Passage Resources Hebrew/Greek Your Content
Previous Next
Add parallel Print Page Options
Close NET

Ezekiel 35-37
New English Translation

Prophecy Against Mount Seir

35 The Lord’s message came to me: 2 “Son of man, turn toward[a] Mount Seir,[b] and prophesy against it. 3 Say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘Look, I am against you, Mount Seir;
I will stretch out my hand against you
and turn you into a desolate ruin.
4 I will lay waste your cities,
and you will become desolate.
Then you will know that I am the Lord!

5 “‘You have shown unrelenting hostility and poured the people of Israel onto the blades of a sword[c] at the time of their calamity, at the time of their final punishment. 6 Therefore, as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will subject you to bloodshed, and bloodshed will pursue you. Since you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you. 7 I will turn Mount Seir into a desolate ruin;[d] I will cut off[e] from it the one who passes through or returns. 8 I will fill its mountains with its dead; on your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines, those killed by the sword will fall. 9 I will turn you into a perpetual desolation, and your cities will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

10 “‘You said, “These two nations, these two lands[f] will be mine, and we will possess them,”[g] (although the Lord was there); 11 therefore, as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will deal with you according to your anger and your envy, by which you acted spitefully against them. I will reveal myself to them when I judge you. 12 Then you will know that I, the Lord, have heard all the insults you spoke against the mountains of Israel, saying, “They are desolate; they have been given to us for food.” 13 You exalted yourselves against me with your speech[h] and hurled many insults against me[i]—I have heard them all! 14 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: While the whole earth rejoices, I will turn you into a desolation. 15 As you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel because it was desolate, so will I deal with you—you will be desolate, Mount Seir, and all Edom—all of it! Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”

Blessings on the Mountains of Israel

36 “As for you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say: ‘O mountains of Israel, listen to the Lord’s message! 2 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The enemy has spoken against you, saying “Aha!” and, “The ancient heights[j] have become our property!”’ 3 So prophesy and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Surely because they have made you desolate and crushed you from all directions, so that you have become the property of the rest of the nations, and have become the subject of gossip[k] and slander among the people, 4 therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says to the mountains and hills, the ravines and valleys, and to the desolate ruins and the abandoned cities that have become prey and an object of derision to the rest of the nations round about; 5 therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Surely I have spoken in the fire of my zeal against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, who with great joy and utter contempt have made my land their property and prey, because of its pasture.’

6 “Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains and hills, the ravines and valleys, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look, I have spoken in my zeal and in my anger, because you have endured the insults of the nations. 7 So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I vow[l] that the nations around you will endure insults as well.

8 “‘But you, mountains of Israel, will grow your branches and bear your fruit for my people Israel, for they will arrive soon.[m] 9 For indeed, I am on your side;[n] I will turn to you, and you will be plowed and planted. 10 I will multiply your people[o]—the whole house of Israel, all of it. The cities will be populated and the ruins rebuilt. 11 I will increase the number of people and animals on you; they will increase and be fruitful.[p] I will cause you to be inhabited as in ancient times and will do more good for you than at the beginning of your history.[q] Then you will know that I am the Lord. 12 I will lead people, my people Israel, across you; they will possess you, and you will become their inheritance. No longer will you bereave them of their children.

13 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because they are saying to you, “You are a devourer of men and bereave your nation of children,” 14 therefore you will no longer devour people and no longer bereave your nation of children, declares the Sovereign Lord. 15 I will no longer subject you to[r] the nations’ insults; no longer will you bear the shame of the peoples, and no longer will you bereave[s] your nation, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

16 The Lord’s message came to me: 17 “Son of man, when the house of Israel was living on their own land, they defiled it by their behavior[t] and their deeds. In my sight their behavior was like the uncleanness of a woman having her monthly period. 18 So I poured my anger on them[u] because of the blood they shed on the land and because of the idols with which they defiled it.[v] 19 I scattered them among the nations; they were dispersed throughout foreign countries. In accordance with their behavior and their deeds I judged them. 20 But when they arrived in the nations where they went, they profaned my holy name. It was said of them, ‘These are the people of the Lord, yet they have departed from his land.’ 21 I was concerned for my holy reputation,[w] which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they went.

