Ezekiel 37
1 There has been a hand of YHWH on me, and He takes me forth in [the] Spirit of YHWH, and places me in the midst of the valley, and it is full of 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 causes me to pass over by them, all around, and behold, very many [are] on the face of the valley, and behold—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 says to me, “Son of man, do these bones live?” And I say, “O Lord YHWH, You have known.”
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 says to me, “Prophesy concerning these bones, and you have said to them, O dry bones, hear a word of YHWH!
He told me, “Prophesy to these bones and tell them, Dry bones, listen to this message from the Lord!
5 Thus said Lord YHWH to these bones: Behold, I am bringing a spirit into you, and you have lived,
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 have given sinews on you, and cause flesh to come up on you, and covered you over with skin, and given a spirit in you, and you have lived, and you have known that I [am] YHWH.”
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 And I have prophesied as I have been commanded, and there is a noise as I am prophesying, and behold, a rushing, and the bones draw near, bone to its bone.
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 beheld, and behold, sinews [are] on them, and flesh has come up, and skin covers them over above—and there is no spirit 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 says to me: “Prophesy to the Spirit, prophesy, son of man, and you have said to the Spirit, Thus said Lord YHWH: Come in from the four winds, O Spirit, and breathe on these slain, and they 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 And I have prophesied as He commanded me, and the Spirit comes into them, and they live, and stand on their feet—a very, very great force.
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 He says to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they are saying, Our bones have dried up, And our hope has perished, We have been cut off by ourselves.
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 you have said to them, Thus said Lord YHWH: Behold, I am opening your graves, And have brought you up out of your graves, O My people, And brought 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 have known that I [am] YHWH, In My opening your graves, And in My bringing you up out of your graves, O My people.
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 have given My Spirit in you, and you have lived, And I have caused you to rest on your land, And you have known that I, YHWH, have spoken, and I have done [it], A declaration of YHWH.”
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 there is a word of YHWH to me, saying,
Another message from the Lord came to me, saying,
16 “And you, son of man, take one stick for yourself, and write on it, For Judah, and for the sons of Israel, his companions; and take another stick, and write on it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and all the house of Israel, his companions,
“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 bring them near to one another, to you, for one stick, and they have become one in your hand.
Then join the two pieces of wood into one, so that you hold them as one in your hand.
18 And when sons of your people speak to you, saying, Do you not declare to us what these [are] to you?
When your people come and ask you, ‘Are you going to explain what this is all about?’
19 Speak to them, Thus said Lord YHWH: Behold, I am taking the stick of Joseph, that [is] in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his companions, and have given them to him, with the stick of Judah, and have made them become one stick, and they have been one in My hand.
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 sticks on which you write have been in your hand before your eyes,
When you're holding the pieces of wood you've written on, and while everyone is watching,
21 and speak to them, Thus said Lord YHWH: Behold, I am taking the sons of Israel, From among the nations to where they have gone, And have gathered them from all around, And I have brought them into their land.
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 have made them become one nation in the land, on mountains of Israel, And one king is to them all for king, And they are no longer as two nations, Nor are they divided anymore into two kingdoms again.
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 Nor are they defiled anymore with their idols, And with their abominations, And with any of their transgressions, And I have saved them out of all their dwellings, In which they have sinned, And I have cleansed them, And they have been to Me for a people, And I am to them for 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 [is] king over them, And they all have one shepherd, And they go in My judgments, And they keep My statutes, and have done 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 have dwelt on the land that I gave to My servant, to Jacob, In which your fathers have dwelt, And they have dwelt on it, they and their sons, And their son’s sons—for all time, And My servant David [is] their prince for all time.
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 have made a covenant of peace with them, It is a perpetual covenant with them, And I have placed them, and multiplied them, And placed My sanctuary in their midst for all time.
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 dwelling place has been over them, And I have been to them for God, And they have been to Me for a people.
My Tabernacle will be with them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
28 And the nations have known that I, YHWH, am sanctifying Israel, In My sanctuary being in their midst for all time!”
The nations will acknowledge that I am the Lord who blesses Israel, when my sanctuary is with them forever.”
