Ezekiel 37
1 The Lord picked me up and carried me away by his Spirit. He set me down in the middle of a valley that was full of bones.
The hand of the Lord had been on me, and he took me out in the spirit of the Lord and put me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones;
2 He led me around them, and in all directions I saw many, many bones on the valley floor. They were really dry.
And he made me go past them round about: and I saw that there was a very great number of them on the face of the wide valley, and they were very dry.
3 Then he asked me, “Son of man, can these bones come back to life?” “Lord God, only you know the answer,” I replied.
And he said to me, Son of man, is it possible for these bones to come to life? And I made answer, and said, It is for you to say, O Lord.
4 He told me, “Prophesy to these bones and tell them, Dry bones, listen to this message from the Lord!
And again he said to me, Be a prophet to these bones, and say to them, O you dry bones, give ear to the word of the Lord.
5 This is what the Lord God says to these bones: I will breathe into you, and you will come back to life.
This is what the Lord has said to these bones: See, I will make breath come into you so that you may come to life;
6 I will give you tendons and have flesh grow over you and cover you with skin. I will breathe into you so that you will come back to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”
And I will put muscles on you and make flesh come on you, and put skin over you, and breath into you, so that you may have life; and you will be certain that I am the Lord.
7 So I prophesied just as I had been ordered. When I started prophesying, suddenly I heard a rattling noise. The bones joined together, bone attached to bone.
So I gave the word as I was ordered: and at my words there was a shaking of the earth, and the bones came together, bone to bone.
8 As I watched, I saw tendons and flesh grow on them, and skin covered them; but the bodies didn't breathe.
And looking I saw that there were muscles on them and flesh came up, and they were covered with skin: but there was no breath in them.
9 Then he told me, “Prophesy to the breath! Prophesy, son of man, and tell the breath that this is what the Lord God says: Breath, come from the four winds, and breathe into these bodies, so that they can come back to life!”
And he said to me, Be a prophet to the wind, be a prophet, son of man, and say to the wind, The Lord has said: Come from the four winds, O wind, breathing on these dead so that they may come to life.
10 So I prophesied just as he had ordered me, and the breath went into the bodies, and they came back to life and stood up, a huge army!
And I gave the word at his orders, and breath came into them, and they came to life and got up on their feet, a very great army.
11 He told me, “Son of man, these bones represent all the people of Israel. Listen to what the people are saying, ‘Our bones have dried up, and our hope has been crushed. We have been wiped out!’
Then he said to me, Son of man, these bones are all the children of Israel: and see, they are saying, Our bones have become dry our hope is gone, we are cut off completely.
12 So prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord God says: My people, I'm going to open your graves and lift you out of them, and I will take you back to the country of Israel.
For this cause be a prophet to them, and say, This is what the Lord has said: See, I am opening the resting-places of your dead, and I will make you come up out of your resting-places, O my people; and I will take you into the land of Israel.
13 Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and lift you out of them, my people.
And you will be certain that I am the Lord by my opening the resting-places of your dead and making you come up out of your resting-places, O my people.
14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live again, and I will take you back to your own country. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will carry it out, declares the Lord.”
And I will put my spirit in you, so that you may come to life, and I will give you a rest in your land: and you will be certain that I the Lord have said it and have done it, says the Lord.
15 Another message from the Lord came to me, saying,
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
16 “Son of man, get one piece of wood and write on it: ‘This belongs to Judah and the Israelite tribes allied to them.’ Then get another piece of wood and write on it: ‘This belongs to Joseph. This is Ephraim's piece of wood, and to the Israelite tribes allied to them.’
And you, son of man, take one stick, writing on it, For Judah and for the children of Israel who are in his company: then take another stick, writing on it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and all the children of Israel who are in his company:
17 Then join the two pieces of wood into one, so that you hold them as one in your hand.
Then, joining them one to another, make them one stick, so that they may be one in your hand.
18 When your people come and ask you, ‘Are you going to explain what this is all about?’
And when the children of your people say to you, Will you not make clear to us what these things have to do with us?
19 tell them that this is what the Lord God says: I'm going to take Joseph's piece of wood, which Ephraim is holding, along with the Israelite tribes allied with them, and I'll join them with Judah's piece of wood. I will make them into a single piece of wood, and they will be as one in my hand.
Then say to them, This is what the Lord has said: See, I am taking the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel who are in his company; and I will put it on the stick of Judah and make them one stick, and they will be one in my hand.
20 When you're holding the pieces of wood you've written on, and while everyone is watching,
And the sticks with your writing on them will be in your hand before their eyes.
21 tell them that this is what the Lord God says: I'm going to bring the Israelites back from the nations where they've gone. I will gather them from everywhere and take them back to their own country.
And say to them, These are the words of the Lord: See, I am taking the children of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and will get them together on every side, and take them into their land:
22 I will make them one nation in the country, living in the mountains of Israel, and one king will rule them all. They won't be two nations any longer; never again will they be divided into two kingdoms.
And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king will be king over them all: and they will no longer be two nations, and will no longer be parted into two kingdoms:
23 They won't make themselves unclean anymore with their idols or disgusting images, or with any of their rebellious sins. I will save them from all their sins when they abandoned me, and I will make them clean. They will be my people, and I will be their God.
And they will no longer make themselves unclean with their images or with their hated things or with any of their sins: but I will give them salvation from all their turning away in which they have done evil, and will make them clean; and they will be to me a people, and I will be to them a God.
24 My servant David will be their king. They will be united under one ruler. They will follow my laws, and they will observe and practice my regulations.
And my servant David will be king over them; and they will all have one keeper: and they will be guided by my orders and will keep my rules and do them.
25 They will live in the country I gave to my servant Jacob where your forefathers lived. They will live there with their children and grandchildren forever, and my servant David will be their prince forever.
And they will be living in the land which I gave to Jacob, my servant, in which your fathers were living; and they will go on living there, they and their children and their children's children, for ever: and David, my servant, will be their ruler for ever.
26 I will make an agreement of peace with them. This will be an everlasting agreement. I will make them secure and increase their numbers, and I will keep my sanctuary there with them forever.
And I will make an agreement of peace with them: it will be an eternal agreement with them: and I will have mercy on them and make their numbers great, and will put my holy place among them for ever.
27 My Tabernacle will be with them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
And my House will be over them; and I will be to them a God, and they will be to me a people.
28 The nations will acknowledge that I am the Lord who blesses Israel, when my sanctuary is with them forever.”
And the nations will be certain that I who make Israel holy am the Lord, when my holy place is among them for ever.
