The Valley of Dry Bones
1The power of the Lord came on me. His Spirit brought me away from my home. He put me down in the middle of a valley. It was full of bones. 2He led me back and forth among them. I saw a huge number of bones in the valley. The bones were very dry. 3The Lord asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
I said, “Lord and King, you are the only one who knows.”
4Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones. Tell them, ‘Dry bones, listen to the Lord’s message. 5The Lord and King speaks to you. He says, “I will put breath in you. Then you will come to life again. 6I will attach tendons to you. I will put flesh on you. I will cover you with skin. So I will put breath in you. And you will come to life again. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”
7So I prophesied just as the Lord commanded me to. As I was prophesying, I heard a noise. It was a rattling sound. The bones came together. One bone connected itself to another. 8I saw tendons and flesh appear on them. Skin covered them. But there was no breath in them.
9Then the Lord said to me, “Prophesy to the breath. Prophesy, son of man. Tell it, ‘The Lord and King says, “Breath, come from all four directions. Go into these people who have been killed. Then they can live.” ’ ” 10So I prophesied just as he commanded me to. And breath entered them. Then they came to life again. They stood up on their feet. They were like a huge army.
11Then the Lord said to me, “Son of man, these bones stand for all the people of Israel. The people say, ‘Our bones are dried up. We’ve lost all hope. We are destroyed.’ 12So prophesy. Tell them, ‘The Lord and King says, “My people, I am going to open up your graves. I am going to bring you out of them. I will take you back to the land of Israel. 13So I will open up your graves and bring you out of them. Then you will know that I am the Lord. You are my people. 14I will put my Spirit in you. And you will live again. I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I have spoken. I have done it,” announces the Lord.’ ”
Israel Will Be One Nation Under One King
15A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, 16“Son of man, get a stick of wood. Write on it, ‘Belonging to the tribe of Judah and the Israelites who are connected with it.’ Then get another stick. Write on it, ‘Ephraim’s stick. Belonging to the tribes of Joseph and all the Israelites connected with them.’ 17Join them together into one stick in your hand.
18“Your people will ask you, ‘What do you mean by this?’ 19Tell them, ‘The Lord and King says, “I am going to get the stick of Joseph and the Israelites connected with it. That stick is in Ephraim’s hand. I am going to join it to Judah’s stick. I will make them a single stick of wood in my hand.” ’ 20Show them the sticks you wrote on. 21Tell them, ‘The Lord and King says, “I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them together from all around. I will bring them back to their own land. 22There I will make them one nation. They will live on the mountains of Israel. All of them will have one king. They will never be two nations again. They will never again be separated into two kingdoms. 23They will no longer make themselves ‘unclean’ by worshiping any of their evil gods. They will not do wrong things anymore. They always turn away from me. But I will save them from that sin. I will make them pure and ‘clean.’ They will be my people. And I will be their God.
24“ ‘ “A man who belongs to the family line of my servant David will be their king. All of them will have one shepherd. They will obey my laws. And they will be careful to keep my rules. 25They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob. That is where your people of long ago lived. They, their children, their children’s children, and their children after them will live there forever. And my servant from David’s family line will be their prince forever. 26I will make a covenant with them. It promises to give them peace. The covenant will last forever. I will make them my people. And I will cause there to be many of them. I will put my temple among them forever. 27I will live with them. I will be their God. And they will be my people. 28My temple will be among them forever. Then the nations will know that I make Israel holy. I am the Lord.” ’ ”
The valley of dry bones
1The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2He led me to and fro among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3He asked me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’
I said, ‘Sovereign Lord, you alone know.’
4Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones and say to them, “Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath37:5 The Hebrew for this word can also mean wind or spirit (see verses 6-14). enter you, and you will come to life. 6I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” ’
7So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
9Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.” ’ 10So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet – a vast army.
11Then he said to me: ‘Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, “Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.” 12Therefore prophesy and say to them: “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.” ’
One nation under one king
15The word of the Lord came to me: 16‘Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, “Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him.” Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, “Belonging to Joseph (that is, to Ephraim) and all the Israelites associated with him.” 17Join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand.
18‘When your people ask you, “Won’t you tell us what you mean by this?” 19say to them, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am going to take the stick of Joseph – which is in Ephraim’s hand – and of the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join it to Judah’s stick. I will make them into a single stick of wood, and they will become one in my hand.” 20Hold before their eyes the sticks you have written on 21and say to them, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. 22I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms. 23They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offences, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding,37:23 Many Hebrew manuscripts (see also Septuagint); most Hebrew manuscripts all their dwelling-places where they sinned and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.
24‘ “My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees. 25They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your ancestors lived. They and their children and their children’s children will live there for ever, and David my servant will be their prince for ever. 26I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them for ever. 27My dwelling-place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. 28Then the nations will know that I the Lord make Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them for ever.” ’
