| New King James Version | New Living Translation |
| 1The 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. | 1The LORD took hold of me, and I was carried away by the Spirit of the LORD to a valley filled with bones. |
| 2Then 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. | 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. |
| 3And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” So I answered, “O Lord GOD, You know.” | 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.” |
| 4Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! | 4Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to these bones and say, ‘Dry bones, listen to the word of the LORD! |
| 5Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. | 5This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again! |
| 6I 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.” ’ ” | 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.’” |
| 7So 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. | 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. |
| 8Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them. | 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. |
| 9Also 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.” ’ ” | 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.’” |
| 10So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army. | 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. |
| 11Then 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!’ | 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.’ |
| 12Therefore 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. | 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. |
| 13Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. | 13When this happens, O my people, you will know that I am the LORD. |
| 14I 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.’ ” | 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 |
| 15Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, | 15Again a message came to me from the LORD: |
| 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.’ | 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.’ |
| 17Then join them one to another for yourself into one stick, and they will become one in your hand. | 17Now hold them together in your hand as if they were one piece of wood. |
| 18“And when the children of your people speak to you, saying, ‘Will you not show us what you mean by these?’— | 18When your people ask you what your actions mean, |
| 19say 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.” ’ | 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.’ |
| 20And the sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes. | 20“Then hold out the pieces of wood you have inscribed, so the people can see them. |
| 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; | 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. |
| 22and 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. | 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. |
| 23They 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 25Then 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. | 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. |
| 26Moreover 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. | 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. |
| 27My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people. | 27I will make my home among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. |
| 28The nations also will know that I, the LORD, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.” ’ ” | 28And when my Temple is among them forever, the nations will know that I am the LORD, who makes Israel holy.” |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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