Ezekiel — Chapter 37

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1The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,

2And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.

3And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.

4Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.

5Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:

6And 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.

7So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.

8And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.

9Then 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.

10So 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.

11Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.

12Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.

13And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,

14And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.

15The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,

16Moreover, 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:

17And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.

18And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?

19Say 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 fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.

20And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.

21And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:

22And 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:

23Neither 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 dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.

24And David my servant 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.

25And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.

26Moreover 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.

27My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

28And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.

1The hand of Jehovah was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of Jehovah, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones.

2And 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.

3And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord Jehovah, thou knowest.

4Again he said unto me, Prophesy over these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of Jehovah.

5Thus saith the Lord Jehovah unto these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live.

6And 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 Jehovah.

7So 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 its bone.

8And 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.

9Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.

10So 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.

11Then 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.

12Therefore prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, O my people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel.

13And ye shall know that I am Jehovah, when I have opened your graves, and caused you to come up out of your graves, O my people.

14And 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, Jehovah, have spoken it and performed it, saith Jehovah.

15The word of Jehovah came again unto me, saying,

16And 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:

17and join them for thee one to another into one stick, that they may become one in thy hand.

18And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not show us what thou meanest by these?

19say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: 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 my hand.

20And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thy hand before their eyes.

21And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, whither they are gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:

22and 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;

23neither 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.

24And my servant David shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in mine ordinances, and observe my statutes, and do them.

25And 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.

26Moreover 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.

27My tabernacle also shall be with them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

28And the nations shall know that I am Jehovah that sanctifieth Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.

1The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and placed me in the midst of the valley, and it was full of bones.

2He made me walk all around among them. I realized there were a great many bones in the valley, and they were very dry.

3He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said to him, “Sovereign Lord, you know.”

4Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and tell them: ‘Dry bones, listen to the Lord’s message.

5This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: Look, I am about to infuse breath into you and you will live.

6I will put tendons on you and muscles over you and will cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will live. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

7So I prophesied as I was commanded. There was a sound when I prophesied— I heard a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to bone.

8As I watched, I saw tendons on them, then muscles appeared, and skin covered over them from above, but there was no breath in them.

9He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath—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.’”

10So I prophesied as I was commanded, and the breath came into them; they lived and stood on their feet, an extremely great army.

11Then 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.’

12Therefore 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.

13Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and raise you from your graves, my people.

14I will place my breath 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.’”

15The 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.’

17Join them as one stick; they will be as one in your hand.

18When your people say to you, ‘Will you not tell us what these things mean?’

19tell 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 and make them into one stick—they will be one in my hand.’

20The sticks you write on will be in your hand in front of them.

21Then 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.

22I 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.

23They will not defile themselves with their idols, their detestable things, and all their rebellious deeds. I will save them from all their unfaithfulness 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 my regulations and carefully observe my statutes.

25They 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.

26I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be a perpetual covenant with them. I will establish them, increase their numbers, and place my sanctuary among them forever.

27My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.

28Then, when my sanctuary is among them forever, the nations will know that I, the Lord, sanctify Israel.’”

1Yahweh’s hand was on me, and he brought me out in Yahweh’s Spirit, and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones.

2He caused me to pass by them all around: and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and behold, they were very dry.

3He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I answered, “Lord Yahweh, you know.”

4Again he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and tell them, ‘You dry bones, hear Yahweh’s word.

5Thus says the Lord Yahweh to these bones: “Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you will live.

6I will lay sinews on you, and will bring up flesh on you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you will live. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.”’”

7So I prophesied as I was commanded. As I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, there was an earthquake. Then the bones came together, bone to its bone.

8I saw, and, behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh came up, and skin covered them above; but there was no breath in them.

9Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the wind, prophesy, son of man, and tell the wind, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Come from the four winds, breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.”’”

10So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

11Then he said to 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 completely cut off.’

12Therefore prophesy, and tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, my people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel.

13You will know that I am Yahweh, when I have opened your graves, and caused you to come up out of your graves, my people.

14I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live. Then I will place you in your own land; and you will know that I, Yahweh, have spoken it and performed it,” says Yahweh.’”

15Yahweh’s word came again to me, saying,

16“You, son of man, take one stick, and write on it, ‘For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions.’ Then take another stick, and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions.’

17Then join them for yourself to one another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand.

