| 1 | The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. |
| 2 | Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. |
| 3 | And He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" So I answered, "O Lord God, You know." |
| 4 | Again He said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, `O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! |
| 5 | Thus says the Lord God to these bones: "Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. |
| 6 | I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord." ` " |
| 7 | So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. |
| 8 | Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them. |
| 9 | Also He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, 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." ` " |
| 10 | So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army. |
| 11 | Then He said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, `Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!` |
| 12 | Therefore prophesy and say to them, `Thus says the Lord God: "Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. |
| 13 | Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. |
| 14 | I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it," says the Lord.` " |
| 15 | Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, |
| 16 | "As for you, son of man, take a stick for yourself 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.` |
| 17 | Then join them one to another for yourself into one stick, and they will become one in your hand. |
| 18 | "And when the children of your people speak to you, saying, `Will you not show us what you mean by these?`-- |
| 19 | say to them, `Thus says the Lord God: "Surely I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will join them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand." ` |
| 20 | And the sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes. |
| 21 | Then say to them, `Thus says the Lord God: "Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; |
| 22 | and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again. |
| 23 | They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God. |
| 24 | "David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them. |
| 25 | Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children`s children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever. |
| 26 | Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore. |
| 27 | My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people. |
| 28 | The nations also will know that I, the Lord, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore." ` " |