Ezekiel 37
1 One day Yahweh gave me another vision. In the vision I felt the power [MTY] of God on me, and by his Spirit he took me to the middle of a valley. It was full of bones [of people who had been killed].
The hand of Yahweh, being upon me, he carried me forth in the spirit of Yahweh, and set me down in the midst of a plain, —and the same was full of bones;
2 He led me to walk back and forth among those bones. I saw that there were very many bones there, bones that were very dry.
and he caused me to pass near them. round about on every side, —and lo! they were very many on the face of the plain, and lo! they were very dry.
3 He asked me, “You human, [do you think that] these bones can become living [people again]?” I replied, “Yahweh my Lord, only you know [if that can happen].”
Then said he unto me, Son of man. Can these bones, live? And I said My Lord Yahweh, thou, knowest!
4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones. Say to them, ‘You dry bones, listen to what Yahweh says.
Then said he unto me, Prophesy, over these bones, —and thou shalt say unto them, Ye bones so dry! hear ye the word of Yahweh!
5 This is what Yahweh the Lord says to you bones: I will put my breath into each of you, and you will become alive again.
Thus saith My Lord Yahweh, Unto these bones, — Lo! I am about to bring into you— spirit, and ye shall live;
6 I will fasten tendons to your bones, and cause your bones to be covered with flesh. I will cover the flesh with skin. Then I will breathe into you, and you will become alive. When that happens, you will know that I, Yahweh, [have the power to do what I say that I will do].’”
Yea I will lay upon you—sinews, And bring up over you flesh. And cover over you—skin, And put in you—spirit And ye shall live, Then shall ye know that I, am Yahweh.
7 So I spoke to the bones what Yahweh commanded me to speak. As I was speaking, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bones joining to each other.
And when I prophesied as I was commanded, then was there a noise, as I prophesied and lo! a rattling, and the bones came near, each bone unto its own bone.
8 While I was looking, I saw tendons fastening to them and flesh covering them, and then skin covered the flesh, but they did not breathe.
And when I looked, then lo! upon them were sinews, and flesh had come up, and there had spread over them skin above, but spirit, was there none within them.
9 Then he said to me, “You human, prophesy to the wind. Say to the wind, ‘Wind [APO], Yahweh says to you, blow from all four directions. Breathe into these people who have been killed, in order that they can become alive again!’”
Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the spirit, Prophesy, Son of man. and thou shalt say unto the spirit. Thus saith My Lord Yahweh- From the four winds, come thou, O spirit, And breathe into these slain That they may live.
10 So I said what he commanded me to say, and then breath entered them. They became alive and stood up, like a huge army.
And when I prophesied as he commanded me, then came into them the spirit, and they lived and stood upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
11 Then he said to me, “You human, these bones represent all the Israeli people [MTY]. The people say, ‘[It is as though] our bones are dried up; there are no more good things that we can (hope for/confidently expect to happen to us); our nation is destroyed/finished.’
Then said he unto me, Son of man. These bones, are all the house of Israel, — Lo! they are saying. Dried are our bones, and lost is our hope We are quite cut off!
12 So prophesy and say to them, ‘This is what Yahweh the Lord says: My people, [it will be as though] I will open your graves and cause your corpses to become alive again. I will bring you back to Israel.
Therefore prophesy and thou shalt say unto them Thus saith My Lord Yahweh, Lo I myself am going to open your graves And will cause you to come up out of your graves. O my people, — And will bring you upon the soil of Israel.
13 Then, what that happens, you my people will know that I, Yahweh the Lord, [have the power to do what I say that I will do].
So shall ye know that I, am Yahweh, — When I open your graves. And cause you to come up out of your graves O my people,
14 I will put my Spirit in you, and [it will be as though] you will become alive again, and I will enable you to live in your own land again. Then you will know that it is I, Yahweh, who said [that it would happen] and who has caused it to happen. That is what I, Yahweh, declare.’”
And I will put my spirit within you and ye shall live, And I will settle you upon your own soil, So shall ye know that I, Yahweh have spoken and have performed. Declareth Yahweh.
