1The hand of the Lord was upon me, and He brought me out Or inby the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones.

2He had me pass among them all around, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and behold, they were very dry.

3Then He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “Lord Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the chGod, You Yourself know.”

4Again He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones and say to them, ‘You dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.’

5This is what the Lord God says to these bones: ‘Behold, I am going to make Or spirit, and so throughout the chbreath enter you so that you may come to life.

6And I will Lit giveattach tendons to you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin, and put breath in you so that you may come to life; and you will know that I am the Lord.’ ”

7So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a loud noise, and behold, a Or rustlingrattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone.

8And I looked, and behold, tendons were on them, and flesh grew and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them.

9Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘The Lord God says this: “Come from the four winds, breath, and breathe on these slain, so that they come to life.” ’ ”

10So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath entered them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

11Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the entire house of Israel; behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope has perished. We are Lit cut off to ourselvescompletely cut off.’

12Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am going to 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.

13Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, My people.

14And I will put My Or breathSpirit within you and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken and done it,” declares the Lord.’ ”

15The word of the Lord came again to me, saying,

16“Now you, son of man, take for yourself one stick and write on it, ‘For Judah and for the sons 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 put them together for yourself one to another into one stick, so that they may become one in your hand.

18And when the sons of your people speak to you, saying, ‘Will you not declare to us what Lit these are to youyou mean by these?’

19say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “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 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.

21And say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am going to take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will 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 king will be king for all of them; and they will no longer be two nations, and 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 offenses; but I will rescue them from all their Another reading is offensesdwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. And they will be My people, and I will be their God.

24“And My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd; and they will walk in My ordinances, and keep My statutes and Lit do themfollow them.

25And they will live on the land that I gave to My servant Jacob, in which your fathers lived; and they will live on it, they, and their sons and their sons’ sons, forever; and My servant David will be their leader forever.

26And I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will Lit giveplace them and multiply them, and set My sanctuary in their midst forever.

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

28And the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forever.” ’ ”