Ezekiel 37
1 Yahweh’s hand was on me, and he brought me out in Yahweh’s Spirit, and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones.
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].
2 He caused me to pass by them all around; and behold, there were very many in the open valley, and behold, they were very dry.
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.
3 He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I answered, “Lord Yahweh, you know.”
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].”
4 Again he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and tell them, ‘You dry bones, hear Yahweh’s word.
Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones. Say to them, ‘You dry bones, listen to what Yahweh says.
5 The Lord Yahweh says to these bones: “Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you will live.
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.
6 I will lay sinews on you, and will bring up flesh on you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you will live. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.”’”
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].’”
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. As I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, there was an earthquake. Then the bones came together, bone to its bone.
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.
8 I saw, and, behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh came up, and skin covered them above; but there was no breath in them.
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.
9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the wind, prophesy, son of man, and tell the wind, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Come from the four winds, breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.”’”
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!’”
10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up on their feet, an exceedingly great army.
So I said what he commanded me to say, and then breath entered them. They became alive and stood up, like a huge army.
11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost. We are completely cut off.’
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.’
12 Therefore prophesy, and tell them, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, my people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel.
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.
13 You will know that I am Yahweh, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, my people.
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].
14 I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live. Then I will place you in your own land; and you will know that I, Yahweh, have spoken it and performed it,” says Yahweh.’”
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.’”
15 Yahweh’s word came again to me, saying,
Yahweh gave me [another] message. He said,
16 “You, son of man, take one stick and write on it, ‘For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions.’ Then take another stick, and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions.’
“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.’
17 Then join them for yourself to one another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand.
Then join them together to become [as though they were] one piece of wood in your hand.
18 “When the children of your people speak to you, saying, ‘Won’t you show us what you mean by these?’
When your fellow Israelis ask you, ‘What does (this action/what you just did) mean?’,
19 tell them, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his companions; and I will put them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in my hand.
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.’
20 The sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes.”’
Then, [you human], hold up the pieces of wood that you have written on, in order that the people can see them.
21 Say to them, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land.
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.
22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. One king will be king to them all. They will no longer be two nations. They won’t be divided into two kingdoms any more at all.
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.
23 They won’t defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will save them out of all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. So they will be my people, and I will be their God.
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.
24 “‘“My servant David will be king over them. They all will have one shepherd. They will also walk in my ordinances and observe my statutes, and do them.
[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].
25 They will dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob my servant, in which your fathers lived. They will dwell therein, they, and their children, and their children’s children, forever. David my servant will be their prince forever.
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.
26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them. It will be an everlasting covenant with them. I will place them, multiply them, and will set my sanctuary among them forever more.
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.
27 My tent also will be with them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
The place where I will live will be among them; I will be their God and they will be my people.
28 The nations will know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is among them forever more.”’”
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].’”
