The Valley of Dry Bones 1 RV The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones; 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 RV And he caused me to pass by them round about: and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and lo, they 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 RV And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest. BSB BSB: Then He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones come to life?” “O Lord GOD,” I replied, “only You know.”
4 RV Again he said unto me, Prophesy over these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. BSB BSB: And He said to me, “Prophesy concerning these bones and tell them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!
5 RV Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live. 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 RV And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 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 RV So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold an earthquake, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. 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 RV And I beheld, and lo, there were sinews upon them, and flesh came up, and skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. BSB BSB: As I looked on, tendons appeared on them, flesh grew, and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them.
9 RV Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. 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 RV So I prophesied as he commanded me; and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great 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 RV Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off. 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 RV And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, and caused you to come up out of your graves, O my people. 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 RV And I will put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I will place you in your own land: and ye shall know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD. 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.’”
One Nation with One King 15 RV The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, BSB BSB: Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
16 RV And thou, son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: 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 RV and join them for thee one to another into one stick, that they may become one in thine hand. BSB BSB: Then join them together into one stick, so that they become one in your hand.
18 RV And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these? BSB BSB: When your people ask you, ‘Won’t you explain to us what you mean by these?’
19 RV say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his companions; and I will put them with it, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine 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 RV And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes. BSB BSB: When the sticks on which you write are in your hand and in full view of the people,
21 RV And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their 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 RV and I will make them one nation in the land, upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: 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 RV neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their 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 RV And my servant David shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. 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 RV And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, they, and their children, and their children’s children, for ever: and David my servant shall be their prince for ever. 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 RV Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them: it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. 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 RV My tabernacle also shall be with them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. BSB BSB: My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be My people.
28 RV And the nations shall know that I am the LORD that sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore. BSB BSB: Then the nations will know that I the LORD sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is among them forever.’”