The Valley of Dry Bones

1And the hand of YHWH came upon me, and He brought me out in the Spirit of YHWH, and He set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. 2And He caused me to pass among them all around, and behold, very many were upon the face of the valley; and behold, they were very dry.

3And He said to me: “Son of man, Can these bones live?”

And I said, “O Lord YHWH, You know.”

4And He said to me: “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of YHWH! 5Thus says the Lord YHWH to these bones: Behold, I am causing to enter into you⁺ breath,† and you⁺ will live. 6And I will put upon you⁺ sinews, and I will bring up flesh over you⁺, and I will cover over you⁺ with skin; and I will put within you⁺ breath, and you⁺ will live. And you⁺ will know that I am YHWH.’”

7And I prophesied as I had been commanded. And there was a noise at my prophesying, and behold, a shaking, and the bones drew together, bone to bone. 8And I looked, and behold, upon them were sinews, and flesh came up and skin covered over them above it, and there was no breath in them.

9And He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, thus says the Lord YHWH: From the four winds come, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.”

10And I prophesied as He had commanded me. And the breath came into them, and they lived; and they stood on their feet—an exceedingly greatly great army.

11And He said to me, “Son of man, these bones, they are the whole the house of Israel. Behold, they are saying, ‘Our bones have dried up and our hope has perished; we have been cut off by ourselves.’

12Therefore prophesy and say to them, thus says the Lord YHWH: ‘Behold, I am opening your⁺ graves, and I will bring you⁺ up from your⁺ graves, O My people, and I will bring you⁺ into the land of Israel. 13And you⁺ will know that I am YHWH, in My opening your⁺ graves, and in My bringing you⁺ up from your⁺ graves, O My people. 14And I will put My Spirit in you⁺, and you⁺ will live; and I will settle you⁺ in your⁺ own land. And you⁺ will know that I, YHWH, have spoken, and I have done it, a declaration of YHWH.’”

One Nation with One King

15And the word of YHWH came to me, saying: 16“And you, son of man, take for yourself one stick,† and write on it, ‘For Judah and for the sons of Israel, his companions.’ And take one stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel, his companions.’ 17And join them one to one for yourself into one stick, and they will become as one in your hand.

18And when the sons of your people speak to you, saying, ‘Will you not show to us what these are to you??’ 19Say to them, thus says the Lord YHWH: ‘Behold, I I am taking the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions, and I will join them upon it with the stick of Judah, and I will make them one stick; and they will become one in My hand.’

20And the sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes. 21And you shall say to them, thus says the Lord YHWH: ‘Behold, I am taking the sons of Israel from the nations to which they have gone there, and I will gather them from all around, and I will 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 over them all as king; and will they be no longer as two nations, and they will not be divided anymore as two kingdoms again.

23And they will not defile themselves anymore with their idols, and with their abominations, and with all their transgressions; and I will save them from all their apostasies† in which they have sinned, and I will cleanse them; and they will be unto Me as a people, and I will be unto them as God. 24And My servant David shall be king over them, and there will be one shepherd over them all; and in My ordinances they will walk, and My statutes they will keep, and they will do them.

25And they will dwell in the land that I have given to My servant, to Jacob, where your⁺ fathers dwelt in it; and they will dwell upon it, they and their children, and the children of their children, even to forever; and David My servant shall be the prince for them forever. 26And I will cut with them a covenant of peace; it will be covenant with them forever; and I will establish them, and I will multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary among them forever. 27And My dwelling place† will be with them, and I will be unto them God, and they will be unto Me for a people.† 28And the nations will know that I, YHWH, am sanctifying Israel, when My sanctuary comes to be in their midst forever.’”