22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake that I am about to act, O house of Israel, but for the sake of my holy reputation,[x] which you profaned among the nations where you went. 23 I will magnify[y] my great name that has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned among them. The nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I magnify myself among you in their sight.

24 “‘I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries; then I will bring you to your land. 25 I will sprinkle you with pure water,[z] and you will be clean from all your impurities. I will purify you from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will remove the heart of stone[aa] from your body and give you a heart of flesh.[ab] 27 I will put my Spirit within you;[ac] I will take the initiative, and you will obey my statutes[ad] and carefully observe my regulations.[ae] 28 Then you will live in the land I gave to your fathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God.[af] 29 I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and multiply it; I will not bring a famine on you. 30 I will multiply the fruit of the trees and the produce of the fields, so that you will never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. 31 Then you will remember your evil behavior[ag] and your deeds that were not good; you will loathe yourselves on account of your sins and your abominable deeds. 32 Understand that[ah] it is not for your sake I am about to act, declares the Sovereign Lord. Be ashamed and embarrassed by your behavior, O house of Israel.

33 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: In the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will populate the cities, and the ruins will be rebuilt. 34 The desolate land will be plowed, instead of being desolate in the sight of everyone who passes by. 35 They will say, “This desolate land has become like the garden of Eden; the ruined, desolate, and destroyed cities are now fortified and inhabited.” 36 Then the nations that remain around you will know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruins and replanted what was desolate. I, the Lord, have spoken—and I will do it!’

37 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will allow the house of Israel to ask me to do this for them:[ai] I will multiply their people like sheep.[aj] 38 Like the sheep for offerings, like the sheep of Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so the ruined cities will be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

The Valley of Dry Bones

37 The hand[ak] of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and placed[al] me in the midst of the valley, and it was full of bones. 2 He made me walk all around among them.[am] I realized[an] there were a great many bones in the valley, and they were very dry. 3 He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said to him, “Sovereign Lord, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and tell them: ‘Dry bones, listen to the Lord’s message. 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: Look, I am about to infuse breath[ao] into you and you will live. 6 I will put tendons[ap] on you and muscles over you and will cover you with skin; I will put breath[aq] in you, and you will live. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. There was a sound when I prophesied— I heard[ar] a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 As I watched, I saw[as] tendons on them, then muscles appeared,[at] and skin covered over them from above, but there was no breath[au] in them.

9 He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath,[av]—prophesy, son of man—and say to the breath: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these corpses so that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as I was commanded, and the breath came into them; they lived and stood on their feet, an extremely great army.

11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are all the house of Israel. Look, they are saying, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope has perished; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy, and tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to open your graves and will raise you from your graves, my people. I will bring you to the land of Israel. 13 Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and raise you from your graves, my people. 14 I will place my breath[aw] in you and you will live; I will give you rest in your own land. Then you will know that I am the Lord—I have spoken and I will act, declares the Lord.’”

15 The Lord’s message came to me: 16 “As for you, son of man, take one branch and write on it, ‘For Judah and for the Israelites associated with him.’ Then take another branch and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the branch of Ephraim, and all the house of Israel associated with him.’ 17 Join[ax] them as one stick;[ay] they will be as one in your hand. 18 When your people[az] say to you, ‘Will you not tell us what these things mean?’ 19 tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to take the branch of Joseph that is in the hand of Ephraim and the tribes of Israel associated with him, and I will place them on the stick of Judah[ba] and make them into one stick—they will be one in my hand.’[bb] 20 The sticks you write on will be in your hand in front of them. 21 Then tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to take the Israelites from among the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from round about and bring them to their land. 22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king will rule over them all. They will never again be two nations and never again be divided into two kingdoms.[bc] 23 They will not defile themselves with their idols, their detestable things, and all their rebellious deeds. I will save them from all their unfaithfulness[bd] by which they sinned. I will purify them; they will become my people, and I will become their God.

