Ezekiel 37

NEW JERUSALEM	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 The hand of Yahweh was on me; he carried me away by the spirit of Yahweh and set me down in themiddle of the val ey, a valley ful of bones.	1 The hand of the LORD came upon me, and he led me out in the spirit of the LORD and set me in the center of the plain, which was now filled with bones.
2 He made me walk up and down and all around among them. There were vast quantities of thesebones on the floor of the val ey; and they were completely dry.	2 He made me walk among them in every direction so that I saw how many they were on the surface of the plain. How dry they were!
3 He said to me, 'Son of man, can these bones live?' I said, 'You know, Lord Yahweh.'	3 He asked me: Son of man, can these bones come to life? "Lord GOD," I answered, "you alone know that."
4 He said, 'Prophesy over these bones. Say, "Dry bones, hear the word of Yahweh.	4 Then he said to me: Prophesy over these bones, and say to them: Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!
5 The Lord Yahweh says this to these bones: I am now going to make breath enter you, and you willlive.	5 Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: See! I will bring spirit into you, that you may come to life.
6 I shal put sinews on you, I shal make flesh grow on you, I shal cover you with skin and give youbreath, and you wil live; and you wil know that I am Yahweh." '	6 I will put sinews upon you, make flesh grow over you, cover you with skin, and put spirit in you so that you may come to life and know that I am the LORD.
7 I prophesied as I had been ordered. While I was prophesying, there was a noise, a clattering sound; itwas the bones coming together.	7 I prophesied as I had been told, and even as I was prophesying I heard a noise; it was a rattling as the bones came together, bone joining bone.
8 And as I looked, they were covered with sinews; flesh was growing on them and skin was coveringthem, yet there was no breath in them.	8 I saw the sinews and the flesh come upon them, and the skin cover them, but there was no spirit in them.
9 He said to me, 'Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man. Say to the breath, "The Lord Yahwehsays this: Come from the four winds, breath; breathe on these dead, so that they come to life!" '	9 Then he said to me: Prophesy to the spirit, prophesy, son of man, and say to the spirit: Thus says the Lord GOD: From the four winds come, O spirit, and breathe into these slain that they may come to life.
10 I prophesied as he had ordered me, and the breath entered them; they came to life and stood up ontheir feet, a great, an immense army.	10 I prophesied as he told me, and the spirit came into them; they came alive and stood upright, a vast army.
11 Then he said, 'Son of man, these bones are the whole House of Israel. They keep saying, "Ourbones are dry, our hope has gone; we are done for."	11 Then he said to me: Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They have been saying, "Our bones are dried up, our hope is lost, and we are cut off."
12 So, prophesy. Say to them, "The Lord Yahweh says this: I am now going to open your graves; I shallraise you from your graves, my people, and lead you back to the soil of Israel.	12 Therefore, prophesy and say to them: Thus says the Lord GOD: O my people, I will open your graves and have you rise from them, and bring you back to the land of Israel.
13 And you wil know that I am Yahweh, when I open your graves and raise you from your graves, mypeople,	13 Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and have you rise from them, O my people!
14 and put my spirit in you, and you revive, and I resettle you on your own soil. Then you will know thatI, Yahweh, have spoken and done this -- declares the Lord Yahweh." '	14 I will put my spirit in you that you may live, and I will settle you upon your land; thus you shall know that I am the LORD. I have promised, and I will do it, says the LORD.
15 The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as fol ows,	15 Thus the word of the LORD came to me:
16 'Son of man, take a stick and write on it, "Judah and those Israelites loyal to him." Take another stick and write on it, "Joseph (Ephraim's wood) and all the House of Israel loyal to him."	16 Now, son of man, take a single stick, and write on it: Judah and those Israelites who are associated with him. Then take another stick and write on it: Joseph (the stick of Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with him.
17 'Join one to the other to make a single piece of wood, a single stick in your hand.	17 Then join the two sticks together, so that they form one stick in your hand.
18 And when the members of your nation say, "Wil you not tel us what you mean?"	18 When your countrymen ask you, "Will you not tell us what you mean by all this?",
19 say, "The Lord Yahweh says this: I am taking the stick of Joseph (now in Ephraim's hand) and thosetribes of Israel loyal to him and shal join them to the stick of Judah. I shal make one stick out of the two, a singlestick in my hand."	19 answer them: Thus says the Lord GOD: (I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and of the tribes of Israel associated with him, and I will join to it the stick of Judah, making them a single stick; they shall be one in my hand.
20 'When the pieces of wood you have written on are in your hand in ful sight of them,	20 The sticks on which you write you shall hold up before them to see.
21 say, "The Lord Yahweh says this: I shall take the Israelites from the nations where they have gone. Ishall gather them to- gether from everywhere and bring them home to their own soil.	21 Tell them: Thus speaks the Lord GOD:) I will take the Israelites from among the nations to which they have come, and gather them from all sides to bring them back to their land.
22 I shal make them into one nation in the country, on the mountains of Israel, and one king is to beking of them al ; they will no longer form two nations, nor be two separate kingdoms.	22 I will make them one nation upon the land, in the mountains of Israel, and there shall be one prince for them all. Never again shall they be two nations, and never again shall they be divided into two kingdoms.
23 They will no longer defile themselves with their foul idols, their horrors and any of their crimes. I shallsave them from the acts of infidelity which they have committed and shal cleanse them; they will be my peopleand I shall be their God.	23 No longer shall they defile themselves with their idols, their abominations, and all their transgressions. I will deliver them from all their sins of apostasy, and cleanse them so that they may be my people and I may be their God.
24 My servant David will reign over them, one shepherd for al ; they wil fol ow my judgements, respectmy laws and practise them.	24 My servant David shall be prince over them, and there shall be one shepherd for them all; they shall live by my statutes and carefully observe my decrees.
25 They will live in the country which I gave to my servant Jacob, the country in which your ancestorslived. They wil live in it, they, their children, their children's children, for ever. David my servant is to be theirprince for ever.	25 They shall live on the land which I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where their fathers lived; they shall live on it forever, they, and their children, and their children's children, with my servant David their prince forever.
26 I shal make a covenant of peace with them, an eternal covenant with them. I shal resettle them andmake them grow; I shall set my sanctuary among them for ever.	26 I will make with them a covenant of peace; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them, and I will multiply them, and put my sanctuary among them forever.
27 I shal make my home above them; I shall be their God, and they wil be my people.	27 My dwelling shall be with them; I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
28 And the nations wil know that I am Yahweh the sanctifier of Israel, when my sanctuary is with themfor ever." '	28 Thus the nations shall know that it is I, the LORD, who make Israel holy, when my sanctuary shall be set up among them forever.