Ezekiel

Contains visions and prophecies of judgment and restoration for Israel and the nations.

Chapter 37

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 valley which was full of bones,

*God's hand touched me, and with His power, He took me on a spiritual journey. He brought me to a valley filled with bones.

2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.

*He made me go around them. I saw many of them in an open area. 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.

*He asked me, "Can these bones come to life?" I replied, "Only you know, Lord God."

4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.

*He repeated and told me, Speak into these bones, dried up as they are, and tell them, Listen to the LORD's message, O lifeless bones.

5 Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:

*So says the Lord God to these bones: Look, I will make air go inside you, and you'll come to life.

6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

*I will wrap muscle tissue around you, add flesh, put skin over you, give you breath, and you'll come to life. You'll understand that I am the LORD.

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.

*So, I followed the instructions given to me, and while doing so, I heard a sound and felt an earthquake. As a result, the bones started joining together, connecting one bone to another.

8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.

*And when I saw, indeed, their muscles and flesh grew on them, and their skin covered them completely; however, they had no life within.

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 winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.

*Then he told me, Speak to the wind, speak, human one, and tell the wind, This is what the Lord God says: Come from all directions, breath, and blow on these people who have died so they can live again.

10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.

*I followed his instructions and spoke as told, then life breathed into them, they woke up, and stood on their feet - a huge number of soldiers got revived.

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 lost: we are cut off for our parts.

*Then he told me, "Son of man, these bones represent all of Israel. They feel, 'Our bones are dry, and our hope is gone. We're separated and can't be saved.'"

12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.

*So, speak for God and tell the people, "This is what God says: Look, my people, I will make you leave your graves and come back to life, then take you to the land of Israel."

13 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,

*You will understand that I am God when I open your tombs, my people, and raise you from the dead.

14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.

*I will give you my Spirit, making you alive, and take you back to your land. Then you'll understand that I, the Lord, made this happen, says the Lord.

15 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,

*The LORD's message came to me once more, saying,

16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:

*"Additionally, you, human, take one stick and write 'For Judah and the children of Israel' on it. Then, take another stick and write 'For Joseph, the tribe of Ephraim, and all the family of Israel' on it."

17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.

*And connect them together into one stick, and they will be one in your hand.

18 And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?

*When your people's kids ask you, "Don't you want to explain what you mean by these?"

19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick 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 stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.

*Tell them, The Lord God says: Look, I will take Joseph's staff, which is in Ephraim's hand, along with the tribes of Israel as his companions, and join them with Judah's staff. Then I will make them one staff, and they will be united in my hand.

20 And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.

*And the pens you use will be in your hand for them to see.

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:

*And tell them, The Lord God says: Look, I will get the people of Israel from among the non-believers where they are now, collect them from all directions, and take them back to their own land.

22 And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:

*I will unite them into one nation on the mountains of Israel. One king will rule over them, and they won't be two separate nations or kingdoms anymore.

23 Neither shall they 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 dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.

*They won't do bad things anymore by following idols or doing disgusting acts. I will rescue them from where they went wrong and make them clean. They will then belong to me and I will be their God.

24 And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.

*David, my servant, will be their king. They will all have one leader who takes care of them like a shepherd. They will follow my rules and keep my laws.

25 And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.

*They will live in the land I gave to Jacob, where your ancestors lived. They, their children, and their grandchildren will live there forever. And my servant David will be their leader forever.

26 Moreover I will make a 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 in the midst of them for evermore.

*I will create a lasting peace agreement with them. I will increase their numbers and always keep my holy place among them.

27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

*My dwelling place will be with them; yes, I will be their God, and they will be my people.

28 And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.

*The non-believers will realize that I, the Lord, make Israel holy, when my sacred place is always with them forever.

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