< Ezekiel 37 >
1 There came over me the inspiration of the Lord, and he carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones;
2 And he caused me to pass by them all round about; and, behold, there were very many of them on the surface of the valley; and, lo, they were very dry.
3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live! And I said, O Lord Eternal, thou alone knowest this.
4 And he said unto me, Prophesy over these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear ye the word of the Lord.
5 Thus hath said the Lord Eternal unto these bones, Behold, I will bring a spirit into you, and ye shall live;
6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and bring up flesh upon you, and draw over you a skin, and put a spirit in you, and ye shall live: and ye shall experience that I am the Lord.
7 And so I prophesied as I had been commanded: and there was a sound, as I prophesied, and behold there was a rustling noise, and the bones came together, bone to its bone.
8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews upon them, and the flesh came up, and the skin was drawn over them above; but no spirit was in them.
9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the spirit; prophesy, son of man, and say to the spirit, Thus hath said the Lord Eternal, From the four winds come, O spirit, and breathe into these slain ones, that they may live.
10 And I prophesied as he had commanded me, and there came into them the spirit, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.
11 Then said he unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Dried are our bones, and lost is our hope; we are quite cut off.
12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Behold, I will open your graves, and I will cause you to come up out of your graves, O my people, and I will bring you into the land of Israel.
13 And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and when I cause you to come up out of your graves, O my people.
14 And I will put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I will place you in your own land: and ye shall acknowledge that I the Lord have spoken it, and done it, saith the Lord.
15 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
16 But thou, son of man, take unto thyself one stick of wood, and write upon it, “For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions;” then take another stick, and write upon it, “For Joseph, —the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:”
17 And join them one to the other unto thee as one stick; and they shall become one in thy hand.
18 And if the children of thy people should say unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not tell us what thou meanest by these?
19 [Then] speak unto them, Thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, —which is in the hand of Ephraim, —and the tribes of Israel his companions, and will lay them upon him, even the stick of Judah, and make them into one stick, and they shall be one in my hand.
20 And the sticks whereon thou shalt have written shall be in thy hand before their eyes.
21 And speak unto them, Thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, whither they are gone, and I will gather them from every side, and bring them unto their own land;
22 And I will make them into one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be to them all for king; and they shall not be any more two nations, nor shall they at any time be divided into two kingdoms any more:
23 Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, and with their detestable things, and with all their transgressions; but I will save them out of all their dwelling-places, wherein they have sinned, and I will cleanse them, and they shall be unto me for a people, and I will be to them for a God.
24 And my servant David shall be king over them; and one shepherd shall be for them all: and in my ordinances shall they walk, and my statutes shall they observe, and do them.
25 And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto my servant, unto Jacob, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and David my servant shall be prince unto them for ever.
26 And I will make with them a covenant of peace, an everlasting covenant shall it be with them: and I will multiply them, and I will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.
27 My dwelling also shall be with them, and I will be unto them for a God; and they shall be unto me as a people.
28 And the nations shall know that I am the Lord who sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary will be in the midst of them for evermore.
