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Ezekiel 37-39
Contemporary English Version

Dry Bones Live Again

37 Some time later, I felt the Lord's power take control of me, and his Spirit carried me to a valley full of bones. 2 The Lord showed me all around, and everywhere I looked I saw bones that were dried out. 3 He said, “Ezekiel, son of man, can these bones come back to life?”

I replied, “Lord God, only you can answer that.”

4 He then told me to say:

Dry bones, listen to what the Lord is saying to you, 5 “I, the Lord God, will put breath in you, and once again you will live. 6 I will wrap you with muscles and skin and breathe life into you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”

7 I did what the Lord said, but before I finished speaking, I heard a rattling noise. The bones were coming together! 8 I saw muscles and skin cover the bones, but they had no life in them.

9 The Lord said:

Ezekiel, now say to the wind,[a] “The Lord God commands you to blow from every direction and to breathe life into these dead bodies, so they can live again.”

10 (A) As soon as I said this, the wind blew among the bodies, and they came back to life! They all stood up, and there were enough to make a large army.

11 The Lord said:

Ezekiel, the people of Israel are like dead bones. They complain that they are dried up and that they have no hope for the future. 12 So tell them, “I, the Lord God, promise to open your graves and set you free. I will bring you back to Israel, 13 and when that happens, you will realize that I am the Lord. 14 My Spirit will give you breath, and you will live again. I will bring you home, and you will know that I have kept my promise. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

Judah and Israel Together Again

15 The Lord said:

16 Ezekiel, son of man, get a stick and write on it, “The kingdom of Judah.” Then get another stick and write on it, “The kingdom of Israel.”[b] 17 Hold these two sticks end to end, so they look like one stick. 18 And when your people ask you what this means, 19 tell them that I, the Lord, will join together the stick of Israel and the stick of Judah. I will hold them in my hand, and they will become one.

20 Hold these two sticks where they can be seen by everyone 21 and then say:

I, the Lord God, will gather the people of Israel and bring them home from the foreign nations where they now live. 22 I will make them into one nation and let them once again live in the land of Israel. Only one king will rule them, and they will never again be divided into two nations. 23 They will no longer worship idols and do things that make them unacceptable to me. I will wash away their sin and make them clean, and I will protect them from everything that makes them unclean. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

24-25 (B) Their king will always come from the family of my servant King David and will care for them like a shepherd. The people of Israel will faithfully obey my laws. They and their descendants will live in the land I gave my servant Jacob, just as their ancestors did. 26 I solemnly promise to bless the people of Israel with unending peace. I will protect them and let them become a powerful nation. My temple will stand in Israel for all time, 27 (C) and I will live among my people and be their God. 28 Every nation on earth will know that my temple is in Israel and that I have chosen the Israelites to be my people.

Gog Invades Israel

38 The Lord said:

2 (D) Ezekiel, son of man, condemn Gog, that wicked ruler of the kingdoms of Meshech and Tubal in the land of Magog. Tell him:

3 I, the Lord God, am your enemy, 4 and I will make you powerless! I will put a hook in your jaw and drag away both you and your large army. You command cavalry troops that wear heavy armor and carry shields and swords. 5 Your army includes soldiers from Persia, Ethiopia,[c] and Libya, 6 as well as from Gomer and Beth-Togarmah in the north. Your army is enormous!

7 So keep your troops prepared to fight, 8 because in a few years, I will command you to invade Israel, a country that was ruined by war. It was deserted for a long time, but its people have returned from the foreign nations where they once lived. The Israelites now live in peace in the mountains of their own land. 9 But you and your army will attack them like a fierce thunderstorm and surround them like a cloud.

10 When that day comes, I know that you will have an evil plan 11 to take advantage of Israel, that weak and peaceful country where people live safely inside towns that have no walls or gates or locks. 12 You will rob the people in towns that were once a pile of rubble. These people lived as prisoners in foreign nations, but they have returned to Israel, the most important place in the world, and they own livestock and property. 13 The people of Sheba and Dedan, along with merchants from villages in[d] southern Spain,[e] will be your allies. They will want some of the silver and gold, as well as the livestock and property that your army takes from Israel.

14 I, the Lord God, know that when you see[f] my people Israel living in peace, 15 you will lead your powerful cavalry from your kingdom in the north. 16 You will attack my people like a storm-cloud that covers their land. I will let you invade my country Israel, so that every nation on earth will know that I, the Lord, am holy.

