CLARITY EDITION · OLD TESTAMENT
Ezekiel 37
Chapter 37 of 48
Chapter Overview
What happens in Ezekiel 37
In one of the most famous visions in the Bible, God shows Ezekiel a valley full of dry bones and asks, 'Can these bones live?' God brings the bones back to life, showing that he can restore Israel from the death of exile. Then God tells Ezekiel to join two sticks together, symbolizing the reunion of Israel and Judah under one king.
Scripture
Ezekiel 37
The Valley of Dry Bones
Study note
The Spirit of the Lord carried Ezekiel to a valley filled with dry bones, representing the people of Israel in exile who said, 'Our bones are dried up. Our hope is gone. We are cut off.' God told Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones, and as he spoke, the bones came together, grew tendons, flesh, and skin. But they had no breath until Ezekiel called to the wind (the same Hebrew word as 'spirit'), and breath entered them. They stood up as a vast army. God explained that he would open the graves of his people and bring them back to their land and put his Spirit in them.
1 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones. The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,
2 He walked me back and forth among them. Bones were scattered everywhere across the valley floor, and they were completely dried out. And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.
3 And he said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord God, you know." And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.
4 Again he said to me, "Prophesy upon these bones, and say to them, O you dry bones, hear the word of the Lord." Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.
5 The Lord God says to these bones: "I am about to breathe life into you, and you will come alive." Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
6 "I will reconnect you with tendons, wrap you with flesh, and cover you with skin. Then I will fill you with breath, and you will spring to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord." And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So I prophesied exactly as instructed. While I was still speaking, I heard a clattering, rattling sound as bones found their matching bones and snapped together. So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.
8 I watched as tendons appeared on them, then flesh formed, and skin stretched over them. But they still were not breathing. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.
9 Then God told me, "Prophesy to the breath. Son of man, say to the breath: The Lord God commands -- Come from the four winds, breath! Blow into these dead bodies and bring them to life." Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.
10 I prophesied as he commanded, and breath rushed into them. They came alive and rose to their feet -- an enormous army. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
11 Then he explained, "Son of man, these bones represent the entire nation of Israel. They are saying, 'Our bones are dried up. Our hope has evaporated. We are finished.'" Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
12 "So prophesy to them: The Lord God says -- My people, I am going to open up your graves and lift you out of them. I will bring you home to the land of Israel." Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
13 "Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up out of them." And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,
14 "I will breathe my own Spirit into you, and you will live again. I will bring you home and settle you on your own soil. Then you will recognize that I, the Lord, made this promise and then kept it," says the Lord. And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.
The Two Sticks Become One
Study note
God told Ezekiel to take two sticks. One was labeled 'For Judah' (the southern kingdom) and the other 'For Joseph/Ephraim' (the northern kingdom). When Ezekiel held them together, they became one stick in his hand. This symbolized the future reunion of the divided nation. God would make them one nation again with one king, his servant David. They would live in the land forever, with God's dwelling place among them. The nations would know that the Lord makes Israel holy.
15 The Lord gave me another message. The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
16 "Son of man, take a wooden stick and write on it, 'For Judah and its allied Israelite tribes.' Take a second stick and write, 'For Joseph -- the stick of Ephraim -- and all its allied Israelite tribes.'" Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:
17 "Now bring them together into a single stick so they become one in your hand." And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.
18 "When your people ask, 'Explain what you mean by this,'" And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?
19 "tell them: The Lord God says -- I am going to take Joseph's stick, which is held by Ephraim, along with all the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join them to Judah's stick. I will fuse them into one stick, united in my hand." Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.
20 "Hold up the sticks you wrote on so the people can see them." And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.
21 "Then announce: The Lord God says -- I am going to gather the people of Israel from among the nations where they went. I will collect them from every direction and bring them home to their own land." 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:
22 "I will unite them as one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. A single king will rule over all of them. Never again will they be split into two nations or divided into two kingdoms." And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:
23 "They will never again pollute themselves with their idols, disgusting images, or any of their sins. I will rescue them from all the ways they went astray, and I will purify them. They will be my people, and I will be their God." Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.
24 "My servant David will be their king, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and carefully obey my rules." And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.
25 "They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob -- the same land where your ancestors lived. They, their children, and their grandchildren will live there forever, and my servant David will be their prince for all time." And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.
26 "I will make a peace covenant with them that lasts forever. I will establish them, increase their numbers, and place my sanctuary among them permanently." Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.
27 "My home will be among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people." My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
28 "Then the nations will know that I, the Lord, make Israel holy. They will know it because my sanctuary will stand among them forever." And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.
Key Themes
Themes in Ezekiel 37
Resurrection and new lifeThe power of God's wordNational restoration of IsraelUnity of God's peopleThe Spirit brings life
Prophetic Connections
How this chapter points to Christ
Ezekiel 1-14 John 5:25-29
Jesus declared that the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and live, echoing the resurrection themes of Ezekiel's dry bones vision where God's word calls the dead back to life.
Ezekiel 5-6 Romans 8:11
Paul teaches that the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to mortal bodies, fulfilling the pattern of God's Spirit breathing life into dead bones.
Apply This Today
Living Ezekiel 37
The valley of dry bones shows that nothing is too dead for God to revive. Whether it is a broken relationship, a lost dream, or a spiritual desert, God's breath can bring new life. This chapter is one of the most powerful reminders in the Bible that hope is never truly lost when God is involved.
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