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 was upon me, and brought me forth in the spirit of the Lord: and set me down in the midst of a plain that 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 led me about through them on every side: now they were very many upon the face of the plain, and they were exceeding 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, dost thou think these bones shall live? And I answered: O Lord God, thou knowest.
4 He told me, “Prophesy to these bones and tell them, Dry bones, listen to this message from the Lord!
And he said to me: Prophesy concerning these bones; and say to them: Ye dry bones, hear 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.
Thus saith the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will send spirit into you, and you shall live.
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 lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to grow over you, and will cover you with skin: and I will give you spirit and you shall live, and you shall know 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.
And I prophesied as he had commanded me: and as I prophesied there was a noise, and behold a commotion: and the bones came together, each one to its joint.
8 As I watched, I saw tendons and flesh grow on them, and skin covered them; but the bodies didn't breathe.
And I saw, and behold the sinews, and the flesh came up upon them: and the skin was stretched out over them, but there was no spirit 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: Prophesy to the spirit, prophesy, O son of man, and say to the spirit: Thus saith the Lord God: Come, spirit, from the four winds, and blow upon these slain, and let them live again.
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 prophesied as he had commanded me: and the spirit came into them, and they lived: and they stood up upon their feet, an exceeding 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!’
And he said to me: Son of man: All these bones are the house of Israel: they say: Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost, and we are cut off.
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.
Therefore prophesy, and say to them: Thus saith the Lord God: Behold I will open your graves, and will bring you out of your sepulchres, O my people: and will bring 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 shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall have opened your sepulchres, and shall have brought you out of your graves, 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 shall have put my spirit in you, and you shall live, and I shall make you rest upon your own land: and you shall know that I the Lord have spoken, and done it, saith the Lord God:
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 thou son of man, take thee a stick: and write upon it: Of Juda, and of the children of Israel his associates: and take another stick and write upon it: For Joseph the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel, and of his associates.
17 Then join the two pieces of wood into one, so that you hold them as one in your hand.
And join them one to the other into one stick, and they shall become one in thy hand.
18 When your people come and ask you, ‘Are you going to explain what this is all about?’
And when the children of thy people shall speak to thee, saying: Wilt thou not tell us what thou meanest by this?
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.
Say to them: Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel that are associated with him, and I will put them together with the stick of Juda, and will make them one stick: and they shall be one in his hand.
20 When you're holding the pieces of wood you've written on, and while everyone is watching,
And the sticks whereon thou hast written, shall be in thy 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 thou shalt say to them: Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will take the children of Israel from the midst of the nations whither they are gone: and I will gather them on every side, and will bring them to their own 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 shall be king over them all: and they shall no more be two nations, neither shall they be divided any more 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.
Nor shall they be defiled any more with their idols, nor with their abominations, nor with all their iniquities: and I will save them out of all the places in which they have sinned, and I will cleanse them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their 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 shall be king over them, and they shall have one shepherd: they shall walk in my judgments, and shall keep my commandments, and shall 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 shall dwell in the land which I gave to my servant Jacob, wherein your fathers dwelt, and they shall dwell in it, they and their children, and their children’s children, for ever: and David my servant shall be their prince 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 a covenant of peace with them, it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will establish them, and will multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for ever.
27 My Tabernacle will be with them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
And my tabernacle shall be with them: and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
28 The nations will acknowledge that I am the Lord who blesses Israel, when my sanctuary is with them forever.”
And the nations shall know that I am the Lord the sanctifier of Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for ever.