18“When the children of your people speak to you, saying, ‘Won’t you show us what you mean by these?’

19tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “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, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in my hand.

20The sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes.”’

21Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, where they have gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land.

22I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. One king will be king to them all. They will no longer be two nations. They won’t be divided into two kingdoms any more at all.

23They won’t 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, in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. So they will be my people, and I will be their God.

24“‘“My servant David will be king over them. They all will have one shepherd. They will also walk in my ordinances, and observe my statutes, and do them.

25They will dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob my servant, in which your fathers lived. They will dwell therein, they, and their children, and their children’s children, forever. David my servant will be their prince for ever.

26Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them. It will be an everlasting covenant with them. I will place them, multiply them, and will set my sanctuary among them forever more.

27My tent also will be with them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

28The nations will know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is among them forever more.”’”

Summary
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
Commentary
Videos
Reflection

Summary

The Valley of Dry Bones — "Can these bones live?" God commands Ezekiel to prophesy to a valley full of skeletons. Bone connects to bone, flesh covers them, then the Spirit breathes life: they stand as an exceeding great army. The interpretation: Israel in exile is DEAD — but God will open their graves and bring them home. Then the two sticks (Judah and Israel/Ephraim) joined into ONE — reunification under one King David.

Authorship & Background

Author: Ezekiel son of Buzi (see Chapter 1 notes for full details).
Classification: Prophetic Vision + Sign-Act — The Valley of Dry Bones + Two Sticks Key Themes: Resurrection of a dead nation, the Spirit as life-giver, national restoration from exile, reunification of divided Israel, one king (Messiah), the everlasting covenant
Historical Context: The most famous chapter in Ezekiel. The exiles feel DEAD: "Our bones are dried, our hope is lost, we are cut off" (v.11). God responds with the most dramatic vision of restoration in the OT: a valley of scattered, bleached bones that COME ALIVE through prophetic proclamation and the Spirit's breath. The vision has MULTIPLE fulfillment levels: (1) national restoration from exile (primary), (2) spiritual resurrection of the church, (3) bodily resurrection at the end of the age. The two-sticks sign (vv.15-28) promises what hasn't happened since Solomon's death: NORTH and SOUTH reunited under ONE Davidic king, with God's sanctuary among them FOREVER.
Structure:
  • The Valley of Dry Bones: "Can These Bones Live?" (vv.1-3)
  • Prophesy to the Bones: Bone to Bone (vv.4-8)
  • Prophesy to the Wind/Spirit: Breath Enters (vv.9-10)
  • The Interpretation: Israel's Resurrection (vv.11-14)
  • The Two Sticks: Judah + Ephraim = One (vv.15-23)
  • One King, One Shepherd, One Covenant Forever (vv.24-28)

Map & Geography

  • No specific geographic locations are referenced in this chapter.

Commentary

  • Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com
  • Charles Spurgeon: Sermon: "The Valley of Dry Bones" (MTP Vol. 11, No. 632): "'Can these bones live?' To human eyes: impossible. To God: simple. He asks the prophet to PROPHESY — to speak life over death. And you, Christian: SPEAK. Pray over dead situations. Prophesy over dry relationships. Proclaim over hopeless circumstances. The WORD brings life where death reigns."

Reflection

  • 1. "Can these bones live?" (v.3). What in your life looks DEAD — dried up, scattered, bleached by time and failure? God's question isn't "is it dead?" (yes, it is) but "can it LIVE?" And the answer is: "Lord, You know." You don't need to know HOW — just WHO.
  • 2. Prophesy to the bones (v.4). God's method: SPEAK HIS WORD over dead things. Pray Scripture over dead relationships. Declare God's promises over dead dreams. The WORD is the instrument of resurrection.
  • 3. "Very dry" (v.2). The drier the bones, the greater the miracle. If your situation is EXTREMELY dead — EXTREMELY hopeless — that's not disqualification from God's power. It's QUALIFICATION for a greater miracle.
  • 4. The Spirit makes them STAND (v.10). Resurrection produces an ARMY — not just survivors but soldiers. God doesn't raise you from spiritual death just to EXIST. He raises you to SERVE. Purpose follows resurrection.
  • 5. Two sticks in one hand (v.17). What seems permanently divided (denominations, families, factions), God can JOIN in His hand. He is the great Unifier. Stop assuming division is permanent.