Ezekiel 37:20

Easy-to-Read Version

"Take the sticks that you wrote on and hold them in front of you.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“When the sticks you have written on are in your hand and in full view of the people,

Hebrew Names Version
The sticks whereon you write shall be in your hand before their eyes.

King James Version
And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.

English Standard Version
When the sticks on which you write are in your hand before their eyes,

New American Standard Bible
"The sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes.

New Century Version
Hold the sticks on which you wrote these names in your hand so the people can see them.

Amplified Bible
"The sticks on which you write shall be in your hand before their eyes.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And the pieces of wood, whereon thou writest, shalbe in thine hand, in their sight.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"The sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes.

Legacy Standard Bible
And the sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes.

Berean Standard Bible
When the sticks on which you write are in your hand and in full view of the people,

Contemporary English Version
Hold these two sticks where they can be seen by everyone

Complete Jewish Bible
The sticks on which you write are to be in your hand as they watch.

Darby Translation
And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thy hand before their eyes.

George Lamsa Translation
And the sticks on which you write, hold them in your hand before their eyes;

Good News Translation
"Hold in your hand the two sticks and let the people see them.

Lexham English Bible
And the pieces of wood on which you wrote will be in your hand before their eyes.

Literal Translation
And the sticks shall be in your hand, the ones on which you write before their eyes.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And the two stickes where vpon thou wrytest, shalt thou haue in thine honde, that they maye se,

American Standard Version
And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thy hand before their eyes.

Bible in Basic English
And the sticks with your writing on them will be in your hand before their eyes.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thy hand before their eyes.

King James Version (1611)
And the stickes whereon thou writest, shalbe in thine hand before their eyes.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the stickes where vpon thou wrytest, shalt thou haue in thy hand, that they may see.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the rods on which thou didst write shall be in thine hand in their presence.

English Revised Version
And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.

World English Bible
The sticks whereon you write shall be in your hand before their eyes.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Sotheli the trees, on whiche thou hast write, schulen be in thin hond bifore the iyen of hem.

Update Bible Version
And the sticks whereon you write shall be in your hand before their eyes.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the sticks on which thou writest shall be in thy hand before their eyes.

New English Translation
The sticks you write on will be in your hand in front of them.

New King James Version
And the sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes.

New Living Translation
"Then hold out the pieces of wood you have inscribed, so the people can see them.

New Life Bible
Hold in front of them the sticks you write on,

New Revised Standard
When the sticks on which you write are in your hand before their eyes,

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And the sticks whereon thou shalt write shall remain in thy hand before their eyes.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the sticks whereon thou hast written, shall be in thy hand, before their eyes.

Revised Standard Version
When the sticks on which you write are in your hand before their eyes,

Young's Literal Translation
And the sticks on which thou writest have been in thy hand before thine eyes,

THE MESSAGE
"Then take the sticks you've inscribed and hold them up so the people can see them. Tell them, ‘ God , the Master, says, Watch me! I'm taking the Israelites out of the nations in which they've been exiled. I'll gather them in from all directions and bring them back home. I'll make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and give them one king—one king over all of them. Never again will they be divided into two nations, two kingdoms. Never again will they pollute their lives with their no-god idols and all those vile obscenities and rebellions. I'll save them out of all their old sinful haunts. I'll clean them up. They'll be my people! I'll be their God! My servant David will be king over them. They'll all be under one shepherd. "‘They'll follow my laws and keep my statutes. They'll live in the same land I gave my servant Jacob, the land where your ancestors lived. They and their children and their grandchildren will live there forever, and my servant David will be their prince forever. I'll make a covenant of peace with them that will hold everything together, an everlasting covenant. I'll make them secure and place my holy place of worship at the center of their lives forever. I'll live right there with them. I'll be their God! They'll be my people! "‘The nations will realize that I, God , make Israel holy when my holy place of worship is established at the center of their lives forever.'"