24 “‘My servant David will be king over them; there will be one shepherd for all of them. They will follow[be] my regulations and carefully observe my statutes.[bf] 25 They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, in which your fathers lived; they will live in it—they and their children and their grandchildren forever. David my servant will be prince over them forever. 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be a perpetual covenant with them.[bg] I will establish them,[bh] increase their numbers, and place my sanctuary among them forever. 27 My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. 28 Then, when my sanctuary is among them forever, the nations will know that I, the Lord, sanctify Israel.’”[bi]

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 35:2 tn Heb “set your face against.”
  2. Ezekiel 35:2 sn Mount Seir is to be identified with Edom (Ezek 35:15), home of Esau’s descendants (Gen 25:21-30).
  3. Ezekiel 35:5 tn Or “gave over…to the power of the sword.” This phrase also occurs in Jer 18:21 and Ps 63:10.
  4. Ezekiel 35:7 tc The translation reads with some manuscripts לְשִׁמְמָה וּמְשַׁמָּה (leshimemah umeshammah, “desolate ruin”) as in verse 3 and often in Ezekiel. The majority reading reverses the first mem (מ) with the shin (שׁ), resulting in the repetition of the word desolate: לְשִׁמְמָה וּשְׁמָמָה (leshimemah ushemamah).
  5. Ezekiel 35:7 tn Or “kill.”
  6. Ezekiel 35:10 sn The reference is to Israel and Judah.
  7. Ezekiel 35:10 tn Heb “it.”
  8. Ezekiel 35:13 tn Heb “your mouth.”
  9. Ezekiel 35:13 tn Heb “and you multiplied against me your words.” The Hebrew verb occurs only here and in Prov 27:6, where it refers to the “excessive” kisses of an enemy. The basic idea of the verb appears to be “to be abundant.” Here it occurs in the causative (Hiphil) stem.
  10. Ezekiel 36:2 tn Or “high places.”
  11. Ezekiel 36:3 tn Heb “lip of the tongue.”
  12. Ezekiel 36:7 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”
  13. Ezekiel 36:8 tn Heb “they draw near to arrive.”
  14. Ezekiel 36:9 tn Heb “I (am) toward you.”
  15. Ezekiel 36:10 tn Heb “I will multiply on you human(s).”
  16. Ezekiel 36:11 sn These verbs occur together in Gen 1:22, 28 and 9:1.
  17. Ezekiel 36:11 tn Heb “your beginning.”
  18. Ezekiel 36:15 tn Heb “cause you to hear.”
  19. Ezekiel 36:15 tc The MT reads תַכְשִׁלִי (takhshiliy, “you will cause to stumble”), a Hiphil of כָּשַׁל (kashal, “to stumble”). This is a metathesis for תְשַׁכְּלִי (teshakkeliy), “you will deprive of children”), a Piel from the root שָׁכַל (shakhal), which is used in the previous verses.
  20. Ezekiel 36:17 tn Heb “way.”
  21. Ezekiel 36:18 sn See Ezek 7:8; 9:8; 14:19; 20:8, 13, 21; 22:22; 30:15.
  22. Ezekiel 36:18 sn For the concept of defiling the land in legal literature, see Lev 18:28 and Deut 21:23.
  23. Ezekiel 36:21 tn Heb “name.”
  24. Ezekiel 36:22 sn In Ezek 20:22 God refrained from punishment for the sake of his holy name. Here God’s reputation is the basis for Israel’s restoration.
  25. Ezekiel 36:23 tn Or “sanctify,” Heb “make holy.”
  26. Ezekiel 36:25 sn The Lord here uses a metaphor from the realm of ritual purification. For the use of water in ritual cleansing, see Exod 30:19-20; Lev 14:51; Num 19:18; Heb 10:22.
  27. Ezekiel 36:26 sn That is, a heart that symbolizes a will that is stubborn and unresponsive (see 1 Sam 25:37). In Rabbinic literature a “stone” was associated with an evil inclination (b. Sukkah 52a).
  28. Ezekiel 36:26 sn That is, a heart that symbolizes a will that is responsive and obedient to God.
  29. Ezekiel 36:27 tn Or “in the midst of you.” The word “you” is plural.
