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 the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it 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 led me walk all around among them. And look, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and look, 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].”
And he said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "LORD, you know."
4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones. Say to them, ‘You dry bones, listen to what Yahweh says.
Then he said to me, "Prophesy over these bones, and tell them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.'
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 says the LORD to these bones: 'Look, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you will 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].’”
And I will put tendons on you, and make flesh grow on you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you will live. Then you will know that I am the LORD.'"
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.
So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a sound, and look, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to 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 I watched, and look, there were tendons on them, and flesh grew and skin covered them. But there was no breath in 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 he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and tell the breath, 'Thus says the LORD: Come from the four winds, breath, and breathe on these corpses, 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.
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.
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 he said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Look, they say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are completely 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 tell them, 'Thus says the LORD: Look, I will open your graves and will raise you from your graves, my people. And I will bring you into the land 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].
And you will know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves and raise you up out of your graves, 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 breath in you and you will live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you will know that I am the LORD; I have spoken it and I will do it,' says the LORD."
15 Yahweh gave me [another] message. He said,
And the word of the LORD came again to 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.’
"And you, son of man, take one stick and write on it, 'For Judah, and the people of Israel associated with him.' Then take another stick and write on it, 'For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel associated with him.'
17 Then join them together to become [as though they were] one piece of wood in your hand.
Then join them one to another for yourself into one stick, that they may become one in your hand.
18 When your fellow Israelis ask you, ‘What does (this action/what you just did) mean?’,
And when your people ask you, saying, 'Will you not tell us what these things mean?'
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.’
tell them, 'Thus says the LORD: "Look, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel associated with him, and I will put them on it, that is, on the stick of Judah, and make them into one stick, and they will be 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 on which you write on will be in your hand in front of them.
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.
"Then say to them, 'Thus says the LORD: Look, I am going to take the people of Israel from among the nations where they are gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them into their own land.
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 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king will rule over them, and they will no longer be two nations, and no longer be divided into two kingdoms.
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.
And they will no longer defile themselves with their idols, or with their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all their unfaithfulness in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. And will they be my people, and I will be 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 will be king over them; and they will all have one shepherd. And they will walk in my ordinances, and observe my statutes, 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 will live in the land that I gave to Jacob my servant, in which your fathers lived; and they and their children and their children's children will live there forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever.
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 make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will give to them and increase their numbers, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forever.
27 The place where I will live will be among them; I will be their God and they will be my people.
And my dwelling place will be with them; and I will be their God, and they will be 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].’”
Then the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forever."'"
