Ezekiel 37
Berean Standard Bible · Compare translations · 585 BC – 573 BC · Exile in Babylon · Tap a verse to copy, share or highlight ·
28 verses · 836 words · ~4 min read · ~6 min listen
The Valley of Dry Bones
1The hand of the Lord was upon me, and He brought me out by His Spirit and set me down in the middle of the valley, and it was full of bones. 2He led me all around among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, and indeed, they were very dry.
3Then He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones come to life?”
“O Lord God,” I replied, “only You know.”
4And He said to me, “Prophesy concerning these bones and tell them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5This is what the Lord God says to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you will come to life. 6I will attach tendons to you and make flesh grow upon you and cover you with skin. I will put breath within you so that you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
7So I prophesied as I had been commanded. And as I prophesied, there was suddenly a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8As I looked on, tendons appeared on them, flesh grew, and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them.
9Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and tell the breath that this is what the Lord God says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, so that they may live!”
10So I prophesied as He had commanded me, and the breath entered them, and they came to life and stood on their feet—a vast army.
11Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Look, they are saying, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope has perished; we are cut off.’
12Therefore prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord God says: ‘O My people, I will open your graves and bring you up from them, and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13Then you, My people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14I will put My Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.’”
One Nation with One King
15Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 16“And you, son of man, take a single stick and write on it: ‘Belonging to Judah and to the Israelites associated with him.’ Then take another stick and write on it: ‘Belonging to Joseph—the stick of Ephraim—and to all the house of Israel associated with him.’ 17Then join them together into one stick, so that they become one in your hand.
18When your people ask you, ‘Wonʼt you explain to us what you mean by these?’ 19you are to tell them that this is what the Lord God says: ‘I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel associated with him, and I will put them together with the stick of Judah. I will make them into a single stick, and they will become one in My hand.’
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.
23They will no longer defile themselves with their idols or detestable images, or with any of their transgressions. I will save them from all their apostasies by which they sinned, and I will cleanse them. Then they will be My people, and I will be their God. 24My servant David will be king over them, and there will be one shepherd for all of them. They will follow My ordinances and keep and observe My statutes.
25They will live in the land that I gave to My servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They will live there forever with their children and grandchildren, and My servant David will be their prince forever. 26And I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary among them forever. 27My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be My people. 28Then the nations will know that I the Lord sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is among them forever.’”
Footnotes (5)
- a v5 Or spirit; also in verses 6, 9, and 10
- b v16 Or branch; also in verses 17, 19, and 20
- c v23 Many Hebrew manuscripts (see also LXX); most Hebrew manuscripts all their dwelling places where they sinned
- d v27 Or My tabernacle
- e v27 Cited in 2 Corinthians 6:16
Study notes on this chapter · 6
I will dwell among them and walk among them
God promises at Sinai to set his dwelling among Israel and walk among them. Paul applies this promise to the church at Corinth, calling them the temple of the living God, and strings it together with other promises, including the one to David's son in 2 Samuel 7:14.
When: Leviticus (Sinai era); 2 Corinthians, c. AD 55–56.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.
The temple destroyed and raised
After Jesus drives out the traders he says, 'Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up', and John explains that he spoke about the temple of his body. The New Testament elsewhere says the church, or each believer, is God's temple, a dwelling built of living stones.
When: Solomon's temple, c. 960 BC; Jesus' temple cleansing, c. AD 27–30.
Ways people read this (3)
- Jesus' resurrected body replaces the temple as the place where God and humanity meet.
- The church as a community is the new temple (Ephesians 2, 1 Peter 2), and individual believers are also called temples (1 Corinthians 6:19).
- Some also see in this a hope of a rebuilt temple in a future age; others see the temple as fulfilled in Christ.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.
The second gathering of the remnant
Isaiah says that in that day the Lord will a second time recover the remnant of his people from Assyria, Egypt, Cush and the islands of the sea. Ezekiel and Jeremiah also promise a regathering from all the nations. Readers disagree about whether these promises were fulfilled in the return from Babylon, are being fulfilled now, or have a spiritual fulfillment.
When: Isaiah, c. 740–700 BC; Ezekiel, c. 586–570 BC; returns from exile from 538 BC.
Ways people read this (4)
- Fulfilled in the return from Babylonian exile and scattered communities during the Persian and later periods.
- Being fulfilled in the gathering of Jewish people in modern times, or awaiting a future gathering (some dispensational and other readings).
- Fulfilled spiritually in the gathering of Jews and Gentiles into the church (covenant theology readings).
- Jewish tradition sees it as the ingathering of the exiles in the messianic age, and many see modern Israel in that light while others do not.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.
The valley of dry bones
Ezekiel sees a valley of dry bones come to life as God breathes on them, and God says the bones are the whole house of Israel, who will be brought back to their land. Readers have taken the vision as a picture of national restoration, of resurrection, or both, and Revelation echoes it in the raising of the two witnesses.
When: Ezekiel, c. 586–570 BC.
Ways people read this (4)
- Restoration of Israel from exile in Babylon (as the text itself explains).
- A picture that also points to the resurrection of the dead at the end of the age.
- A future national restoration of Israel.
- The Spirit's renewal of the people of God in Christ, Jew and Gentile together.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.
The two witnesses
Revelation 11 describes two witnesses who prophesy for 1,260 days, have power like Elijah and Moses, are killed by the beast, lie in the street of the great city, and are raised after three and a half days. The two olive trees and two lampstands recall Zechariah's vision. Their identity is disputed.
When: Revelation, c. AD 90s.
Ways people read this (4)
- Two future prophets in a coming tribulation, sometimes identified with Moses and Elijah or Enoch and Elijah.
- The church as a witnessing community, as in the lampstands of Revelation 1 (idealist and amillennial).
- The Old and New Testaments, or the Law and the Prophets.
- Two historical figures or groups in the first century (preterist), such as James and Peter or Jewish Christians in Jerusalem.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.
The thousand years
Revelation 20 describes Satan bound for a thousand years, the martyrs living and reigning with Christ for a thousand years, and a release of Satan before a final judgment. Christians have long disagreed about when and how it is fulfilled. This is the only passage that mentions a thousand-year reign.
When: Revelation, c. AD 90s.
Ways people read this (4)
- Premillennial: Christ returns before a literal or long earthly reign, which precedes the final judgment (historic and dispensational forms).
- Amillennial: the thousand years is symbolic of the present age, in which Christ reigns in heaven and the church on earth, and Satan is restrained (Augustine, many Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran and Reformed traditions).
- Postmillennial: the gospel will transform the world over a long period, after which Christ returns.
- Views also differ on what the 'first resurrection' is.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.