  30. Ezekiel 36:27 tn Heb “and I will do that which in my statutes you will walk.” The awkward syntax (verb “to do, act” + accusative sign + relative clause + prepositional phrase + second person verb) is unique, though Eccl 3:14 contains a similar construction. In the last line of that verse we read that “God acts so that (relative pronoun) they fear before him.” However, unlike Ezek 36:27, the statement has no accusative sign before the relative pronoun.
  31. Ezekiel 36:27 tn Heb “and my laws you will guard and you will do them.” Jer 31:31-34 is parallel to this passage.
  32. Ezekiel 36:28 sn This promise reflects the ancient covenantal ideal (see Exod 6:7).
  33. Ezekiel 36:31 tn Heb “ways.”
  34. Ezekiel 36:32 tn Heb “Let it be known.”
  35. Ezekiel 36:37 tn The Niphal verb may have a tolerative function here: “Again (for) this I will allow myself to be sought by the house of Israel to act for them.” Or it may be reflexive: “I will reveal myself to the house of Israel by doing this also.”
  36. Ezekiel 36:37 sn Heb “I will multiply them like sheep, human(s).”
  37. Ezekiel 37:1 tn Or “power.” sn Hand in the OT can refer metaphorically to power, authority, or influence. In Ezekiel God’s hand being on the prophet is regularly associated with communication or a vision from God (3:14, 22; 8:1; 37:1; 40:1).
  38. Ezekiel 37:1 tn Heb “caused me to rest.”
  39. Ezekiel 37:2 tn Heb “and he made me pass over them, around, around.”
  40. Ezekiel 37:2 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and is here translated as “I realized” because it results from Ezekiel’s recognition of the situation around him. In Hebrew, the exclamation is repeated in the following sentence.
  41. Ezekiel 37:5 tn Heb “I am about to bring a spirit.”
  42. Ezekiel 37:6 tn The exact anatomical referent of the term is uncertain. In addition to v. 8, the term occurs only in Gen 32:32 (32:33 Heb); Job 10:11; 40:17; Is 48:4.
  43. Ezekiel 37:6 tn Or “a spirit.”
  44. Ezekiel 37:7 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
  45. Ezekiel 37:8 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
  46. Ezekiel 37:8 tn Heb “came up.”
  47. Ezekiel 37:8 tn Or “spirit.”
  48. Ezekiel 37:9 tn Or “spirit,” and several times in this verse.
  49. Ezekiel 37:14 tn Or “spirit.” This is likely an allusion to Gen 2 and God’s breath that creates life.
  50. Ezekiel 37:17 tn Heb “bring near.”
  51. Ezekiel 37:17 tn Heb “one to one for you for one stick.”
  52. Ezekiel 37:18 tn Heb “the sons of your people.”
  53. Ezekiel 37:19 tn Heb “I will place them on it, that is, on the stick of Judah.”
  54. Ezekiel 37:19 sn The reunification of Israel and Judah is envisioned as well in Ezek 33:23, 29; Jer 3:18; 23:5-6; Hos 1:11; Amos 9:11.
  55. Ezekiel 37:22 sn Jeremiah also attested to the reuniting of the northern and southern kingdoms (Jer 3:12, 14; 31:2-6).
  56. Ezekiel 37:23 tc Heb “their dwellings.” The text as it stands does not make sense. Based on the LXX, a slight emendation of two vowels, including a mater lectionis, yields the reading “from their turning,” a reference here to their turning from God and deviating from his commandments. See BDB 1000 s.v. מְשׁוּבָה, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:407.
  57. Ezekiel 37:24 tn Heb “walk [in].”
  58. Ezekiel 37:24 tn Heb “and my statutes they will guard and they will do them.”
  59. Ezekiel 37:26 sn See Isa 24:5; 55:3; 61:8; Jer 32:40; 50:5; Ezek 16:60 for other references to perpetual covenants.
  60. Ezekiel 37:26 tn Heb “give them.”
  61. Ezekiel 37:28 sn The sanctuary of Israel becomes the main focus of Ezek 40-48.
Listen to Ezekiel 35-37
Close NIV

