| New Living Translation | Berean Study Bible |
| 1The LORD took hold of me, and I was carried away by the Spirit of the LORD to a valley filled with bones. | 1The 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. |
| 2He led me all around among the bones that covered the valley floor. They were scattered everywhere across the ground and were completely dried out. | 2He 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. |
| 3Then he asked me, “Son of man, can these bones become living people again?” “O Sovereign LORD,” I replied, “you alone know the answer to that.” | 3Then He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones come to life?” “O Lord GOD,” I replied, “only You know.” |
| 4Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to these bones and say, ‘Dry bones, listen to the word of the LORD! | 4And He said to me, “Prophesy concerning these bones and tell them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! |
| 5This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again! | 5This is what the Lord GOD says to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you will come to life. |
| 6I will put flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’” | 6I 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.’ ” |
| 7So I spoke this message, just as he told me. Suddenly as I spoke, there was a rattling noise all across the valley. The bones of each body came together and attached themselves as complete skeletons. | 7So 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. |
| 8Then as I watched, muscles and flesh formed over the bones. Then skin formed to cover their bodies, but they still had no breath in them. | 8As I looked on, tendons appeared on them, flesh grew, and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them. |
| 9Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to the winds, son of man. Speak a prophetic message and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come, O breath, from the four winds! Breathe into these dead bodies so they may live again.’” | 9Then 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!” |
| 10So I spoke the message as he commanded me, and breath came into their bodies. They all came to life and stood up on their feet—a great army. | 10So 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. |
| 11Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones represent the people of Israel. They are saying, ‘We have become old, dry bones—all hope is gone. Our nation is finished.’ | 11Then 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.’ |
| 12Therefore, prophesy to them and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I will open your graves of exile and cause you to rise again. Then I will bring you back to the land of Israel. | 12Therefore prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘O My people, I will open your graves and bring you up from them, and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. |
| 13When this happens, O my people, you will know that I am the LORD. | 13Then you, My people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. |
| 14I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live again and return home to your own land. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken, and I have done what I said. Yes, the LORD has spoken!’” Reunion of Israel and Judah | 14I 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.’ ” |
| 15Again a message came to me from the LORD: | 15Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, |
| 16“Son of man, take a piece of wood and carve on it these words: ‘This represents Judah and its allied tribes.’ Then take another piece and carve these words on it: ‘This represents Ephraim and the northern tribes of Israel.’ | 16“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.’ |
| 17Now hold them together in your hand as if they were one piece of wood. | 17Then join them together into one stick, so that they become one in your hand. |
| 18When your people ask you what your actions mean, | 18When your people ask you, ‘Won’t you explain to us what you mean by these?’ |
| 19say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will take Ephraim and the northern tribes and join them to Judah. I will make them one piece of wood in my hand.’ | 19you 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“Then hold out the pieces of wood you have inscribed, so the people can see them. | 20When the sticks on which you write are in your hand and in full view of the people, |
| 21And give them this message from the Sovereign LORD: I will gather the people of Israel from among the nations. I will bring them home to their own land from the places where they have been scattered. | 21you 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. |
| 22I will unify them into one nation on the mountains of Israel. One king will rule them all; no longer will they be divided into two nations or into two kingdoms. | 22I 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. |
| 23They will never again pollute themselves with their idols and vile images and rebellion, for I will save them from their sinful apostasy. I will cleanse them. Then they will truly be my people, and I will be their God. | 23They 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“My servant David will be their king, and they will have only one shepherd. They will obey my regulations and be careful to keep my decrees. | 24My 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. |
| 25They will live in the land I gave my servant Jacob, the land where their ancestors lived. They and their children and their grandchildren after them will live there forever, generation after generation. And my servant David will be their prince forever. | 25They 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. |
| 26And I will make a covenant of peace with them, an everlasting covenant. I will give them their land and increase their numbers, and I will put my Temple among them forever. | 26And 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. |
| 27I will make my home among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. | 27My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be My people. |
| 28And when my Temple is among them forever, the nations will know that I am the LORD, who makes Israel holy.” | 28Then the nations will know that I the LORD sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is among them forever.’ ” |
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