Ezekiel 37

1The hand of Jehovah was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of Jehovah, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones.

1The power of the LORD was upon me, and his Spirit carried me out and set me down in a valley that was filled with bones.

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

2He led me all around them, and I saw that there were a great many bones on the floor of the valley, and they were very dry.

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

3He asked me, 'Human child, can these bones live?' And I answered, 'O Sovereign LORD, only you know the answer to that.'

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

4Then he said to me, 'Prophesy to these bones and say to them: Dry bones, listen to the word of the LORD!'

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

5This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: 'I am about to put breath into you, and you will come to life.'

6And 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 Jehovah.

6'I will attach tendons to you, put flesh on you, cover you with skin, and put breath in you so you will live. Then you will know that I am the LORD.'

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

7So I prophesied just as I was told. As I was speaking, there was a rattling noise, and the bones began to join together, bone to bone.

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

8As I watched, tendons and flesh appeared on them, and skin covered them, but they still had no breath in them.

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

9Then he said to me, 'Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, human child, and say to the breath: This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these dead bodies so that they may live.'

10So 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.

10So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a massive army.

11Then he said unto 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.

11Then he said to me, 'Human child, these bones represent the whole house of Israel. They are saying, Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are completely cut off.'

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

12'Therefore, prophesy and say to them: This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up out of them, and I will lead you back into the land of Israel.'

13And ye shall know that I am Jehovah, when I have opened your graves, and caused you to come up out of your graves, O my people.

13'Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up out of them.'

14And I will put my Spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I will place you in your own land: and ye shall know that I, Jehovah, have spoken it and performed it, saith Jehovah.

14'I 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.'

15The word of Jehovah came again unto me, saying,

15The word of the LORD came to me again:

16And 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:

16'Human child, take a stick and write on it: For Judah and the Israelites associated with him. Then take another stick and write on it: For Joseph (the stick of Ephraim) and all the people of Israel associated with him.'

17and join them for thee one to another into one stick, that they may become one in thy hand.

17'Hold them together so they become a single stick in your hand.'

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

18'When your people ask you, Won’t you tell us what you mean by this?'

19say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his companions; and I will put them with it, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in my hand.

19'Say 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 the tribes of Israel associated with him, and join it to Judah’s stick. I will make them into one stick, and they will be one in my hand.'

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

20'Keep the sticks you have written on in your hand where they can see them.'

21And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, whither they are gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:

21'Then say to them: This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will take the Israelites out from the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land.'

22and 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;

22'I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. One king will rule over all of them, and they will never again be two nations or divided into two kingdoms.'

23neither 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 dwelling-places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.

23'They will no longer defile themselves with their idols, their vile images, or any of their sins. I will save them from all the places where they sinned and turned away, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.'

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

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.'

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

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

26Moreover 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.

26'I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be a permanent covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever.'

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

27'My home will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.'

28And the nations shall know that I am Jehovah that sanctifieth Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.

28'Then the nations will know that I, the LORD, make Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them forever.']}