37 He prophesieth the bringing again of the people, being in captivity. 16 He showeth the union of the ten tribes with the two.
1 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the [a]field, which was full of [b]bones:
2 And he led me round about by them, and behold, they were very many in the open field, and lo, they were very dry.
3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest.
4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.
5 Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones, Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live.
6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and make flesh grow upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, that ye may live, and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, there was a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.
8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews, and the flesh grew upon them, and above the skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind: prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God, Come from the four [c]winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.
10 So I prophesied as he had commanded me: and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is gone, and we are clean cut off.
12 Therefore prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your sepulchers, and bring you into the land of Israel,
13 And ye shall know that I am the Lord, [d]when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your sepulchers,
14 And shall put my Spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then ye shall know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord.
15 ¶ The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying,
16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee a piece of wood, and write upon it, Unto Judah, and to the children of Israel his companions: then take [e]another piece of wood, and write upon it, Unto Joseph the tree of Ephraim, and to all the house of Israel his companions,
17 And thou shalt join them one to another into one tree, and they shall be as one in thine hand.
18 And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not show us what thou meanest by these?
19 Thou shalt answer them, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will take the tree [f]of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him even with the tree of Judah, and make them one tree, and they shall be one in mine hand.
20 And the pieces of wood whereon thou writest, shall be in thine hand, in their sight.
21 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land.
22 And I will make them one people in the land, upon the mountains of Israel, (A)and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two peoples, neither be divided anymore henceforth into two kingdoms.
23 Neither shall they be polluted anymore with their idols, nor with their abominations, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.
24 And David my (B)servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.
25 And they shall dwell in the [g]land, that I have given unto Jacob my servant, where your fathers have dwelt, and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their sons, and their sons’ sons forever, and my servant David shall be their prince forever.
26 Moreover, I will make a (C)covenant of peace with them: it shall be an everlasting covenant with them, and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary among them forevermore.
27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
28 Thus the heathen shall know, that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my Sanctuary shall be among them forevermore.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 37:1 Or, valley.
- Ezekiel 37:1 He showeth by a great miracle that God hath power, and also will deliver his people from their captivity, inasmuch as he is able to give life to the dead bones, and bodies, and raise them up again.
- Ezekiel 37:9 Signifying, all parts whereas the Israelites were scattered: that is, the faithful shall be brought to the same unity of spirit and doctrine, wheresoever they are scattered through the world.
- Ezekiel 37:13 That is, when I have brought you out of those places, and towns where you are captives.
- Ezekiel 37:16 Which signifieth the joining together of the two houses, of Israel, and Judah.
- Ezekiel 37:19 That is, the house of Israel.
- Ezekiel 37:25 Meaning, that the elect by Christ shall dwell in the heaven by Jerusalem, which is meant by the land of Canaan.