Ezekiel 37:4-14

4 Then he said to me, ¹“Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, ²O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.

5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause ³breath^[a] to enter you, and you shall live.

6 ⁴And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and ⁵cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, ⁶and you shall know that I am the Lord. ”

7 So I prophesied ⁷as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, ⁸a rattling, ^[b] 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 ⁹there was no breath in them.

9 Then he said to me, ¹⁰“Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, ¹¹son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from ¹²the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live. ”

10 So I prophesied ¹³as he commanded me, and ¹⁴the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

11 Then he said to me, ¹⁵“Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and ¹⁶our hope is lost; ¹⁷we are indeed cut off. ’

12 Therefore ¹⁸prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, ¹⁹I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And ²⁰I will bring you into the land of Israel.

13 And ²¹you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people.

14 And ²²I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; ²³I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord. ”

Ezekiel 37:4-14 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.

Cross References

• 1. 37:4 [ch. 6:2]
• 2. 37:4 [John 5:28]
• 3. 37:5 [Gen. 2:7]
• 4. 37:6 [ver. 8]
• 5. 37:6 [ver. 8]
• 6. 37:6 See ch. 6:7
• 7. 37:7 ch. 12:7; 24:18
• 8. 37:7 [1 Kgs. 19:11]
• 9. 37:8 [ver. 5]
• 10. 37:9 [See ver. 4 above]
• 11. 37:9 [See ver. 3 above]
• 12. 37:9 Dan. 7:2; 11:4; Rev. 7:1
• 13. 37:10 [See ver. 7 above]
• 14. 37:10 Rev. 11:11
• 15. 37:11 [See ver. 3 above]
• 16. 37:11 [ch. 33:10; Isa. 49:14]
• 17. 37:11 Lam. 3:54
• 18. 37:12 [See ver. 4 above]
• 19. 37:12 [Isa. 26:19; Hos. 13:14]
• 20. 37:12 ver. 21, 25; ch. 36:24
• 21. 37:13 See ch. 6:7
• 22. 37:14 ch. 36:27
• 23. 37:14 See ch. 17:24

Footnotes

• [a] 37:5 Or 'spirit'; also verses 6, 9, 10
• [b] 37:7 Or 'an earthquake' (compare 3:12, 13)