Ezekiel 37:21
New International Version
and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land.

New Living Translation
And 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.

English Standard Version
then say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land.

Berean Standard Bible
you 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.

King James Bible
And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:

New King James Version
“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;

New American Standard Bible
And 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;

NASB 1995
“Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I will 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;

NASB 1977
“And say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I will 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;

Legacy Standard Bible
And speak to them, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Behold, I will 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;

Amplified Bible
Say 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 gather them from every side and bring them into their own land;

Christian Standard Bible
tell them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: I am going to take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them into their own land.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
tell them: This is what the Lord GOD says: I am going to take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them into their own land.

American Standard Version
And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, whither they are gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:

Contemporary English Version
and then say: I, the LORD God, will gather the people of Israel and bring them home from the foreign nations where they now live.

English Revised Version
And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"Then tell them, 'This is what the Almighty LORD says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they've gone. I will gather them from everywhere and bring them to their own land.

Good News Translation
Then tell them that I, the Sovereign LORD, am going to take all my people out of the nations where they have gone, gather them together, and bring them back to their own land.

International Standard Version
Then tell them, 'This is what the Lord GOD says: "Watch me take the Israelis out of the nations where they've gone and return them from every direction. I'm going to bring them back into their own land.

Majority Standard Bible
you 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.

NET Bible
Then tell them, 'This is what the sovereign LORD says: Look, I am about to take the Israelites from among the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from round about and bring them to their land.

New Heart English Bible
"Say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Look, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, where they are gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:

Webster's Bible Translation
And say to them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they are gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:

World English Bible
Say to them, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
and speak to them, Thus said Lord YHWH: Behold, I am taking the sons of Israel, "" From among the nations to where they have gone, "" And have gathered them from all around, "" And I have brought them into their land.

Young's Literal Translation
and speak thou unto them: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I am taking the sons of Israel, From among the nations whither they have gone, And have gathered them from round about, And I have brought them in unto their land.

Smith's Literal Translation
And speak to them, Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they went there, and I gathered them from round about, and I brought them to their land:
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And thou shalt say to them: Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will take the children of Israel from the midst of the nations whither they are gone: and I will gather them on every side, and will bring them to their own land.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will take up the sons of Israel, from the midst of the nations to which they have gone, and I will gather them together on every side, and I will lead them onto their own soil.

New American Bible
Say to them: Thus says the Lord GOD: I will soon take the Israelites from among the nations to which they have gone and gather them from all around to bring them back to their land.

New Revised Standard Version
then say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from every quarter, and bring them to their own land.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And say to them, Thus says the LORD God: Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations whither they have gone, and will gather them together and bring them into their own land;

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And say to them: ‘Thus says THE LORD OF LORDS: behold, I have taken the children of Israel from among the nations to which they went, and I shall gather them, and I shall bring them to their land
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And say unto them: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, whither they are gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land;

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And thou shalt say to them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the whole house of Israel out of the midst of the nations, among whom they have gone, and I will gather them from all that are round about them, and I will bring them into the land of Israel.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
One Nation with One King
20When the sticks on which you write are in your hand and in full view of the people, 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 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.…

Cross References
Jeremiah 23:3-8
Then I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock from all the lands to which I have banished them, and I will return them to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and multiply. / I will raise up shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or dismayed, nor will any go missing, declares the LORD. / Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land. ...

Jeremiah 30:3
For behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will restore from captivity My people Israel and Judah, declares the LORD. I will restore them to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they will possess it.’”

Jeremiah 31:8-10
Behold, I will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth, including the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and women in labor. They will return as a great assembly! / They will come with weeping, and by their supplication I will lead them; I will make them walk beside streams of waters, on a level path where they will not stumble. For I am Israel’s Father, and Ephraim is My firstborn.” / Hear, O nations, the word of the LORD, and proclaim it in distant coastlands: “The One who scattered Israel will gather them and keep them as a shepherd keeps his flock.

Isaiah 11:11-12
On that day the Lord will extend His hand a second time to recover the remnant of His people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. / He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; He will collect the scattered of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

Isaiah 43:5-6
Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east and gather you from the west. / I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back!’ Bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the ends of the earth—

Isaiah 49:12
Behold, they will come from far away, from the north and from the west, and from the land of Aswan.”

Isaiah 60:4
Lift up your eyes and look around: They all gather and come to you; your sons will come from afar, and your daughters will be carried on the arm.

Hosea 1:11
Then the people of Judah and of Israel will be gathered together, and they will appoint for themselves one leader, and will go up out of the land. For great will be the day of Jezreel.

