Ezekiel 37

A Valley of Dried Bones; A Renewed Nation of Israel

1 The hand of Yahweh was upon me, and he brought me by the Spirit of Yahweh, and he {let me rest} in the midst of the valley, and it [was] full of bones.

2 And he led me {all around} over them, and look, very many on the surface of the valley, and look, very dry.

3 And he said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I said, "Lord Yahweh, you know."

4 And he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and you must say to them, [to] the dry bones, 'Hear the word of Yahweh!

5 Thus says the Lord Yahweh to these bones: "Look! I [am] bringing into you breath, and you will live!

6 And I will lay on you sinews, and I will let flesh come upon you, and I will cover you over [with] skin, and I will put breath into you, and you will live, and you will know that I [am] Yahweh." '"

7 And I prophesied {just as} I had been commanded, and [there] was a sound at my prophesying, and look! A rattling, and they came together--[the] bones! Bone to its bone!

8 And I looked, and indeed, sinews [were] on them, and flesh went up, and skin covered over them {upward}, but breath [was] not in them.

9 And he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and you must say to the breath, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh {from the four winds}, "Come, O spirit and breath, on these dead ones, so that they may live!" '"

10 And I prophesied {as} he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they became alive, and they stood on their feet, a very, very large group.

11 And he said to me, "Son of man, these bones [are] all of the house of Israel; look! [they are] saying, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is destroyed; {we are cut off as far as we are concerned}.'

12 Therefore prophesy, and you must say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Look! I [am] opening your graves, and I will bring you up from your graves, my people, and I will bring you to the land of Israel!

13 And you will know that I [am] Yahweh when I open your graves when I bring you up from your graves, my people!

14 And I will put my breath into you so that you may live, and I will cause you to rest on your soil, and you will know that I, Yahweh, I have spoken, and I will act!" ' {declares} Yahweh."

15 And the word of Yahweh {came} to me, {saying},

16 "And you, son of man, take for yourself {a piece of wood}, and write on it, 'For Judah and for the {Israelites} his associates,' and take another [piece of] wood, and write on it, 'For Joseph, [the piece of] wood of Ephraim and all of the house of Israel his associates.'

17 And join them one to [the] other with respect to you [as] one [piece of] wood, so that they may become one in your hand.

18 {When} {your people} say to you, {saying}, 'Will you not inform us [as to] what these [actions] mean for you?'

19 [Then] speak to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Look! I [am] taking [the piece of] wood for Joseph that [is] in the hand of Ephraim and the tribes of Israel its associates, and I will put them on it, [the piece of] wood of Judah, and I will make them into one [piece of] wood, so that they be one in my hand.'"

20 And the [pieces of] wood [on] which you wrote will be in your hand before their eyes.

21 And speak to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Look! I [am] taking the {Israelites} from among {the nations to which they went}, and I will gather them from {everywhere}, and I will bring them to their [own] soil.

22 And I will make them into one nation in the land on the mountains of Israel, and {they will all have one king as their king}, and they will not again be two nations and will not again divide into two kingdoms again.

23 And they will not defile themselves again with their idols and with vile idols and with all of their transgressions, and I will save them from all of their apostasy {by which they sinned}, and I will cleanse them and they will be for me as a people and I, I will be for them as God.

24 " '"And my servant David [will be] king over them, and one shepherd will be for all of them, and in my regulations they will go, and my statutes they will observe, and they will do them.

25 And they will dwell on the land that I gave to my servant, to Jacob, {in which your ancestors dwelled}, and they will dwell on it, they and their children and the children of their children {forever}, and my servant David [will be] a leader for them {forever}.

26 And I will make with them a covenant of peace; {an everlasting covenant} it will be with them. And I will establish them, and I will cause them to increase, and I will put my sanctuary in the midst of them {forever}.

27 And my tabernacle will be with them, and I will be for them as God, and they will be to me as a nation.

28 And the nations will know that I, Yahweh, [am] consecrating Israel when my sanctuary [is] in the midst of them {forever}." '"

Ezekiel 37 Commentary

Chapter 37

God restores dried bones to life. (1-14) The whole house of Israel is represented as enjoying the blessings of Christ's kingdom. (15-28)

Verses 1-14 No created power could restore human bones to life. God alone could cause them to live. Skin and flesh covered them, and the wind was then told to blow upon these bodies; and they were restored to life. The wind was an emblem of the Spirit of God, and represented his quickening powers. The vision was to encourage the desponding Jews; to predict both their restoration after the captivity, and also their recovery from their present and long-continued dispersion. It was also a clear intimation of the resurrection of the dead; and it represents the power and grace of God, in the conversion of the most hopeless sinners to himself. Let us look to Him who will at last open our graves, and bring us forth to judgment, that He may now deliver us from sin, and put his Spirit within us, and keep us by his power, through faith, unto salvation.

Verses 15-28 This emblem was to show the people, that the Lord would unite Judah and Israel. Christ is the true David, Israel's King of old; and those whom he makes willing in the day of his power, he makes to walk in his judgments, and to keep his statutes. Events yet to come will further explain this prophecy. Nothing has more hindered the success of the gospel than divisions. Let us study to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace; let us seek for Divine grace to keep us from detestable things; and let us pray that all nations may be obedient and happy subjects of the Son of David, that the Lord may be our God, and we may be his people for evermore.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "placed me"; literally "set me"
• [b]. Literally "all around, all around"
• [c]. Or "mortal," or "son of humankind"
• [d]. Literally "as that"
• [e]. Or "appeared"
• [f]. Or "on"
• [g]. Literally "from to above"
• [h]. Or "mortal," or "son of humankind"
• [i]. Literally "from four winds"
• [j]. Literally "like what"
• [k]. Or "mortal," or "son of humankind"
• [l]. Literally "we are cut in two for us"
• [m]. Literally "declaration of"
• [n]. Literally "was"
• [o]. Literally "to say"
• [p]. Or "mortal," or "son of humankind"
• [q]. Literally "[a piece of] wood one"
• [r]. Literally "sons/children of Israel"
• [s]. Or "for"
• [t]. Literally "as that"
• [u]. Literally "the children of your people"
• [v]. Literally "to say"
• [w]. Literally "sons/children of Israel"
• [x]. Literally "which they went there"
• [y]. Literally "all around"
• [z]. Literally "and king one he will be for all of them to king"
• [aa]. According to the reading tradition (Qere)
• [ab]. Or "which they sinned by them"
• [ac]. Literally "which they dwelt in it your fathers"
• [ad]. Literally "until eternity" or "until unlimited time"
• [ae]. Literally "to eternity" or "to endless ages"
• [af]. Literally "a covenant of eternity"
• [ag]. Literally "to eternity" or "to unlimited ages"
• [ah]. Literally "to eternity" or "to unlimited ages"

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 37

This chapter contains a prophecy of the Jews' return from captivity to their own land; of the union of the each tribes with one another; and of the glorious kingdom of Christ among them. Their restoration is represented by a vision of dry bones made alive; the place in which they were; the condition they were in; and the manner in which they were made to live, are described, Eze 37:1-10, the explication and application of this vision to the Jews, Eze 37:11-14, their union is signified by a sign or emblem of two sticks, which became one in the hand of the prophet, Eze 37:15-17, the meaning of this is shown, Eze 37:18-20, then follow promises of their return to their own land, in express words; of their being one kingdom, under one King, Christ, the antitype of David, of their sanctification; of their covenant interest in God, made manifest to them; and of his presence, and dwelling among them, Eze 37:21-28.