Ezekiel 37:1–28

The Dry Bones Live

37The ^ahand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out ^bin the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. ²Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. ³And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

So I answered, “O Lord God, ^cYou know.”

⁴Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! ⁵Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will ^dcause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. ⁶I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. ^eThen you shall know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”

⁷So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. ⁸Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them.

⁹Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the ¹breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: ^f“Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” ’ ” ¹⁰So I prophesied as He commanded me, ^gand ²breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.

¹¹Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the ^hwhole house of Israel. They indeed say, ⁱ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!’ ¹²Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, ^jO My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and ^kbring you into the land of Israel. ¹³Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. ¹⁴I ^lwill put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,” says the Lord.’ ”

One Kingdom, One King

¹⁵Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁶“As for you, son of man, ^mtake a stick for yourself and write on it: ‘For Judah and for ⁿthe children of Israel, his companions.’ Then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel, his companions.’ ¹⁷Then ^ojoin them one to another for yourself into one stick, and they will become one in your hand.

¹⁸“And when the children of your people speak to you, saying, ^p‘Will you not show us what you mean by these?’—^19qsay to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Surely I will take ^rthe stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will join them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand.” ’ ²⁰And the sticks on which you write will be in your hand ^sbefore their eyes.

²¹“Then say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Surely ^tI will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; ²²and ^uI will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and ^vone king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again. ^23wThey shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but ^xI will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God.

^24y“David My servant shall be king over them, and ^zthey shall all have one shepherd; ^athey shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them. ^25bThen they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children’s children, ^cforever; and ^dMy servant David shall be their prince forever. ²⁶Moreover I will ³make ^ea covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and ^fmultiply them, and I will set My ^gsanctuary in their midst forevermore. ^27hMy tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be ⁱtheir God, and they shall be My people. ^28jThe nations also will know that I, the Lord, ^ksanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.” ’ ”