Jezekiel 37
1 And the hand of the Lord came upon me, and the Lord brought me forth by the Spirit, and set me in the midst of the plain, and it was full of human bones.
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.
2 And he led me round about them every way: and, behold, [there were] very many on the face of the plain, very dry.
He led me around them, and in all directions I saw many, many bones on the valley floor. They were really dry.
3 And he said to me, Son of man, will these bones live? and I said, O Lord God, you know this.
Then he asked me, “Son of man, can these bones come back to life?” “Lord God, only you know the answer,” I replied.
4 And he said to me, Prophesy upon these bones, and you shall say to them, You dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.
He told me, “Prophesy to these bones and tell them, Dry bones, listen to this message from the Lord!
5 Thus says the Lord to these bones; Behold, I [will] bring upon you the breath of life:
This is what the Lord God says to these bones: I will breathe into you, and you will come back to life.
6 and I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and will spread skin upon you, and will put my Spirit into you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.
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.”
7 So I prophesied as [the Lord] commanded me: and it came to pass while I was prophesying, that, behold, [there was] a shaking, and the bones approached each one to his joint.
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.
8 And I looked, and behold, sinews and flesh grew upon them, and skin came upon them above: but there was not breath in them.
As I watched, I saw tendons and flesh grow on them, and skin covered them; but the bodies didn't breathe.
9 And he said to me, Prophesy to the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus says the Lord; Come from the four winds, and breathe upon these dead [men], and let them live.
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!”
10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath entered into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, a very great congregation.
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!
11 And the Lord spoke to me, saying, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: and they say, Our bones are become dry, our hope has perished, we are quite spent.
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!’
12 Therefore prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord; Behold, I [will] open your tombs, and will bring you up out of your tombs, and will bring you into the land of Israel.
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.
13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, that I may bring up my people from [their] graves.
Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and lift you out of them, my people.
14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you upon your own land: and you shall know that I [am] the Lord; I have spoken, and will do [it], says the Lord.
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.”
15 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
Another message from the Lord came to me, saying,
16 Son of man, take for yourself a rod, and write upon it, Juda, and the children of Israel his adherents; and you shall take for yourself another rod, and you shall inscribe it for Joseph, the rod of Ephraim, and all the children of Israel that belong to him.
“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.’
17 And you shall joint them together for yourself, so as that they should bind themselves into one stick; and they shall be in your hand.
Then join the two pieces of wood into one, so that you hold them as one in your hand.
18 And it shall come to pass, when the children of your people shall say to you, Will you not tell us what you meanest by these things?
When your people come and ask you, ‘Are you going to explain what this is all about?’
19 Then shall you say to them, Thus says the Lord; behold, I will take the tribe of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel that belong to him, and I will add them to the tribe of Juda, and they shall become one rod in the hand of Juda.
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.
20 And the rods on which you did write shall be in your hand in their presence.
When you're holding the pieces of wood you've written on, and while everyone is watching,
21 And you shall say to them, Thus says the Lord God; Behold, I [will] take the whole house of Israel out of the midst of the nations, among whom they have gone, and I will gather them from all that are round about them, and I will bring them into the land of Israel.
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.
22 And I will make them a nation in my land, even on the mountains of Israel; and they shall have one prince: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided any more at all into two kingdoms:
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.
23 that they may no more defile themselves with their idols; and I will deliver them from all their transgressions whereby they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be to me a people, and I the Lord will be to them a God.
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.
24 And my servant David [shall be] a prince in the midst of them: there shall be one shepherd of [them] all; for they shall walk in mine ordinances, and keep my judgments, and do them.
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.
25 And they shall dwell in their land, which I have given to my servant Jacob, where their fathers lived; and they shall dwell upon it: and David my servant [shall be their] prince forever.
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.
26 And I will make with them a covenant of peace; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will establish my sanctuary in the midst of them for ever.
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.
27 And my tabernacle shall be among them; and I will be to them a God, and they shall be my people.
My Tabernacle will be with them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
28 And the nations shall know that I am the Lord that sanctifies them, when my sanctuary is in the midst of them for ever.
The nations will acknowledge that I am the Lord who blesses Israel, when my sanctuary is with them forever.”
