Ezekiel 37:11

11 Then he said to me, "Human being! These bones are the whole house of Isra'el; and they are saying, 'Our bones have dried up, our hope is gone, and we are completely cut off.'

Ezekiel 37:11 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 37:11

Then he said unto me, son of man
Here follow the explication and application of the above vision: these bones are the whole house of Israel;
an emblem of them, of their state and condition in the Babylonish captivity, and of them in their present state; and of the whole Israel of God, while in a state of unregeneracy: this phrase takes in the ten tribes, as well as the two tribes of Benjamin and Judah, which returned from Babylon; and shows that respect is had to something more than that restoration barely: behold, they say, our bones are dried;
the house of Israel say we are like dry bones indeed; we have no spirit, nor strength, nor courage, nor life in us: and our hope is lost;
of being delivered from the present captivity; or of the Messiah's coming; or of ever enjoying their own land, and of the promises of those things made unto them: we are cut off for our parts;
from the land of Israel, and have no hope of possessing it again, whatever others have; indeed they are cut off from the olive tree, and are cut down like a tree, both as to their civil and church state. The Targum is,

``and we are perished;''

it is all over with us; we are lost and undone; all the expressions show the desperate and despairing condition they were in.

Ezekiel 37:11 In-Context

9 Next he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath! Prophesy, human being! Say to the breath that Adonai ELOHIM says, 'Come from the four winds, breath; and breathe on these slain, so that they can live.'"

10 So I prophesied as ordered, and the breath came into them, and they were alive! They stood up on their feet, a huge army!

11 Then he said to me, "Human being! These bones are the whole house of Isra'el; and they are saying, 'Our bones have dried up, our hope is gone, and we are completely cut off.'

12 Therefore prophesy; say to them that Adonai ELOHIM says, 'My people! I will open your graves and make you get up out of your graves, and I will bring you into the land of Isra'el.

13 Then you will know that I am ADONAI - when I have opened your graves and made you get up out of your graves, my people!