Ezekiel 35-37
New International Version

A Prophecy Against Edom

35 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir;(A) prophesy against it 3 and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Mount Seir, and I will stretch out my hand(B) against you and make you a desolate waste.(C) 4 I will turn your towns into ruins(D) and you will be desolate. Then you will know that I am the Lord.(E)

5 “‘Because you harbored an ancient hostility and delivered the Israelites over to the sword(F) at the time of their calamity,(G) the time their punishment reached its climax,(H) 6 therefore as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will give you over to bloodshed(I) and it will pursue you.(J) Since you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you. 7 I will make Mount Seir a desolate waste(K) and cut off from it all who come and go.(L) 8 I will fill your mountains with the slain; those killed by the sword will fall on your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines.(M) 9 I will make you desolate forever;(N) your towns will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the Lord.(O)

10 “‘Because you have said, “These two nations and countries will be ours and we will take possession(P) of them,” even though I the Lord was there, 11 therefore as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will treat you in accordance with the anger(Q) and jealousy you showed in your hatred of them and I will make myself known among them when I judge you.(R) 12 Then you will know that I the Lord have heard all the contemptible things you have said against the mountains of Israel. You said, “They have been laid waste and have been given over to us to devour.(S)” 13 You boasted(T) against me and spoke against me without restraint, and I heard it.(U) 14 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: While the whole earth rejoices, I will make you desolate.(V) 15 Because you rejoiced(W) when the inheritance of Israel became desolate, that is how I will treat you. You will be desolate, Mount Seir,(X) you and all of Edom.(Y) Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”

Hope for the Mountains of Israel

36 “Son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel(Z) and say, ‘Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord. 2 This is what the Sovereign Lord says:(AA) The enemy said of you, “Aha!(AB) The ancient heights(AC) have become our possession.(AD)”’ 3 Therefore prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because they ravaged(AE) and crushed you from every side so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations and the object of people’s malicious talk and slander,(AF) 4 therefore, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign Lord: This is what the Sovereign Lord says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys,(AG) to the desolate ruins(AH) and the deserted(AI) towns that have been plundered and ridiculed(AJ) by the rest of the nations around you(AK)— 5 this is what the Sovereign Lord says: In my burning(AL) zeal I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, for with glee and with malice in their hearts they made my land their own possession so that they might plunder its pastureland.’(AM) 6 Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I speak in my jealous wrath because you have suffered the scorn of the nations.(AN) 7 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I swear with uplifted hand(AO) that the nations around you will also suffer scorn.(AP)

8 “‘But you, mountains of Israel, will produce branches and fruit(AQ) for my people Israel, for they will soon come home. 9 I am concerned for you and will look on you with favor; you will be plowed and sown,(AR) 10 and I will cause many people to live on you—yes, all of Israel. The towns will be inhabited and the ruins(AS) rebuilt.(AT) 11 I will increase the number of people and animals living on you, and they will be fruitful(AU) and become numerous. I will settle people(AV) on you as in the past(AW) and will make you prosper more than before.(AX) Then you will know that I am the Lord. 12 I will cause people, my people Israel, to live on you. They will possess you, and you will be their inheritance;(AY) you will never again deprive them of their children.

13 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because some say to you, “You devour people(AZ) and deprive your nation of its children,” 14 therefore you will no longer devour people or make your nation childless, declares the Sovereign Lord. 15 No longer will I make you hear the taunts of the nations, and no longer will you suffer the scorn of the peoples or cause your nation to fall, declares the Sovereign Lord.(BA)’”

Israel’s Restoration Assured

16 Again the word of the Lord came to me: 17 “Son of man, when the people of Israel were living in their own land, they defiled it by their conduct and their actions. Their conduct was like a woman’s monthly uncleanness(BB) in my sight.(BC) 18 So I poured out(BD) my wrath on them because they had shed blood in the land and because they had defiled it with their idols. 19 I dispersed them among the nations, and they were scattered(BE) through the countries; I judged them according to their conduct and their actions.(BF) 20 And wherever they went among the nations they profaned(BG) my holy name, for it was said of them, ‘These are the Lord’s people, and yet they had to leave his land.’(BH) 21 I had concern for my holy name, which the people of Israel profaned among the nations where they had gone.(BI)

