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EZEKIEL 3 7
A Valley of Dry Bones
The Lord took hold of me, and I was
carried away by the Spirit of the Lord to
a valley filled with bones. 2 He led me all around
among the bones that covered the valley floor.
They were scattered everywhere across the
ground and were completely dried out. 3 Then
he asked me, “Son of man, can these bones become living people again?”
“O Sovereign Lord,” I replied, “you alone
know the answer to that.”
4 Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to these bones and say, ‘Dry bones, listen to
the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Sovereign
Lord says: Look! I am going to put breath into
you and make you live again! 6 I will put flesh and
muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will
put breath into you, and you will come to life.
Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
7 So I spoke this message, just as he told
me. Suddenly as I spoke, there was a rattling
noise all across the valley. The bones of each
body came together and attached themselves
as complete skeletons. 8 Then as I watched,
muscles and flesh formed over the bones. Then
skin formed to cover their bodies, but they still
had no breath in them.
9 Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic
message to the winds, son of man. Speak a prophetic message and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, O breath, from the four
winds! Breathe into these dead bodies so they
may live again.’”
10 So I spoke the message as he commanded
me, and breath came into their bodies. They all
came to life and stood up on their feet—a great
army.
11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these
bones represent the people of Israel. They are
saying, ‘We have become old, dry bones—all
hope is gone. Our nation is finished.’ 12 Therefore, prophesy to them and say, ‘This is what the
Sovereign Lord says: O my people, I will open
your graves of exile and cause you to rise again.
Then I will bring you back to the land of Israel.
13 When this happens, O my people, you will
know that I am the Lord. 14 I will put my Spirit
in you, and you will live again and return home
to your own land. Then you will know that I, the
Lord, have spoken, and I have done what I said.
Yes, the Lord has spoken!’”
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Reunion of Israel and Judah
15 Again a message came to me from the Lord:
16 “Son of man, take a piece of wood and carve
on it these words: ‘This represents Judah and its
allied tribes.’ Then take another piece and carve
these words on it: ‘This represents Ephraim and
the northern tribes of Israel.’* 17 Now hold them
together in your hand as if they were one piece
of wood. 18 When your people ask you what your
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actions mean, 19 say to them, ‘This is what the
Sovereign Lord says: I will take Ephraim and
the northern tribes and join them to Judah. I will
make them one piece of wood in my hand.’
20 “Then hold out the pieces of wood you have
inscribed, so the people can see them. 21 And give
them this message from the Sovereign Lord:
I will gather the people of Israel from among
the nations. I will bring them home to their own
land from the places where they have been scattered. 22 I will unify them into one nation on the
mountains of Israel. One king will rule them all;
no longer will they be divided into two nations or
into two kingdoms. 23 They will never again pollute themselves with their idols* and vile images
and rebellion, for I will save them from their sinful apostasy.* I will cleanse them. Then they will
truly be my people, and I will be their God.
24 “My servant David will be their king, and
they will have only one shepherd. They will
obey my regulations and be careful to keep my
decrees. 25 They will live in the land I gave my
servant Jacob, the land where their ancestors
lived. They and their children and their grandchildren after them will live there forever, generation after generation. And my servant David
will be their prince forever. 26 And I will make
a covenant of peace with them, an everlasting
covenant. I will give them their land and increase their numbers,* and I will put my Temple
among them forever. 27 I will make my home
among them. I will be their God, and they will
be my people. 28 And when my Temple is among
them forever, the nations will know that I am
the Lord, who makes Israel holy.”
A Message for Gog
This is another message that came to me
from the Lord: 2 “Son of man, turn and
face Gog of the land of Magog, the prince who
rules over the nations of Meshech and Tubal, and
prophesy against him. 3 Give him this message
from the Sovereign Lord: Gog, I am your enemy!
4 I will turn you around and put hooks in your
jaws to lead you out with your whole army—your
horses and charioteers in full armor and a great
horde armed with shields and swords. 5 Persia,
Ethiopia, and Libya* will join you, too, with all
their weapons. 6 Gomer and all its armies will also
join you, along with the armies of Beth-togarmah
from the distant north, and many others.
7 “Get ready; be prepared! Keep all the armies
around you mobilized, and take command of
them. 8 A long time from now you will be called
into action. In the distant future you will swoop
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37:16 Hebrew This is Ephraim’s wood, representing Joseph
and all the house of Israel; similarly in 37:19. 37:23a The
Hebrew term (literally round things) probably alludes to
dung. 37:23b As in many Hebrew manuscripts and Greek
version; Masoretic Text reads from all their dwelling places
where they sinned. 37:26 Hebrew reads I will give them and
increase their numbers; Greek version lacks the entire phrase.
38:5 Hebrew Paras, Cush, and Put.