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.²^39:8Realize that it is coming and it will be done, declares the sovereign Lord. It is the day I have spoken about.

^39:9“ ‘Then those who live in the cities of Israel will go out and use the weapons for kindling³—the shields,⁴ bows and arrows, war clubs and spears—they will burn them for seven years. ^39:10They will not need to take⁵ wood from the field or cut down trees from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons. They will take the loot from those who looted them and seize the plunder of those who plundered them,⁶ declares the sovereign Lord.

^39:11“ ‘On that day I will assign Gog a grave in Israel. It will be the valley of those who travel east of the sea; it will block the way of the travelers. There they will bury Gog and all his horde; they will call it the valley of Hamon-Gog.⁷^39:12For seven months Israel⁸…

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Footnotes

1 Or “power.” Hand in the OT can refer metaphorically to power, authority, or influence. In Ezekiel God’s hand being on the prophet is regularly associated with communication or a vision from God (3:14, 22; 8:1; 37:1; 40:1).
2 Heb “caused me to rest.”
3 Heb “and he made me pass over them, around, around.”
4 The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and is here translated as “I realized” because it results from Ezekiel’s recognition of the situation around him. In Hebrew, the exclamation is repeated in the following sentence.
5 Heb “I am about to bring a spirit.”
6 The exact physiological meaning of the term is uncertain. In addition to v. 8, the term occurs only in Gen 32:33; Job 10:11; 40:17; and Jer 48:4.
7 Or “a spirit.”
8 The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
9 The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
10 Heb “came up.”
11 Or “spirit.”
12 Or “spirit,” and several times in this verse.
13 Or “spirit.” This is likely an allusion to Gen 2 and God’s breath which creates life.
14 Heb “bring near.”
15 Heb “one to one for you for one stick.”
16 Heb “the sons of your people.”
17 Heb “I will place them on it, that is, on the stick of Judah.”
18 The reunification of Israel and Judah is envisioned as well in Ezek 33:23, 29; Jer 3:18; 23:5–6; Hos 1:11; Amos 9:11.
19 Jeremiah also attested to the reuniting of the northern and southern kingdoms (Jer 3:12, 14; 31:2–6).
20 Heb “their dwellings.” The text as it stands does not make sense. Based on the , a slight emendation of two vowels, including a mater, yields the reading “from their turning,” a reference here to their turning from God and deviating from his commandments. See 1000 מְשׁוּבָה, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (), 2:.
21 Heb “walk [in].”
22 Heb “and my statutes they will guard and they will do them.”
23 See Isa 24:5; 55:3; 61:8; Jer 32:40; 50:5; Ezek 16:60, for other references to perpetual covenants.
24 Heb “give them.”
25 The sanctuary of Israel becomes the main focus of Ezek 40–48.
1 Heb “set your face against.”
2 This may refer to a Lydian king in western Asia Minor in the seventh century b.c. Apart from Ezek 38–39, the only other biblical reference to this king/nation is in Rev 20:8. For a study of the names appearing in this verse, see E. Yamauchi, Foes From the Northern Frontier, 19–27.
3 One of the sons of Japheth according to Gen 10:2; 1 Chr 1:5.
4 Heb “the prince, the chief of Meshech and Tubal.” Some translate “the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal,” but it is more likely that the Hebrew noun in question is a common noun in apposition to “prince,” rather than a proper name. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (), 2:. As Block demonstrates, attempts by some popular writers to identify these proper names with later geographical sites in Russia are anachronistic. See as well E. Yamauchi, Foes From the Northern Frontier, 19–27. Meshech and Tubal were two nations in Cappadocia of Asia Minor. They were also sons of Japheth (Gen 10:2; 1 Chr 1:5).
5 Or “I challenge you.” The phrase “I am against you” may be a formula for challenging someone to combat or a duel. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (), 1:, and P. Humbert, “Die Herausforderungsformel ‘hinnenî êlêkâ,’ ” 45 (1933): 101–8.
6 The Hebrew text mentions two different types of shields here.
7 D. I. Block prefers to see the Hebrew word as referring here to a western ally of Egypt or as an alternative spelling for Pathros, that is, Upper Egypt. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (), 2:.
8 That is, Lydia.
9 The words “they are joined by” are added in the translation for purposes of English style.
10 The seven-nation coalition represents the north (Meshech, Tubal, Gomer, Beth-Togarmah), the south/west (Ethiopia, Put) and the east (Persia). The use of the sevenfold list suggests completeness. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (), 2:.
11 The second person singular verbal and pronominal forms in the Hebrew text indicate that Gog is addressed here.
12 Heb “from the sword.”
13 Heb “it.”
14 Heb “go up.”
15 Heb “words will go up upon your heart.”
16 Heb “go up against.”
17 Heb “come (to).”
18 Heb “to turn your hand against.”
19 The Hebrew term occurs elsewhere only in Judg 9:37. Perhaps it means “high point, top.”
20 Heb “young lions.”
21 The Hebrew text is framed as a rhetorical question: “will you not take notice?”
22 Heb “come up.”
23 Or “reveal my holiness.”
24 Heb “by the hand of my servants.”
25 The Hebrew text adds “years” here, but this is probably a scribal gloss on the preceding phrase. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (), 2:.
26 Heb “goes up against.”
27 The phrase “in the fire of my fury” occurs in Ezek 21:31; 22:21, 31.
28 Or “shaking.”
29 Or “tremble.”
30 The term occurs only here and in Song of Songs 2:14.
31 Heb “against.”
32 Heb “him”; the referent (Gog, cf. v. 18) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
1 The Hebrew root occurs only here in the OT. An apparent cognate in the Ethiopic language means “walk along.” For a discussion of the research on this verb, see D. I. Block, Ezekiel (), 2:.
2 The basic sense of the word “holy” is “set apart from that which is commonplace, special, unique.” The Lord’s holiness is first and foremost his transcendent sovereignty as the ruler of the world. He is “set apart” from the world over which he rules. At the same time his holiness encompasses his moral authority, which derives from his royal position. As king he has the right to dictate to his subjects how they are to live; indeed his very own character sets the standard for proper behavior. This expression is a common title for the Lord in the book of Isaiah.
3 Heb “burn and kindle the weapons.”
4 Two different types of shields are specified in the Hebrew text.
5 Heb “they will not carry.”
6 Heb “loot their looters and plunder their plunderers.”
7 The name means “horde of Gog.”
8 Heb “the house of Israel.”