22 “Therefore say to the Israelites, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake, people of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name,(BJ) which you have profaned(BK) among the nations where you have gone.(BL) 23 I will show the holiness of my great name,(BM) which has been profaned(BN) among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord,(BO) declares the Sovereign Lord, when I am proved holy(BP) through you before their eyes.(BQ)

24 “‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land.(BR) 25 I will sprinkle(BS) clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse(BT) you from all your impurities(BU) and from all your idols.(BV) 26 I will give you a new heart(BW) and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone(BX) and give you a heart of flesh.(BY) 27 And I will put my Spirit(BZ) in you and move you to follow my decrees(CA) and be careful to keep my laws.(CB) 28 Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people,(CC) and I will be your God.(CD) 29 I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine(CE) upon you. 30 I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine.(CF) 31 Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices.(CG) 32 I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake, declares the Sovereign Lord. Be ashamed(CH) and disgraced for your conduct, people of Israel!(CI)

33 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On the day I cleanse(CJ) you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins(CK) will be rebuilt.(CL) 34 The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through it. 35 They will say, “This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden;(CM) the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited.(CN)” 36 Then the nations around you that remain will know that I the Lord have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.’(CO)

37 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Once again I will yield to Israel’s plea(CP) and do this for them: I will make their people as numerous as sheep,(CQ) 38 as numerous as the flocks for offerings(CR) at Jerusalem during her appointed festivals. So will the ruined cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the Lord.(CS)”

The Valley of Dry Bones

37 The hand of the Lord was on me,(CT) and he brought me out by the Spirit(CU) of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley;(CV) it was full of bones.(CW) 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.(CX)”

4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!(CY) 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath[a] enter you, and you will come to life.(CZ) 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.(DA)’”

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath;(DB) prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds(DC) and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded(DD) me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.(DE)

11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’(DF) 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel.(DG) 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord,(DH) when I open your graves and bring you up from them.(DI) 14 I will put my Spirit(DJ) in you and you will live, and I will settle(DK) you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.(DL)’”

One Nation Under One King

15 The word of the Lord came to me: 16 “Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, ‘Belonging to Judah and the Israelites(DM) associated with him.(DN)’ Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, ‘Belonging to Joseph (that is, to Ephraim) and all the Israelites associated with him.’ 17 Join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand.(DO)

18 “When your people ask you, ‘Won’t you tell us what you mean by this?’(DP) 19 say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am going to take the stick of Joseph—which is in Ephraim’s hand—and of the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join it to Judah’s stick. I will make them into a single stick of wood, and they will become one in my hand.’(DQ) 20 Hold before their eyes the sticks you have written on 21 and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land.(DR) 22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel.(DS) There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms.(DT) 23 They will no longer defile(DU) themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding,[b](DV) and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.(DW)

24 “‘My servant David(DX) will be king(DY) over them, and they will all have one shepherd.(DZ) They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees.(EA) 25 They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your ancestors lived.(EB) They and their children and their children’s children will live there forever,(EC) and David my servant will be their prince forever.(ED) 26 I will make a covenant of peace(EE) with them; it will be an everlasting covenant.(EF) I will establish them and increase their numbers,(EG) and I will put my sanctuary among them(EH) forever.(EI) 27 My dwelling place(EJ) will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.(EK) 28 Then the nations will know that I the Lord make Israel holy,(EL) when my sanctuary is among them forever.(EM)’”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 37:5 The Hebrew for this word can also mean wind or spirit (see verses 6-14).
  2. Ezekiel 37:23 Many Hebrew manuscripts (see also Septuagint); most Hebrew manuscripts all their dwelling places where they sinned
Next
Ezekiel 34
Ezekiel 38
Next
dropdown
New English Translation (NET)

NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.

July Summer Surge

More on the NIV