Ezekiel37
New King James Version
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.
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.
3And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” So I answered, “O Lord God, You know.”
4Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear 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.
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.” ’ ”
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.
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.
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.” ’ ”
10So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly 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!’
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.
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.
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.’ ”
15Again 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.’
17Then 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?’—
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.” ’
20And 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;
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
27My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
28The nations also will know that I, the Lord, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.” ’ ”
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Ezekiel 37.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: God restores dried bones to life. (1-14). The whole house of Israel is represented as enjoying the blessings of Christ's kingdom. (15-28).
vv1-14
No created power could restore human bones to life. God alone could cause them to live. Skin and flesh covered them, and the wind was then told to blow upon these bodies; and they were restored to life. The wind was an emblem of the Spirit of God, and represented his quickening powers. The vision was to encourage the desponding Jews; to predict both their restoration after the captivity, and also their recovery from their present and long-continued dispersion. It was also a clear intimation of the resurrection of the dead; and it represents the power and grace of God, in the conversion of the most hopeless sinners to himself. Let us look to Him who will at last open our graves, and bring us forth to judgment, that He may now deliver us from sin, and put his Spirit within us, and keep us by his power, through faith, unto salvation.
vv15-28
This emblem was to show the people, that the Lord would unite Judah and Israel. Christ is the true David, Israel's King of old; and those whom he makes willing in the day of his power, he makes to walk in his judgments, and to keep his statutes. Events yet to come will further explain this prophecy. Nothing has more hindered the success of the gospel than divisions. Let us study to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace; let us seek for Divine grace to keep us from detestable things; and let us pray that all nations may be obedient and happy subjects of the Son of David, that the Lord may be our God, and we may be his people for evermore.
Key Words
יָד: a hand (the open one (indicating power, means, direction, etc.),
עַל: above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications
יָצָא: to go (causatively, bring) out, in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively, direct and proxim.
רוּחַ: wind; by resemblance breath, i.e. a sensible (or even violent) exhalation; figuratively, life, anger, unsubstantiality; by extension, a region of the sky; by resemblance spirit, but only of a rational being (including its expression and functions)
נוּחַ: to rest, i.e. settle down; used in a great variety of applications, literal and figurative, intransitive, transitive and causative (to dwell, stay, let fall, place, let alone, withdraw, give comfort, etc.)
תָּוֶךְ: a bisection, i.e. (by implication) the centre
בִּקְעָה: properly, a split, i.e. a wide level valley between mountains
מָלֵא: full (literally or figuratively) or filling (literally); also (concretely) fulness; adverbially, fully
עֶצֶם: a bone (as strong); by extension, the body; figuratively, the substance, i.e. (as pron.) selfsame
עָבַר: to cross over; used very widely of any transition (literal or figurative; transitive, intransitive, intensive, causative); specifically, to cover (in copulation)
Cross References
Ezekiel 37The divine word has quickening power; dry bones hear just as the spiritually dead hear the Son's voice.
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Belief in resurrection relies on God who calls things that are not as though they were.
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God breathes the breath of life into inanimate bodies, repeating the creative act of Genesis.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The prophetic vision of the dead living and rising from the dust parallel to Israel's revival.
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The promised indwelling of the Spirit of God to cause His people to live and walk uprightly.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
God sends forth His Spirit or breath to create and renew the face of the earth.
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God promises to ransom His people from the power of the grave and redeem them from death.
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The symbolic use of rods or sticks written upon to represent the tribes of Israel.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The cessation of rivalry between Ephraim and Judah, joining them in prophetic unity.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Prophecy of the house of Judah walking with the house of Israel coming out of captivity.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The ultimate fulfillment of uniting scattered folds into one flock under one Shepherd.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The messianic promise of the servant David set up as the one shepherd over God's flock.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
The foundational truth that God alone has the power to kill and make alive.
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The breath of life from God entering bodies, causing them to stand on their feet.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Verbal echo of bones scattered at the grave's mouth, illustrating Israel's desperate national despair.
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Zion's lament of being forgotten and forsaken, matching the cry that 'our hope is lost.'
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The reception of Israel described as nothing less than 'life from the dead.'
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Christ making the divided groups one, breaking down the middle wall of partition.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The children of Judah and Israel gathered together, appointing for themselves one head.
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The promise that restored Israel shall serve the Lord and David their king.
Supported by Matthew Henry
New Testament application of God tabernacling with His people as their God.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The cleansing of Israel from all their filthiness and idols, accompanying their restoration.
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Israel returning and seeking the Lord their God and David their king in the latter days.
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The same plain or valley context where Ezekiel previously experienced the hand of the Lord.
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