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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 ^(F1)by 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 among them round about, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and lo, they were very dry.³ He said to me, "Son of man, ^(C1)can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord ^(F1)GOD, ^(C2)You know."⁴ Again He said to me, "^(C1)Prophesy over these bones and say to them, 'O dry bones, ^(C2)hear the word of the LORD.'⁵ "Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones, 'Behold, I will cause ^(F1)(C1)breath to enter you that you may come to life.⁶ 'I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you 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 ^(F1)noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone.⁸ And I looked, and behold, sinews were on them, and flesh grew and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them.⁹ Then He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, 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 ^(C2)come to life."'"¹⁰ So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the ^(C1)breath came into them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, an ^(C2)exceedingly great army.

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 has perished. We are ^(F1)completely ^(C3)cut off.'¹² "Therefore prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I will open your graves and ^(C1)cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel.¹³ "Then you will know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, My people.¹⁴ "I will ^(C1)put My ^(F1)Spirit within you and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken and done it," declares 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 for yourself ^(C1)one stick and write on it, 'For ^(C2)Judah and for the sons 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 for yourself one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand.¹⁸ "When the sons of your people speak to you saying, 'Will you not declare to us ^(C1)what you mean by these?'¹⁹ say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will put them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand."'²⁰ "The sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes.²¹ "Say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I will ^(C1)take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will 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 king will be king for all of them; and they will no longer be two nations and no longer be divided into two kingdoms.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 deliver them from all their ^(F1)dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. And they will be My people, and I will be their God.

The Davidic Kingdom

²⁴ "My servant ^(C1)David will be king over them, and they will all have ^(C2)one shepherd; and they will walk in My ordinances and keep My statutes and observe them.²⁵ "They will live on the land that I gave to Jacob My servant, in which your fathers lived; and they will live on it, they, and their sons and their sons' sons, forever; and ^(C1)David My servant will be their prince forever.²⁶ "I will make a ^(C1)covenant of peace with them; it will be an ^(C2)everlasting covenant with them. And I will ^(F1)place them and ^(C3)multiply them, and will set 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 "And the nations will know that I am the LORD ^(C1)who sanctifies Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forever."'"