Judgment on Gog

17 The Lord said to Gog:

Long ago, I ordered my prophets to warn the people of Israel that someday I would send an enemy to attack them. You, Gog, are that enemy, and that day is coming. 18 When you invade Israel, I will become furious, 19 and in my anger I will send a terrible earthquake to shake Israel. 20 Every living thing on earth will tremble in fear of me—every fish and bird, every wild animal and reptile, and every human. Mountains will crumble, cliffs will fall, and cities will collapse. 21 I, the Lord, will make the mountains of Israel turn against you.[g] Your troops will be so terrified that they will attack each other. 22 I will strike you with diseases and punish you with death. You and your army will be pounded with rainstorms, hailstones, and burning sulfur. 23 I will do these things to show the world that I, the Lord, am holy.

Gog Is Defeated

The Lord said:

39 Ezekiel, son of man, condemn Gog and tell him:

You are the ruler of Meshech and Tubal, but I, the Lord, am your enemy! 2 I will turn you around and drag you from the north until you reach the mountains of Israel. 3 I will knock the bow out of your left hand and the arrows out of your right hand, 4 (E) and you and your army will die on those mountains. Then birds and wild animals will eat the flesh 5 of your dead bodies left lying in open fields. I, the Lord, have spoken.

6 I will set fire to the land of Magog and to those nations along the seacoast that think they are so secure, and they will know that I am the Lord.

7 My people Israel will know me, and they will no longer disgrace my holy name. Everyone on earth will know that I am the holy Lord God of Israel. 8 The day is coming when these things will happen, just as I have promised.

9 When that day comes, the people in the towns of Israel will collect the weapons of their dead enemies. They will use these shields, bows and arrows, spears, and clubs as firewood, and there will be enough to last for seven years. 10 They will burn these weapons instead of gathering sticks or chopping down trees. That's how the Israelites will take revenge on those who robbed and abused them. I, the Lord, have spoken.

The Burial of Gog

The Lord said:

11 After Gog has been destroyed, I will bury him and his army in Israel, in Travelers'[h] Valley, east of the Dead Sea. That graveyard will be so large that it will block the way of anyone who tries to walk through the valley,[i] which will then be known as “The Valley of Gog's Army.”[j] 12 The Israelites will spend seven months burying dead bodies and cleaning up their land. 13 Everyone will help with the burial, and they will be honored for this on the day the brightness of my glory is seen. 14 After those seven months, the people will appoint a group of men to look for any dead bodies left unburied. This must be done for seven months to make sure that the land is no longer unclean. 15 Whenever they find a human bone, they will set up a marker next to it. Then the gravediggers will bury it in “The Valley of Gog's Army” 16 near the town of “Gog's Army.” After that, the land will be pure again.

17 (F) Ezekiel, son of man, I am going to hold a feast on Israel's mountains and offer sacrifices there. So invite all the birds and wild animals to come from every direction and eat the meat of sacrifices and drink the blood. The birds and animals 18 will feast on the bodies of warriors and foreign rulers that I will sacrifice like sheep, goats, and bulls. 19 I want the birds and animals to eat until they are full and drink until they are drunk. 20 They will come to my table and stuff themselves with the flesh of horses and warriors of every kind. I, the Lord God, have spoken.

Israel Will Be Restored

The Lord said:

21 When I punish the nations of the earth, they will see the brightness of my glory. 22 The people of Israel will know from then on that I am the Lord their God. 23 Foreign nations will realize that the Israelites were forced to leave their own land because they sinned against me. I turned my back on my people and let enemies attack and kill them. 24 Their lives were wicked and corrupt, and they deserved to be punished.

25 Now I will show mercy to the people of Israel and bring them back from the nations where they are living. They are Jacob's descendants, so I will bless them and show that I am holy. 26 They will live safely in their own land, but will be ashamed when they remember their evil ways and how they disgraced me.[k] 27 Foreign nations will watch as I take the Israelites from enemy lands and bring them back home, and those nations will see that I am holy.

28 My people will realize that I, the Lord their God, sent them away as prisoners and now will bring them back to their own land. 29 Never again will I turn my back on the people of Israel, and my Spirit will live in them. I, the Lord, have spoken.

