Ezekiel, 37

1. The hand of Yahweh was on me; he carried me away by the spirit of Yahweh and set me down in the middle of the valley, a valley full of bones.

1. 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; it was full of bones.

2. He made me walk up and down and all around among them. There were vast quantities of these bones on the floor of the valley; and they were completely dry.

2. And he led me round among them; and behold, there were very many upon the valley; and lo, they were very dry.

3. He said to me, 'Son of man, can these bones live?' I said, 'You know, Lord Yahweh.'

3. And he said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord GOD, thou knowest."

4. He said, 'Prophesy over these bones. Say, "Dry bones, hear the word of Yahweh.

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

5. The Lord Yahweh says this to these bones: I am now going to make breath enter you, and you will live.

5. Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.

6. I shall put sinews on you, I shall make flesh grow on you, I shall cover you with skin and give you breath, and you will live; and you will know that I am Yahweh." '

6. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the LORD."

7. I prophesied as I had been ordered. While I was prophesying, there was a noise, a clattering sound; it was the bones coming together.

7. So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone.

8. And as I looked, they were covered with sinews; flesh was growing on them and skin was covering them, yet there was no breath in them.

8. And as I looked, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them.

9. He said to me, 'Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man. Say to the breath, "The Lord Yahweh says this: Come from the four winds, breath; breathe on these dead, so that they come to life!" '

9. Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live."

10. I prophesied as he had ordered me, and the breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet, a great, an immense army.

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

11. Then he said, 'Son of man, these bones are the whole House of Israel. They keep saying, "Our bones are dry, our hope has gone; we are done for."

11. Then he said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, `Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off.'

12. So, prophesy. Say to them, "The Lord Yahweh says this: I am now going to open your graves; I shall raise you from your graves, my people, and lead you back to the soil of Israel.

12. Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you home into the land of Israel.

13. And you will know that I am Yahweh, when I open your graves and raise you from your graves, my people,

13. And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people.

14. and put my spirit in you, and you revive, and I resettle you on your own soil. Then you will know that I, Yahweh, have spoken and done this -- declares the Lord Yahweh." '

14. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken, and I have done it, says the LORD."

15. The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as follows,

15. The word of the LORD came to me:

16. 'Son of man, take a stick and write on it, "Judah and those Israelites loyal to him." Take another stick and write on it, "Joseph (Ephraim's wood) and all the House of Israel loyal to him."

16. "Son of man, take a stick and write on it, `For Judah, and the children of Israel associated with him'; then take another stick and write upon it, `For Joseph (the stick of E'phraim) and all the house of Israel associated with him';

17. 'Join one to the other to make a single piece of wood, a single stick in your hand.

17. and join them together into one stick, that they may become one in your hand.

18. And when the members of your nation say, "Will you not tell us what you mean?"

18. And when your people say to you, `Will you not show us what you mean by these?'

19. say, "The Lord Yahweh says this: I am taking the stick of Joseph (now in Ephraim's hand) and those tribes of Israel loyal to him and shall join them to the stick of Judah. I shall make one stick out of the two, a single stick in my hand."

19. say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am about to take the stick of Joseph (which is in the hand of E'phraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with him; and I will join with it the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, that they may be one in my hand.

20. 'When the pieces of wood you have written on are in your hand in full sight of them,

20. When the sticks on which you write are in your hand before their eyes,

21. say, "The Lord Yahweh says this: I shall take the Israelites from the nations where they have gone. I shall gather them to- gether from everywhere and bring them home to their own soil.

21. then say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all sides, and bring them to their own land;

22. I shall make them into one nation in the country, on the mountains of Israel, and one king is to be king of them all; they will no longer form two nations, nor be two separate kingdoms.

22. and I will make them one nation in the land, upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms.

23. They will no longer defile themselves with their foul idols, their horrors and any of their crimes. I shall save them from the acts of infidelity which they have committed and shall cleanse them; they will be my people and I shall be their God.

23. They shall not defile themselves any more with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions; but I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

24. My servant David will reign over them, one shepherd for all; they will follow my judgements, respect my laws and practise them.

24. "My servant David shall be king over them; and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall follow my ordinances and be careful to observe my statutes.

25. They will live in the country which I gave to my servant Jacob, the country in which your ancestors lived. They will live in it, they, their children, their children's children, for ever. David my servant is to be their prince for ever.

25. They shall dwell in the land where your fathers dwelt that I gave to my servant Jacob; they and their children and their children's children shall dwell there for ever; and David my servant shall be their prince for ever.

26. I shall make a covenant of peace with them, an eternal covenant with them. I shall resettle them and make them grow; I shall set my sanctuary among them for ever.

26. I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will bless them and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.

27. I shall make my home above them; I shall be their God, and they will be my people.

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

28. And the nations will know that I am Yahweh the sanctifier of Israel, when my sanctuary is with them for ever." '

28. Then the nations will know that I the LORD sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary is in the midst of them for evermore."