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Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones

¹ The ^(C1)hand of the LORD was upon me, and He ^(C2)brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the ^(C3)valley; and it was full of bones.² He caused me to pass all around them, and behold, there were very many human bones in the open valley; and lo, they were very dry.³ And He said to me, "Son of man, ^(C1)can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord GOD, ^(C2)You know." ^(VR1)4 Again He said to me, "^(C1)Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'O dry bones, ^(C2)hear the word of the LORD.' ^(VR1)5 "Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones, 'Behold, I will make ^(F1)(C1)breath enter you so that you may come to life.⁶ 'I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin, and I will put breath in you so that you may come alive; and you will ^(C1)know that I am the LORD.'"

⁷ So I prophesied ^(C1)as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a thundering noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone.⁸ And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on the bones, and flesh grew and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them.⁹ Then He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, son of man, and say to the breath, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Come from the four winds, O breath, and ^(C1)breathe on these slain, that they may ^(C2)live."'"¹⁰ So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the ^(C1)breath came into them, and they came to life and stood up on their feet, an ^(C2)exceedingly great army. ^(VR1)

The Vision Explained

¹¹ Then He said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the ^(C1)whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, 'Our ^(C2)bones are dried up and our hope is lost. We are completely ^(C3)cut off.'¹² "Therefore prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I will open your graves and ^(C1)make you come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you back home to the land of Israel. ^(VR1)13 "Then you will know with confidence that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves and made you come up out of your graves, My people.¹⁴ "I will ^(C1)put My ^(F1)Spirit in you and you will come to life, and I will place you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and fulfilled it," says the LORD.'"

Reunion of Judah and Israel

¹⁵ The word of the LORD came again to me, saying,¹⁶ "And you, son of man, take ^(C1)a stick and write on it, 'For ^(C2)Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions'; then take another stick and write on it, 'For ^(C3)Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel, his companions.'¹⁷ Then ^(C1)join them together into one stick, so that they may become one in your hand.¹⁸ "When your people say to you, 'Will you not tell us ^(C1)what you mean by these?'¹⁹ say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am going to take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will join the stick of Judah with it and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand."'²⁰ "The sticks on which you write shall be in your hand before their eyes.²¹ "Say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am going to ^(C1)take the children of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will ^(F1)gather them from every side and bring them into their own land;²² and I will make them ^(C1)one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and ^(C2)one ^(F1)king will be king over all of them; and they will no longer be two nations, and will no longer be divided into two kingdoms. ^(VR1)23 "They will ^(C1)no longer defile themselves with their idols, or with their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions; but ^(C2)I will save them from all their transgressions in which they have sinned, and I will cleanse them. So they will be My people, and I will be their God.

The Davidic Kingdom

²⁴ "^(F1)My servant ^(C1)David will be king over them, and they all will have ^(C2)one shepherd. They will also walk in My ordinances and keep My statutes and observe them.²⁵ "They will live in the land where your fathers lived, the land that I gave to My servant Jacob, and they will live there, they and their children and their children's children, forever; and My servant ^(C1)David will be their leader forever. ^(VR1)26 "I will make a ^(C1)covenant of peace with them; it will be an ^(C2)everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them and ^(C3)multiply them, and will put My ^(C4)sanctuary in their midst forever.²⁷ "My ^(C1)dwelling place also will be with them; and ^(C2)I will be their God, and they will be My people.²⁸ "Then the nations will know without any doubt that I am the LORD who ^(C1)sets apart and sanctifies Israel for holy use, when My sanctuary is in their midst forever."'"