15 Yahweh gave me [another] message. He said,
And the word of Yahweh came unto me saying:
16 “You human, take a piece of wood and write on it, ‘This represents Judah and all the tribes of Judah.’ Then take another piece of wood and write on it, ‘This represents Israel and all the tribes of Israel.’
Thou therefore Son of man Take thee one stick, and write upon it For Judah, and for the sons of Israel his companions, Then take thou another stick, and write upon it For Joseph the stick of Ephraim, and all the house of Israel his companions.
17 Then join them together to become [as though they were] one piece of wood in your hand.
Then bring them near—the one to the other —for thee into one stick, - And they shall become united in thy hand.
18 When your fellow Israelis ask you, ‘What does (this action/what you just did) mean?’,
And when the sons of thy people speak unto thee, saying, - Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to thee?
19 tell them, ‘This is what Yahweh the Lord says: One of the pieces of wood in my hand represents Israel and all the tribes of Israel. I am joining it to the piece of wood that represents Judah, to form one piece of wood in his hand.’
speak unto them Thus saith My Lord Yahweh, Lo! I, myself, am going to take the stick of Joseph. which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions, — And I will place them upon it even upon the stick of Judah. And will make of them one stick, And they shall become one in my hand.
20 Then, [you human], hold up the pieces of wood that you have written on, in order that the people can see them.
And the sticks whereon thou shalt write shall remain in thy hand before their eyes.
21 Say to the people, ‘This is what Yahweh the Lord says: I will take you Israeli people out of the countries to which you have been forced to go. I will gather you from all those nations and bring you back to your own land.
Therefore speak thou unto them Thus, saith My Lord Yahweh, Lo! I myself, am going to take the sons of Israel, from among the nations whither they have gone, — And I will gather them from every side, And will bring them in upon their own soil;
22 And I will cause you to again be one nation in that land, on the mountains in Israel. And there will be one king to rule over all of you. Never again will you be two nations or divided into two kingdoms.
And will make of them one nation in the land. among the mountains of Israel, And one king, shall they all have for king, —And they shall remain no longer two nations, Nor shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more.
23 No longer will you (defile yourselves/make yourselves unacceptable to me) by [worshiping] idols and disgusting statues [of your gods], because I will enable you to quit your sinful behavior and to stop rejecting me. You will be my people, and I will be your God.
Neither shall they defile themselves any more With their manufactured gods or With their detestable things, or With any of 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 become my people, And I, will become their God.
24 [Someone who will be like] [MET] [King] David who served [me well] will be the king [of your descendants], and [it will be as though] [MET] he will be their shepherd. They will carefully obey all my laws [DOU].
And my servant David shall be king over them, And one shepherd, shall they all have, And in my regulations, shall they walk, And my statutes, shall they observe and do them.
25 They will live in the land that I gave to Jacob, who also served [me well]; they will live in the land where your ancestors lived. They and their children and their grandchildren will live there forever, and [the one who will be like] [MET] [King] David will be their king forever.
And they shall dwell upon the land. which I gave to my servant- to Jacob, Wherein your fathers dwelt, — Yea they shall dwell thereupon. They, and their children and their children’s children Unto times age-abiding, And David my servant shall be prince unto them Unto times age-abiding.
26 I will make a peace agreement with them; it will be an agreement that will endure forever. I will again give them that land and cause their population to increase. And I will put my temple among them forever.
And I will solemnise to them a covenant of prosperity, A covenant age-abiding, shall it be with them, — And I will place them. And multiply them, And set my sanctuary in the midst of them. Unto times age-abiding.
27 The place where I will live will be among them; I will be their God and they will be my people.
And my habitation shall be over them, And I will become their God, - And they, shall become my people,
28 Then, when my temple is forever there among them, the people of other nations will know that I, Yahweh, have caused the Israeli people to be set apart [to belong to me].’”
So shall the nations know that I, Yahweh, am hallowing Israel, - When my sanctuary is in the midst of them Unto times age-abiding.
