Ezekiel 37:1-10

The Valley of Dry Bones

1 ¹The hand of the LORD was upon me, and ²he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley;^[a] it was full of bones.

2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry.

3 And he said to me, ³"Son of man, ⁴can these bones live?" And ⁵I answered, "O Lord GOD, you know."

4 Then he said to me, ⁶"Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, ⁷O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.

5 Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause ⁸breath^[b] to enter you, and you shall live.

6 ⁹And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and ¹⁰cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, ¹¹and you shall know that I am the LORD."

7 So I prophesied ¹²as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, ¹³a rattling,^[c] and the bones came together, bone to its bone.

8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But ¹⁴there was no breath in them.

9 Then he said to me, ¹⁵"Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, ¹⁶son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from ¹⁷the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live."

10 So I prophesied ¹⁸as he commanded me, and ¹⁹the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

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Ezekiel 37:1-10 Meaning and Commentary

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.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 19

1. See Ezekiel 1:3
2. See Ezekiel 3:12
3. See Ezekiel 2:1
4. [1 Corinthians 15:35]
5. [Deuteronomy 32:39; John 5:21]
6. [Ezekiel 6:2]
7. [John 5:28]
8. [Genesis 2:7]
9. [ver. 8]
10. [ver. 8]
11. See Ezekiel 6:7
12. Ezekiel 12:7; Ezekiel 24:18
13. [1 Kings 19:11]
14. [ver. 5]
15. [See ver. 4 above]
16. [See ver. 3 above]
17. Daniel 7:2; Daniel 11:4; Revelation 7:1
18. [See ver. 7 above]
19. Revelation 11:11

Footnotes 3

[a]. Or plain; also verse 2
[b]. Or spirit; also verses 6, 9, 10
[c]. Or an earthquake (compare 3:12, 13)

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.