Amos 9:14-15
I will restore My people Israel from captivity; they will rebuild and inhabit the ruined cities. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit. / I will firmly plant them in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land that I have given them,” says the LORD your God.

Zechariah 10:6-10
I will strengthen the house of Judah and save the house of Joseph. I will restore them because I have compassion on them, and they will be as though I had not rejected them. For I am the LORD their God, and I will answer them. / Ephraim will be like a mighty man, and their hearts will be glad as with wine. Their children will see it and be joyful; their hearts will rejoice in the LORD. / I will whistle for them to gather, for I have redeemed them; and they will be as numerous as they once were. ...

Deuteronomy 30:3-5
then He will restore you from captivity and have compassion on you and gather you from all the nations to which the LORD your God has scattered you. / Even if you have been banished to the farthest horizon, He will gather you and return you from there. / And the LORD your God will bring you into the land your fathers possessed, and you will take possession of it. He will cause you to prosper and multiply more than your fathers.

Psalm 107:2-3
Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy / and gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.

Matthew 24:31
And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

John 11:52
and not only for the nation, but also for the scattered children of God, to gather them together into one.

John 10:16
I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them in as well, and they will listen to My voice. Then there will be one flock and one shepherd.


Treasury of Scripture

And say to them, Thus said the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, where they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:

Ezekiel 34:13
And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.

Ezekiel 36:24
For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.

Ezekiel 39:25
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name;

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Ezekiel 37
1. By the resurrection of dry bones
11. the dead hope of Israel is revived
15. By the uniting of two sticks
18. is shown the incorporation of Israel into Judah
21. The promises of Christ's kingdom














And tell them
This phrase signifies a direct command from God to the prophet Ezekiel. The Hebrew root for "tell" is "אָמַר" (amar), which means to say or declare. This highlights the role of the prophet as a mouthpiece for God, emphasizing the importance of communication in delivering divine messages. In the historical context, prophets were often the bridge between God and His people, tasked with conveying His will and intentions.

this is what the Lord GOD says
The phrase underscores the authority and sovereignty of God. The Hebrew term "אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה" (Adonai Yahweh) is used here, combining the titles of Lord and God, which emphasizes His supreme power and covenantal relationship with Israel. This declaration assures the Israelites that the message is not from Ezekiel himself but from God, lending it divine authority and weight.

Behold
The word "behold" is translated from the Hebrew "הִנֵּה" (hinneh), which is an imperative to pay attention or look closely. It serves as a call to focus on the significance of what follows. In biblical literature, "behold" often introduces a revelation or important announcement, urging the audience to take notice of God's actions or promises.

I will take the Israelites
This phrase indicates God's active role in the redemption and restoration of His people. The Hebrew verb "לָקַח" (laqach) means to take or seize, suggesting a deliberate and powerful action by God. Historically, the Israelites were scattered due to exile, and this promise reflects God's commitment to reclaim and restore them as His chosen people.

out of the nations
The scattering of the Israelites among the nations was a result of their disobedience and subsequent exile. The Hebrew word "גּוֹיִם" (goyim) refers to the nations or peoples, often used to describe those outside the covenant community of Israel. This phrase highlights the dispersion of the Israelites and God's intention to reverse their exile, bringing them back from foreign lands.

to which they have gone
This part of the verse acknowledges the reality of the Israelites' dispersion. The Hebrew verb "בּוֹא" (bo) means to come or go, indicating their movement away from their homeland. It reflects the historical context of the Babylonian exile, where the Israelites were taken captive and lived among other nations.

I will gather them
The promise of gathering is central to the theme of restoration. The Hebrew verb "קָבַץ" (qabats) means to collect or assemble, signifying God's intention to bring His people back together. This gathering is not just physical but also spiritual, as God restores the unity and identity of Israel as His covenant people.

from all around
This phrase emphasizes the comprehensive nature of God's gathering. The Hebrew "סָבִיב" (saviv) means around or surrounding, indicating that no matter how far the Israelites have been scattered, God's reach is all-encompassing. It reassures the exiles that distance is no barrier to God's redemptive plan.

and bring them into their own land
The culmination of God's promise is the return to their own land, a central theme in the covenant relationship between God and Israel. The Hebrew verb "בּוֹא" (bo) is used again, this time to signify bringing or leading them back. The "land" refers to the Promised Land, a symbol of God's faithfulness and the fulfillment of His promises. Historically, this return signifies not just a physical relocation but a spiritual renewal and restoration of the covenant relationship.

