Ezekiel 37

1 The hand of the Lord was made on me, and led me out in the spirit of the Lord; and he let go me in the midst of a field that was full of bones; (The hand of the Lord was made upon me, and led me out in the spirit of the Lord; and he let me go in the midst of a field that was full of bones;)

2 and he led me about by them in compass. Forsooth those were full many on the face of the field, and dry greatly. (and he led me about all around them. And they were a great many on the face of the field, and they were all dried up.)

3 And he said to me, Guessest thou, son of man, whether these bones shall live? And I said, Lord God, thou knowest.

4 And he said to me, Prophesy thou of these bones (Prophesy thou over these bones/Prophesy thou to these bones); and thou shalt say to them, Ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.

5 The Lord God saith these things to these bones, Lo! I shall send into you a spirit, and ye shall live. (The Lord God saith these things to these bones, Lo! I shall send breath into you, and ye shall live.)

6 And I shall give sinews on you, and I shall make fleshes to wax on you, and I shall stretch forth above skin in you, and I shall give a spirit to you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know, that I am the Lord. (And I shall make sinews upon you, and I shall make flesh to grow upon you, and I shall stretch forth skin over you, and I shall give breath to you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know, that I am the Lord.)

7 And I prophesied, as he commanded to me; forsooth a sound was made, while I prophesied, and lo! a stirring together, and bones came to bones, each to his jointure (each one to its joint, or to its joining).

8 And I saw, and lo! sinews and fleshes waxed upon those, and skin was stretched forth above in them, and those had no spirit. (And I saw, and lo! sinews and flesh grew upon them, and skin was stretched forth over them, but they had no breath.)

9 And he said to me, Prophesy thou to the spirit, prophesy thou, son of man; and thou shalt say to the spirit, The Lord God saith these things, Come, thou spirit, from four winds, and blow thou on these slain men, and live they again. (And he said to me, Prophesy thou to the wind, prophesy thou, son of man; and thou shalt say to the wind, The Lord God saith these things, Come, thou wind, from the four winds, and breathe thou into these slain, so that they can live again.)

10 And I prophesied, as he commanded to me; and the spirit entered into those bones, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a full great host. (And I prophesied, as he commanded me; and breath entered into those bones, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, yea, a very great army.)

11 And the Lord said to me, Thou, son of man, all these bones is the house of Israel; they say, Our bones dried, and our hope perished, and we be cut away. (And the Lord said to me, Thou, son of man, all these bones be the house of Israel; lo! they say, Our bones have dried up, and our hope hath perished, and we be cut off.)

12 Therefore prophesy thou, and thou shalt say to them, The Lord God saith these things, Lo! I shall open your graves, and I shall lead you out of your sepulchres, my people (and I shall lead you out of your tombs, or out your graves, my people), and I shall lead you into your land [of] Israel.

13 And ye shall know, that I am the Lord, when I shall open your sepulchres, and shall lead you out of your burials, my people; (And ye shall know, that I am the Lord, when I shall open up your tombs, and shall lead you out of your graves, my people;)

14 and I shall give my spirit in you, and ye shall live. And I shall make you for to rest on your land; and ye shall know, that I the Lord spake, and did, saith the Lord God. (and I shall put my breath in you, and ye shall live. And I shall make you to rest in your own land; and ye shall know, that I the Lord spoke, and did it, saith the Lord God.)

15 And the word of the Lord was made to me, and he said,

16 And thou, son of man, take to thee one stick, and write thou on it, To Judah, and to the sons of Israel, and to his fellows. And take thou another stick, and write on it, Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and of all the house of Israel, and of his fellows. (And thou, son of man, get thyself a stick, and write thou on it, For Judah, and for the Israelites, his fellow citizens. And get thou another stick, and write on it, Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel, his fellow citizens.)

17 And join thou those sticks one to the tother into one stick to thee; and those shall be into onement in thine hand. (And join thou up those two sticks one to the other, to become one stick for thee; yea, they shall become one stick in thy hand.)

18 Soothly when the sons of thy people that speak, shall say to thee, Whether thou showest not to us, what thou wilt to thee in these things? (And when thy people shall speak to thee, and say, Showest thou not to us, what thou meanest by these things?)

19 thou shalt speak to them, The Lord God saith these things, Lo! I shall take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the lineages of Israel, that be joined to him, and I shall give them together with the stick of Judah; and I shall make them into one stick, and they shall be one in the hand of him. (thou shalt say to them, The Lord God saith these things, Lo! I shall take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, that be joined to him, and I shall put it together with the stick of Judah; and I shall make them into one stick, and they shall become one stick in my hand.)

20 Soothly the sticks on which thou hast written, shall be in thine hand before the eyes of them. (And the sticks on which thou hast written, shall be in thy hand before their eyes.)

21 And thou shalt say to them, The Lord God saith these things, Lo! I shall take the sons of Israel from the midst of nations, to which they went forth (Lo! I shall take the Israelites from the midst of the nations, to which they went forth); and I shall gather them together on each side. And I shall bring them (back) to their (own) land,

22 and I shall make them one folk in the land, in the hills of Israel, and one king shall be commanding to all; and they shall no more be two folks, and they shall no more be parted into two realms. (and I shall make them one nation in the land, on the hills of Israel, and one king shall be commanding to all; and they shall no more be two nations, and they shall no more be divided into two kingdoms.)

23 And they shall no more be defouled in their idols, and their abominations, and in all their wickednesses. And I shall make them safe from all their seats, in which they sinned, and I shall cleanse them; and they shall be a people to me, and I shall be God to them. (And they shall no more be defiled with their idols, and their abominations, and with all their wickednesses. And I shall save them from all their ways, in which they sinned, and I shall cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I shall be their God.)

24 And my servant David shall be king on them, and one shepherd shall be of all them; they shall go in my dooms, and they shall keep my commandments, and shall do those. (And my servant David shall be the king over them, and there shall be one shepherd for all of them; they shall walk in my laws, and they shall keep, or shall obey, my commandments, and they shall do them.)

25 And they shall dwell on the land, which I gave to my servant Jacob, in which your fathers dwelled; and they shall dwell on that land, they, and the sons of them, and the sons of their sons, till into without end; and David, my servant, shall be the prince of them without end. (And they shall live on the land, which I gave to my servant Jacob, on which your fathers lived/on which their forefathers lived; and they shall live on that land, they, and their sons, and the sons of their sons, unto forever; and my servant David shall be their prince forever.)

26 And I shall smite to them a bond of peace; it shall be a covenant everlasting to them, and I shall ?found? them, and I shall multiply [them], and I shall give mine hallowing in the midst of them without end. (And I shall strike a covenant with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them, and I shall ?found? them, and I shall multiply them, and I shall set my sanctuary, or my Temple, in the midst of them forever.)

27 And my tabernacle shall be among them, and I shall be God to them, and they shall be a people to me. (And my Tabernacle, or my Temple, shall be in their midst, and I shall be their God, and they shall be my people.)

28 And heathen men shall know, that I am the Lord, (the) hallower of Israel, when mine hallowing shall be in the midst of them without end. (And the heathen shall know, that I am the Lord, who maketh Israel holy to me, when my sanctuary shall be in their midst 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.

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.