Ezekiel 37
1 The hand of the Lord was set upon me, and he led me away in the Spirit of the Lord, and he released me in the midst of a plain which was full of bones.
The hand of Yahweh was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of Yahweh and set me down in the midst of a valley; it was full of bones.
2 And he led me around, through them, on every side. Now they were very many upon the face of the plain, and they were exceedingly dry.
Then he made me pass through them round and round. Behold! A great many of them were in the valley. Behold! They were very dry.
3 And he said to me, “Son of man, do you think that these bones will live?” And I said, “O Lord God, you know.”
He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live again?” So I said, “Lord Yahweh, you alone know.”
4 And he said to me, “Prophesy about these bones. And you shall say to them: Dry bones, listen to the word of the Lord!
Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones. Listen to the word of Yahweh.
5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will send spirit into you, and you shall live.
The Lord Yahweh says this to these bones: Behold! I am about to put breath into you, and you will live.
6 And I will set sinews upon you, and I will cause flesh to grow over you, and I will extend skin over you. And I will give you spirit, and you shall live. And you shall know that I am the Lord.”
I will place sinews over you and bring flesh onto you. I will cover you with skin and put breath within you so you will live. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.'”
7 And I prophesied, just as he had instructed me. But a noise occurred, as I was prophesying, and behold: a commotion. And the bones joined together, each one at its joint.
So I prophesied as I was commanded; as I prophesied, behold, a sound came, that of shaking. Then the bones drew together—bone against bone.
8 And I saw, and behold: sinews and flesh rose up over them; and skin was extended over them. But they had no spirit within them.
I looked and, behold, sinews were now on them, and flesh grew up and skin covered them. But there was still no breath in them.
9 And he said to me: “Prophesy to the spirit! Prophesy, O son of man, and you shall say to the spirit: Thus says the Lord God: Approach, O spirit, from the four winds, and blow across these ones who were slain, and revive them.”
Then Yahweh said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: Breath, come from the four winds, and breathe on these who have been killed, so they may live.'”
10 And I prophesied, just as he had instructed me. And spirit entered into them, and they lived. And they stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.
So I prophesied as I was commanded; the breath came into them and they lived. Then they stood on their feet, a very great army.
11 And he said to me: “Son of man: All these bones are the house of Israel. They say: ‘Our bones are dried out, and our hope has perished, and we have been cut off.’
Then Yahweh said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the entire house of Israel. Behold! They are saying, 'Our bones have dried up, and our hope is gone. We have been cut off.'
12 Because of this, prophesy, and you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your tombs, and I will lead you away from your sepulchers, O my people. And I will lead you into the land of Israel.
Therefore prophesy and say to them, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: Behold! I will open your graves and lift you out from them, my people. I will bring you back to the land of Israel.
13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I will have opened your sepulchers, and when I will have led you away from your tombs, O my people.
Then you will know that I am Yahweh, when I open your graves and bring you out from them, my people.
14 And I will place my Spirit within you, and you shall live. And I will cause you to rest upon your own soil. And you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and acted, says the Lord God.”
I will place my Spirit within you so you will live, and I will cause you to rest in your land when you know that I am Yahweh. I declare and will do it—this is Yahweh's declaration.'”
15 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
16 “And as for you, son of man, take up a piece of wood for yourself, and write upon it: ‘For Judah, and for the sons of Israel, his companions.’ And take up another piece of wood, and write upon it: ‘For Joseph, the wood of Ephraim, and for the entire house of Israel, and for his companions.’
“So now you, son of man, take one stick for yourself and write on it, 'For Judah and for the people of Israel, his companions.' Then take another stick and write on it, 'For Joseph, the branch of Ephraim, and for all the people of Israel, their companions.'
17 And join these, one to the other, for yourself, as one piece of wood. And they will be united in your hand.
Bring both of them together into one stick, so that they become one in your hand.
18 Then, when the sons of your people will speak to you, saying: ‘Will you not tell us what you intend by this?’
When your people speak to you and say, 'Will you not tell us what these things of yours mean?'
19 you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will take up the wood of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, which are joined to him, and I will put them together with the wood of Judah, and I will make them one piece of wood. And they will be one in his hand.
then say to them, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: Behold! I am taking the branch of Joseph that is in the hand of Ephraim and the tribes of Israel his companions and joining it to the branch of Judah, so that they will make one branch, and they will become one in my hand.'
20 Then the pieces of wood, on which you have written, will be in your hand, before their eyes.
Hold in your hand the branches that you wrote on before their eyes.
21 And you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will take up the sons of Israel, from the midst of the nations to which they have gone, and I will gather them together on every side, and I will lead them onto their own soil.
Declare to them, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: Behold! I am about to take the people of Israel from among the nations where they went. I will gather them from the surrounding lands and I will bring them to their land.
22 And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king will be ruler over all. And they will no longer be two nations, nor will they be divided any more into two kingdoms.
I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and there will be one king as king over all of them, and they will no longer be two nations. They will no longer be divided into two kingdoms.
23 And they will no longer be defiled by their idols, and by their abominations, and by all their iniquities. And I will save them, out of all the settlements in which they have sinned, and I will cleanse them. And they will be my people, and I will be their God.
Then they will no longer defile themselves with their idols, their disgusting things, or any of their other sins. For I will save them from all of their faithless actions with which they have sinned, and I will purify them, so they will be my people and I will be their God.
24 And my servant David shall be the king over them, and they shall have one shepherd. They shall walk in my judgments, and they shall keep my commandments, and they shall do them.
David my servant will be king over them. So there will be one shepherd over them all, and they will walk according to my decrees and they will keep my statutes and obey them.
25 And they shall live upon the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, in which your fathers lived. And they shall live upon it, they and their sons, and the sons of their sons, even for all time. And David, my servant, shall be their leader, in perpetuity.
They will live in the land that I have given to my servant Jacob, where your fathers had stayed. They will live in it forever—they, their children, and their grandchildren, for David my servant will be their chief forever.
26 And I will strike a covenant of peace with them. This will be an everlasting covenant for them. And I will establish them, and multiply them. And I will set my sanctuary in their midst, unceasingly.
I will establish a covenant of peace with them. It will be an everlasting covenant with them. I will establish them and multiply them and set my holy place in their midst forever.
27 And my tabernacle shall be among them. And I will be their God, and they will be my people.
My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.
28 And the Gentiles shall know that I am the Lord, the Sanctifier of Israel, when my sanctuary will be in their midst, forever.”
Then the nations will know that I am Yahweh who sets Israel apart, when my holy place is among them forever.'”