Footnotes

  1. 37.9 wind: Or “breath.” The Hebrew word may mean either.
  2. 37.16 Israel: The Hebrew text has “Joseph, that is, Ephraim,” the leading tribe in the northern kingdom.
  3. 38.5 Ethiopia: See the note at 29.10.
  4. 38.13 from villages in: One ancient translation; Hebrew “and soldiers from.”
  5. 38.13 southern Spain: See the note at 27.12.
  6. 38.14 when you see: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  7. 38.21 I, the Lord … against you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  8. 39.11 Travelers': Hebrew “Abarim.”
  9. 39.11 That graveyard … the valley: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  10. 39.11 Gog's Army: Hebrew “Hamon-Gog.”
  11. 39.26 me: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 26.
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Ezekiel 37-39
New International Version

The Valley of Dry Bones

37 The hand of the Lord was on me,(A) and he brought me out by the Spirit(B) of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley;(C) it was full of bones.(D) 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.(E)”

4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!(F) 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath[a] enter you, and you will come to life.(G) 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.(H)’”

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

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.’(M) 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.(N) 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord,(O) when I open your graves and bring you up from them.(P) 14 I will put my Spirit(Q) in you and you will live, and I will settle(R) you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.(S)’”

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(T) associated with him.(U)’ 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.(V)

18 “When your people ask you, ‘Won’t you tell us what you mean by this?’(W) 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.’(X) 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.(Y) 22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel.(Z) There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms.(AA) 23 They will no longer defile(AB) themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding,[b](AC) and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.(AD)

24 “‘My servant David(AE) will be king(AF) over them, and they will all have one shepherd.(AG) They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees.(AH) 25 They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your ancestors lived.(AI) They and their children and their children’s children will live there forever,(AJ) and David my servant will be their prince forever.(AK) 26 I will make a covenant of peace(AL) with them; it will be an everlasting covenant.(AM) I will establish them and increase their numbers,(AN) and I will put my sanctuary among them(AO) forever.(AP) 27 My dwelling place(AQ) will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.(AR) 28 Then the nations will know that I the Lord make Israel holy,(AS) when my sanctuary is among them forever.(AT)’”

The Lord’s Great Victory Over the Nations

38 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face against Gog,(AU) of the land of Magog,(AV) the chief prince of[c] Meshek and Tubal;(AW) prophesy against him 3 and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Gog, chief prince of[d] Meshek and Tubal.(AX) 4 I will turn you around, put hooks(AY) in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army—your horses, your horsemen fully armed, and a great horde with large and small shields, all of them brandishing their swords.(AZ) 5 Persia, Cush[e](BA) and Put(BB) will be with them, all with shields and helmets, 6 also Gomer(BC) with all its troops, and Beth Togarmah(BD) from the far north(BE) with all its troops—the many nations with you.

7 “‘Get ready; be prepared,(BF) you and all the hordes gathered about you, and take command of them. 8 After many days(BG) you will be called to arms. In future years you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations(BH) to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and now all of them live in safety.(BI) 9 You and all your troops and the many nations with you will go up, advancing like a storm;(BJ) you will be like a cloud(BK) covering the land.(BL)

10 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind(BM) and you will devise an evil scheme.(BN) 11 You will say, “I will invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people(BO)—all of them living without walls and without gates and bars.(BP) 12 I will plunder and loot and turn my hand against the resettled ruins and the people gathered from the nations, rich in livestock and goods, living at the center of the land.[f]” 13 Sheba(BQ) and Dedan(BR) and the merchants of Tarshish(BS) and all her villages[g] will say to you, “Have you come to plunder? Have you gathered your hordes to loot, to carry off silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods and to seize much plunder?(BT)”’

14 “Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: In that day, when my people Israel are living in safety,(BU) will you not take notice of it? 15 You will come from your place in the far north,(BV) you and many nations with you, all of them riding on horses, a great horde, a mighty army.(BW) 16 You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud(BX) that covers the land.(BY) In days to come, Gog, I will bring you against my land, so that the nations may know me when I am proved holy(BZ) through you before their eyes.(CA)

17 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: You are the one I spoke of in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel. At that time they prophesied for years that I would bring you against them. 18 This is what will happen in that day: When Gog attacks the land of Israel, my hot anger will be aroused, declares the Sovereign Lord. 19 In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake(CB) in the land of Israel.(CC) 20 The fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble(CD) at my presence. The mountains will be overturned,(CE) the cliffs will crumble(CF) and every wall will fall to the ground.(CG) 21 I will summon a sword(CH) against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Sovereign Lord. Every man’s sword will be against his brother.(CI) 22 I will execute judgment(CJ) on him with plague and bloodshed;(CK) I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones(CL) and burning sulfur(CM) on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him.(CN) 23 And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.(CO)’

