Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones

1The hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones. 2He caused me to pass all around them, and behold, there were very many [human bones] in the open valley; and lo, they were very dry. 3And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, You know.” 4Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.’ 5Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones, ‘Behold, I will make [a]breath enter you so that you may come to life. 6I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin, and I will put breath in you so that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the LORD.’”

7So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a [thundering] noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on the bones, and flesh grew and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them. 9Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Come from the four winds, O 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 came to life and stood up on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

The Vision Explained

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 say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I will open your graves and make you come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you [back home] to the land of Israel. 13Then you will know [with confidence] that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves and made you come up out of your graves, My people. 14I will put My [b]Spirit in you and you will come to life, and I will place you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and fulfilled it,” says the LORD.’”

Reunion of Judah and Israel

15The word of the LORD came again to me, saying, 16“And you, son of man, take a 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 all the house of Israel, his companions.’ 17Then join them together into one stick, so that they may become one in your hand. 18When your people say to you, ‘Will you not tell us what you mean by these?’ 19say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am going to take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will join the stick of Judah with it and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand.”’ 20The sticks on which you write shall be in your hand before their eyes. 21Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am going to take the children of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will [c]gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; 22and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one [d]king will be king over all of them; and they will no longer be two nations, and will no longer be divided into two kingdoms. 23They will no longer defile themselves with their idols, or with their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions; but I will save them from all their transgressions in which they have sinned, and I will cleanse them. So they will be My people, and I will be their God.

The Davidic Kingdom

24“[e]My servant David will be king over them, and they all will have one shepherd. They will also walk in My ordinances and keep My statutes and observe them. 25They will live in the land where your fathers lived, [the land] that I gave to My servant Jacob, and they will live there, they and their children and their children’s children, forever; and My servant David will be their leader forever. 26I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them and multiply them, and will put My sanctuary in their midst forever. 27My dwelling place also will be with them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people. 28Then the nations will know [without any doubt] that I am the LORD who sets apart and sanctifies Israel [for holy use], when My sanctuary is in their midst forever.”’”

[a] 5 Or spirit, and so throughout the chapter.
[b] 14 Or breath.
[c] 21 See note 36:24.
[d] 22 A reference to the coming Messianic ruler, who would achieve for Israel what David had, but with perfection. See also note 34:23.
[e] 24 See note 34:23.