Contextual Overview

¹⁵ The word of the Lord came to me again. He said, ¹⁶ "Son of man, get one stick and write this message on it: ‘This stick belongs to Judah and his friends, the people of Israel.' Then take another stick and write on it, ‘This stick of Ephraim belongs to Joseph and his friends, the people of Israel.' ¹⁷ Then join the two sticks together. In your hand, they will be one stick. ¹⁸ "Your people will ask you to explain what that means. ¹⁹ 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 his friends, the people of Israel. Then I will put that stick with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick. In my hand, they will become one stick!' ²⁰ "Take the sticks that you wrote on and hold them in front of you. ²¹ Tell the people that this is what the Lord God says: ‘I will gather the people of Israel from among the nations. I will gather them from all around and bring them back to their own land. ²² I will make them one nation in their land among the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over them all. They will no longer be two nations. They will not be split into two kingdoms anymore. ²³ And they will no longer continue to make themselves filthy with their idols and horrible statues or with any of their other crimes. Instead, I will save them from all the places where they have sinned, and I will wash them and make them pure. They will be my people, and I will be their God. ²⁴ "‘And my servant David will be the king over them. There will be only one shepherd over all of them. They will live by my rules and obey my laws. They will do the things I tell them.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

in thine: Ezekiel 12:3, Numbers 17:6-9, Hosea 12:10

Reciprocal: Ezekiel 21:6 - before Ephesians 2:14 - both

Cross-References

Genesis 37:2
This is the story of Jacob's family. Joseph was a young man, 17 years old. His job was to take care of the sheep and the goats. Joseph did this work with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah. (Bilhah and Zilpah were his father's wives.) Joseph told his father about the bad things that his brothers did.

Genesis 37:10
Joseph also told his father about this dream, but his father criticized him. His father said, "What kind of dream is this? Do you believe that your mother, your brothers, and I will bow down to you?"

Genesis 37:11
Joseph's brothers continued to be jealous of him, but his father thought about all these things and wondered what they could mean.

Genesis 37:12
One day Joseph's brothers went to Shechem to care for their father's sheep.

Genesis 37:16
Joseph answered, "I am looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are with their sheep?"

Genesis 37:18
Joseph's brothers saw him coming from far away. They decided to make a plan to kill him.

Genesis 37:29
Reuben had been gone, but when he came back to the well, he saw that Joseph was not there. He tore his clothes to show that he was upset.

Genesis 37:32
Then the brothers showed the coat to their father. And the brothers said, "We found this coat. Is this Joseph's coat?"

1 Samuel 24:20
Now, I know that you will become the new king. You will rule the kingdom of Israel.

1 Samuel 26:2
Saul gathered 3000 of the best soldiers in Israel and went down to the desert of Ziph to search for David there.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the sticks whereon thou writest,.... Or art about to write the above things, according to order and direction:

shall be in thine hand before their eyes; shall be held up to them to look at for some time, and observe the cement of the two sticks; and learn and lay up in their minds what is meant by this emblem; and be assured that what is hereafter said as a further explication of it shall certainly be fulfilled.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A prophecy of the reunion of Israel and Judah, the incorporation of Israel under one Ruler, the kingdom of Messiah upon earth and in heaven.

Ezekiel 37:16

One stick - So in the marginal reference the names of the tribes had been written on rods or sticks.

For Judah ... - To the house of David had remained faithful, not only Judah, but also Benjamin, Levi, and part of Simeon, and individual members of various tribes 2 Chronicles 11:12-16. Compare the marginal references.

Joseph ... Ephraim - Compare Psalms 78:67; Hosea 5:5 ff “Joseph” is the general name here for the ten tribes, including “Ephraim,” the chief tribe, and his companions. Omit “for” before “all.” “All the house of Israel” is here the ten tribes.

Ezekiel 37:19

In the hand of Ephraim - Because Ephraim was the ruling tribe; the words are contrasted with “in mine hand.”

Ezekiel 37:20

This sign was literally enacted in the presence of the people, not, like some signs, merely in vision (see the Ezekiel 3:1 note).

Ezekiel 37:21

The gathering together of the children of Israel was to take effect in the first place in the return from Babylon, when the distinction of Israel and Judah should cease. The full completion concerns times still future, when all Israel shall come in to acknowledge the rule of Christ.

Ezekiel 37:22

One king - The restoration of Israel to their native soil will lead the way to the coming of the promised King, the Son of David, who will gather into His kingdom the true Israel, all who shall by faith be acknowledged as the Israel of God. The reign of the One King David is the reign of Christ in His kingdom, the Church.

Ezekiel 37:25, Ezekiel 37:26

An enlargement of the promises. The kingdom is to be “forever,” the covenant “everlasting.” This looks forward to the consummation of all God’s promises 1 Corinthians 15:24, 1 Corinthians 15:28.

Ezekiel 37:27

This gives a final blessing reserved for God’s accepted servants. The tabernacle and temple were outward symbols of His presence. The re-erection of the temple by Zerubbabel was the first step to a restoration of the presence of God. The second step was the presence of Christ, first in the flesh, then in His Church, and finally the eternal presence of God and of the Lamb in the New Jerusalem Revelation 21:0.