(21) Will gather them.--The restoration of Israel from their captivity among the heathen here, as often elsewhere, is the first step in the fulfilment of the Divine promises. This, however, like the other Divine promises, was fulfilled only to a "remnant," a course which, as St. Paul shows in Romans 9, had been foreseen and foretold from the first. A fulfilment on a larger scale was perpetually prevented by the sins of the people; God did for them all that their obdurate disobedience would allow Him to do. Yet He did not wholly reject them, but allowed a remnant to keep alive His Church, and become the channel of those richer blessings of the new covenant, in which all who will accept His salvation are united in a holier bond, and led to a land of higher promise than Israel after the flesh could ever know.

Verses 21-28 explain how the unification of the two kingdoms should be brought about. The first step should be the bringing of the people home to their own land (vers. 21, 22); the second, their purification from idolatry (ver. 23); the third, the installation over them, thus united and purified, of one King, the ideal David of the future, or the Messiah (vers. 24, 25); the fourth, the establishment with them of Jehovah's covenant of peace (ver. 26), and the permanent erection amongst them of Jehovah's temple (vers. 27, 28). Verses 21, 22. - I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen. That tills promise was intended to find an initial and partial fulfillment in the return from Babylon is undoubted. That it was also designed to look across the centuries towards the final ingathering of God's spiritual Israel into their permanent inheritance, the heavenly Canaan, an examination of its terms shows. These clearly presuppose a wider dispersion of Israel than had then, i.e. in Ezekiel's day, taken place; and that Israel has never yet been made one nation upon the mountains of Israel, is incontestable. Nor is there ground for expecting she ever will be. Not even after the exile closed did all Israel return to Palestine. Nor did it ever come true in their experience that one king was king to them all, since, in point of fact, they never afterwards had an earthly sore-reign at all who was properly independent. If, therefore, the prince who in the future should shepherd them was not to be a temporal monarch, but the Messiah, the probability is that the Israel he should shepherd was designed to be, not Israel after the flesh, but Israel after the spirit, who should walk in his judgments and observe his statutes, and who, in the fullness of the times, should develop out into the Christian Church. Hence it seems reasonable to conclude that their own land, into which they should eventually be brought, would be not so much the veritable soil from which their ancestors had been expelled, as the country or region in which the new, rejuvenated, reunited, and reformed Israel should dwell, which, again, should be n territory cleansed from sin and idolatry, so as to render it a fit abode for a people devoted to righteousness. Viewed in this light, their own land was first Canaan, in so far as after the exile it was cleansed from idolatry; now it is those portions of the earth in which the Christian Church has been planted, so far as these are influenced by the holy principles of religion; finally, it will be the new heavens and the new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness (scrap. Ezekiel 34:24; Ezekiel 36:24).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
you are to tell them
וְדַבֵּ֣ר (wə·ḏab·bêr)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 1696: To arrange, to speak, to subdue

that this is what
כֹּֽה־ (kōh-)
Adverb
Strong's 3541: Like this, thus, here, now

the Lord
אֲדֹנָ֣י (’ă·ḏō·nāy)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 136: The Lord

GOD
יְהוִה֒ (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3069: YHWH

says:
אָמַר֮ (’ā·mar)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

‘I
אֲנִ֤י (’ă·nî)
Pronoun - first person common singular
Strong's 589: I

will take
לֹקֵ֙חַ֙ (lō·qê·aḥ)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 3947: To take

the Israelites
בְּנֵ֣י (bə·nê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 1121: A son

out of
מִבֵּ֥ין (mib·bên)
Preposition-m
Strong's 996: An interval, space between

the nations
הַגּוֹיִ֖ם (hag·gō·w·yim)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 1471: A foreign nation, a Gentile, a troop of animals, a flight of locusts

to which
אֲשֶׁ֣ר (’ă·šer)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

they have gone,
הָֽלְכוּ־ (hā·lə·ḵū-)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 1980: To go, come, walk

and I will gather
וְקִבַּצְתִּ֤י (wə·qib·baṣ·tî)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Conjunctive perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 6908: To gather, collect

them from
אֹתָם֙ (’ō·ṯām)
Direct object marker | third person masculine plural
Strong's 853: Untranslatable mark of the accusative case

all around
מִסָּבִ֔יב (mis·sā·ḇîḇ)
Preposition-m | Adverb
Strong's 5439: A circle, neighbour, environs, around

and bring
וְהֵבֵאתִ֥י (wə·hê·ḇê·ṯî)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Conjunctive perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

them into
אֲלֵיהֶ֗ם (’ă·lê·hem)
Preposition | third person masculine plural
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

their own land.
אַדְמָתָֽם׃ (’aḏ·mā·ṯām)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 127: Ground, land


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OT Prophets: Ezekiel 37:21 Say to them Thus says the Lord (Ezek. Eze Ezk)
Ezekiel 37:20
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