Ezekiel 37
Ezekiel 37 has two parts. In the vision of the valley of dry bones, Ezekiel prophesies, the bones come together, and breath from the four winds makes them live as an exceeding great army; God explains that the bones are the whole house of Israel, whom he will bring out of their graves and back to their land. Then Ezekiel joins two sticks, for Judah and for Joseph, as a sign that God will make the divided kingdoms one nation under one king.
Ezekiel 37 (KJV)
The valley of dry bones v. 1-10
1The 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,
2And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.
3And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.
4Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.
5Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
6And 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.
7So 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.
8And 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.
9Then 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.
10So 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.
These bones are the whole house of Israel v. 11-14
11Then 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.
12Therefore 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.
13And 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,
14And 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.
Two sticks become one v. 15-20
15The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
16Moreover, 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:
17And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.
18And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?
19Say 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.
20And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.
One nation, one shepherd, an everlasting covenant v. 21-28
21And 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:
22And 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:
23Neither 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.
24And 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.
25And 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.
26Moreover 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.
27My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
28And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.
What Ezekiel 37 means
The hand of the LORD sets Ezekiel down in a valley full of bones, very many and very dry. God asks him, "Son of man, can these bones live?" Ezekiel does not guess. He answers, "O Lord GOD, thou knowest." God tells him to prophesy to the bones and promises to put breath in them so they will live and know that he is the LORD.
As Ezekiel speaks there is a noise and a shaking, and the bones come together, bone to his bone. Sinews, flesh and skin cover them, "but there was no breath in them." So God tells him to prophesy to the wind: "Come from the four winds, O breath." The breath enters, and they stand on their feet, an exceeding great army. In Hebrew the same word can mean breath, wind and spirit, which ties the scene together.
God then explains the vision himself. The bones are the whole house of Israel, who were saying, "Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost." The vision is God's answer to a people in exile who felt as good as dead. He will open their graves, put his spirit in them, and place them in their own land.
The second half gives a sign. Ezekiel writes For Judah on one stick and For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, on another, and holds them as one stick in his hand. Israel had been split into two kingdoms since the days of Rehoboam. God promises to make them one nation again, cleanse them from their idols, set David my servant over them as one shepherd, and make an everlasting covenant of peace with his sanctuary in their midst for evermore.
In its setting the chapter promises Israel's return and renewal. Many Christians also read it as a picture of new life by the Spirit and a hint of the resurrection, and see the promised shepherd from David's line fulfilled in Christ. Readers differ on how much of the chapter also looks further into the future.
Background and context
The book names its writer: Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, among the captives by the river Chebar in Babylon (Ezekiel 1:3). He was taken to Babylon in the exile of king Jehoiachin.
Chapter 37 follows the promise in chapter 36 of a new heart and a new spirit. News that Jerusalem had fallen reached the exiles in chapter 33, so this vision speaks to people whose city and temple were gone.
Key verses
And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.
Ezekiel 37:3 · KJV
Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
Ezekiel 37:5 · KJV
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.
Ezekiel 37:14 · KJV
Cross references
- Ezekiel 36:26-27 The chapter before: a new heart, and I will put my spirit within you.A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
- Genesis 2:7 God breathed the breath of life into the first man, as breath enters the bodies in verse 10.And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
- John 20:22 The risen Jesus breathed on his disciples and said, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
- Revelation 11:11 The Spirit of life from God enters the two witnesses and they stand on their feet.And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
- John 10:16 Jesus speaks of one fold and one shepherd, echoing verse 24.And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
- Revelation 21:3 The tabernacle of God is with men, as verse 27 promises.And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
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Common questions
What does the valley of dry bones mean?
God explains it in verse 11: the bones are the whole house of Israel, who said their hope was lost. The vision promises that God will bring them back to life as a people, put his spirit in them, and return them to their land.
What is the meaning of the two sticks in Ezekiel 37?
One stick stands for Judah and the other for Joseph (Ephraim), the two divided kingdoms. Joining them shows that God will make them one nation under one king.
Where does it say Can these bones live?
Ezekiel 37:3: "Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest."
Is Ezekiel 37 about the resurrection?
In its setting it is about the restoration of Israel from exile. Many Christians also see in it a picture of resurrection and of new life given by the Spirit.
Who wrote Ezekiel 37?
The prophet Ezekiel, a priest living among the exiles in Babylon by the river Chebar (Ezekiel 1:3).
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