1 ARST One day Yahweh gave me another vision. In the vision I felt the power of God on me, and by his Spirit he took me to the middle of a valley. It was full of bones of people who had been killed. BSB BSB: The hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me out by His Spirit and set me down in the middle of the valley, and it was full of bones.
2 ARST He led me to walk back and forth among those bones. I saw that there were very many bones there, bones that were very dry. BSB BSB: He led me all around among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, and indeed, they were very dry.
3 ARST He asked me,“Son of man, do you think that these bones can become living people again?” I replied,“Yahweh my Lord, only you know if that can happen.” BSB BSB: Then He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones come to life?” “O Lord GOD,” I replied, “only You know.”
4 ARST Then he said to me,“Speak a message for me to these bones. Say to them,‘You dry bones, listen to what Yahweh says. BSB BSB: And He said to me, “Prophesy concerning these bones and tell them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!
5 ARST This is what Yahweh the Lord says to you bones: I am going to put my breath into each of you, and you will become alive again. BSB BSB: This is what the Lord GOD says to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you will come to life.
6 ARST I will fasten tendons to your bones and cause your bones to be covered with flesh. I will cover the flesh with skin. Then I will breathe into you, and you will become alive. When that happens, you will know that I, Yahweh, have the power to do what I say that I will do.’” BSB BSB: I will attach tendons to you and make flesh grow upon you and cover you with skin. I will put breath within you so that you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’”
7 ARST So I spoke to the bones as Yahweh commanded me to speak. As I was speaking, there was a noise, a sound of shaking, and the bones came together, bones joining to each other. BSB BSB: So I prophesied as I had been commanded. And as I prophesied, there was suddenly a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to bone.
8 ARST While I was looking, I saw tendons fastening to them and flesh covering them, and then skin covered the flesh, but they were not breathing. BSB BSB: As I looked on, tendons appeared on them, flesh grew, and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them.
9 ARST Then he said to me,“Son of man, speak a message for me to the wind. Say to the wind,‘Wind, Yahweh says to you, blow from all four directions. Breathe into these people who have been killed, in order that they can come alive again!’” BSB BSB: Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and tell the breath that this is what the Lord GOD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, so that they may live!”
10 ARST So I said what he commanded me to say, and then breath entered them, and they began to breathe. They became alive and stood up, like a huge army. BSB BSB: So I prophesied as He had commanded me, and the breath entered them, and they came to life and stood on their feet—a vast army.
11 ARST Then he said to me,“Son of man, these bones represent all the Israelite people. The people say,‘It is as though our bones are dried up; we can hope for nothing good any longer; our nation is destroyed.’ BSB BSB: Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Look, they are saying, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope has perished; we are cut off.’
13 ARST Then when that happens, you my people will know that I, Yahweh, have done this. BSB BSB: Then you, My people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them.
14 ARST I will put my spirit in you, and it will be as though you will become alive again, and I will enable you to live in your own land again. Then you will know that it is I, Yahweh, who said that it would happen and who has caused it to happen. That is what I, Yahweh, declare.’” BSB BSB: I will put My Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.’”
15 ARST Yahweh gave me another message. He said, BSB BSB: Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
16 ARST “Son of man, take a wooden stick and write on it,‘This represents Judah and all the tribes of Judah.’ Then take another one and write on it,‘This represents Israel and all the tribes of Israel.’ BSB BSB: “And you, son of man, take a single stick and write on it: ‘Belonging to Judah and to the Israelites associated with him.’ Then take another stick and write on it: ‘Belonging to Joseph—the stick of Ephraim—and to all the house of Israel associated with him.’
17 ARST Then join them together to become as though they were one larger wooden stick in your hand. BSB BSB: Then join them together into one stick, so that they become one in your hand.
18 ARST When your fellow Israelites ask you,‘What does this action mean?’, BSB BSB: When your people ask you, ‘Won’t you explain to us what you mean by these?’
19 ARST tell them,‘This is what the Lord Yahweh says: One of the pieces of wood in Ezekiel’ s hand represents Israel and all the tribes of Israel. I am joining it to the piece of wood that represents Judah, to form one stick in his hand.’ BSB BSB: you are to tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel associated with him, and I will put them together with the stick of Judah. I will make them into a single stick, and they will become one in My hand.’
20 ARST Then, Son of man, hold up the pieces of wood that you have written on, in order that the people can see them. BSB BSB: When the sticks on which you write are in your hand and in full view of the people,
21 ARST Say to the people,‘This is what Yahweh the Lord says: I will take you Israelite people out of the countries to which you have been forced to go. I will gather you from all those lands, back to your own land. BSB BSB: you are to tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will take the Israelites out of the nations to which they have gone, and I will gather them from all around and bring them into their own land.
22 ARST And I will cause you to again be one nation in your land, on the mountains of Israel. And there will be one king to rule over all of you. Never again will you be two nations or divided into two kingdoms. BSB BSB: I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king will rule over all of them. Then they will no longer be two nations and will never again be divided into two kingdoms.
23 ARST No longer will you defile yourselves by worshiping idols and disgusting statues of your gods, because I will enable you to stop sinning and to stop rejecting me. You will be my people, and I will be your God.’ BSB BSB: They will no longer defile themselves with their idols or detestable images, or with any of their transgressions. I will save them from all their apostasies by which they sinned, and I will cleanse them. Then they will be My people, and I will be their God.
24 ARST The king who rules over them will always come from the family of King David. David was the one who served me well. There will be one shepherd to watch over them and to take care of all of them. They will carefully obey all my laws. BSB BSB: My servant David will be king over them, and there will be one shepherd for all of them. They will follow My ordinances and keep and observe My statutes.
25 ARST They will live in the land that I gave to Jacob, who also served me well; they will live in the land where your ancestors lived. They and their children and their grandchildren will live there forever, and the one who will be like King David will be their king forever. BSB BSB: They will live in the land that I gave to My servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They will live there forever with their children and grandchildren, and My servant David will be their prince forever.
26 ARST I will make a covenant with them to give them peace; it will be a covenant that will last forever. I will give them that land again and cause their population to increase. And I will put my temple among them forever. BSB BSB: And I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary among them forever.
27 ARST My home, where I will live, will be among them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. BSB BSB: My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be My people.
28 ARST Then, when my temple is there again among them, the people of nations will know that I, Yahweh, set apart Israel for my honor.” BSB BSB: Then the nations will know that I the LORD sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is among them forever.’”
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