39 “Son of man, prophesy against Gog(CP) and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Gog, chief prince of[h] Meshek(CQ) and Tubal.(CR) 2 I will turn you around and drag you along. I will bring you from the far north(CS) and send you against the mountains of Israel.(CT) 3 Then I will strike your bow(CU) from your left hand and make your arrows(CV) drop from your right hand. 4 On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the nations with you. I will give you as food to all kinds of carrion birds(CW) and to the wild animals.(CX) 5 You will fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.(CY) 6 I will send fire(CZ) on Magog(DA) and on those who live in safety in the coastlands,(DB) and they will know(DC) that I am the Lord.

7 “‘I will make known my holy name among my people Israel. I will no longer let my holy name be profaned,(DD) and the nations will know(DE) that I the Lord am the Holy One in Israel.(DF) 8 It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign Lord. This is the day(DG) I have spoken of.

9 “‘Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and use the weapons for fuel and burn them up—the small and large shields, the bows and arrows,(DH) the war clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them for fuel.(DI) 10 They will not need to gather wood from the fields or cut it from the forests, because they will use the weapons for fuel. And they will plunder(DJ) those who plundered them and loot those who looted them, declares the Sovereign Lord.(DK)

11 “‘On that day I will give Gog a burial place in Israel, in the valley of those who travel east of the Sea. It will block the way of travelers, because Gog and all his hordes will be buried(DL) there. So it will be called the Valley of Hamon Gog.[i](DM)

12 “‘For seven months the Israelites will be burying them in order to cleanse the land.(DN) 13 All the people of the land will bury them, and the day I display my glory(DO) will be a memorable day for them, declares the Sovereign Lord. 14 People will be continually employed in cleansing the land. They will spread out across the land and, along with others, they will bury any bodies that are lying on the ground.

“‘After the seven months they will carry out a more detailed search. 15 As they go through the land, anyone who sees a human bone will leave a marker beside it until the gravediggers bury it in the Valley of Hamon Gog, 16 near a town called Hamonah.[j] And so they will cleanse the land.’

17 “Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Call out to every kind of bird(DP) and all the wild animals: ‘Assemble and come together from all around to the sacrifice I am preparing for you, the great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel. There you will eat flesh and drink blood.(DQ) 18 You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the earth as if they were rams and lambs, goats and bulls—all of them fattened animals from Bashan.(DR) 19 At the sacrifice(DS) I am preparing for you, you will eat fat till you are glutted and drink blood till you are drunk. 20 At my table you will eat your fill of horses and riders, mighty men and soldiers of every kind,’ declares the Sovereign Lord.(DT)

21 “I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the punishment I inflict and the hand I lay on them.(DU) 22 From that day forward the people of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God. 23 And the nations will know that the people of Israel went into exile for their sin, because they were unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies, and they all fell by the sword.(DV) 24 I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their offenses, and I hid my face from them.(DW)

25 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will now restore the fortunes of Jacob[k](DX) and will have compassion(DY) on all the people of Israel, and I will be zealous for my holy name.(DZ) 26 They will forget their shame and all the unfaithfulness they showed toward me when they lived in safety(EA) in their land with no one to make them afraid.(EB) 27 When I have brought them back from the nations and have gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will be proved holy through them in the sight of many nations.(EC) 28 Then they will know that I am the Lord their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them(ED) to their own land, not leaving any behind.(EE) 29 I will no longer hide my face(EF) from them, for I will pour out my Spirit(EG) on the people of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord.(EH)”

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
  3. Ezekiel 38:2 Or the prince of Rosh,
  4. Ezekiel 38:3 Or Gog, prince of Rosh,
  5. Ezekiel 38:5 That is, the upper Nile region
  6. Ezekiel 38:12 The Hebrew for this phrase means the navel of the earth.
  7. Ezekiel 38:13 Or her strong lions
  8. Ezekiel 39:1 Or Gog, prince of Rosh,
  9. Ezekiel 39:11 Hamon Gog means hordes of Gog.
  10. Ezekiel 39:16 Hamonah means horde.
  11. Ezekiel 39:25 Or now bring Jacob back from captivity
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