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Ezekiel · Bible in Basic English

Ezekiel 37 Bible in Basic English

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About BBE
  • Scholarly edition
  • OT: Masoretic Hebrew (not verified)
  • NT: Critical text (not verified)
  • Protestant (66 books)
  • Simplified language
  • 1965
  • Public domain

Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings

BBE Bible in Basic English
WEB World English Bible (Classic, with Deuterocanon)
1 The hand of the Lord had been on me, and he took me out in the spirit of the Lord and put me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones;
1 Yahweh’s hand was on me, and he brought me out in Yahweh’s Spirit, and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones.
2 And he made me go past them round about: and I saw that there was a very great number of them on the face of the wide valley, and they were very dry.
2 He caused me to pass by them all around; and behold, there were very many in the open valley, and behold, they were very dry.
3 And he said to me, Son of man, is it possible for these bones to come to life? And I made answer, and said, It is for you to say, O Lord.
3 He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I answered, “Lord Yahweh, you know.”
4 And again he said to me, Be a prophet to these bones, and say to them, O you dry bones, give ear to the word of the Lord.
4 Again he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and tell them, ‘You dry bones, hear Yahweh’s word.
5 This is what the Lord has said to these bones: See, I will make breath come into you so that you may come to life;
5 The Lord Yahweh says to these bones: “Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you will live.
6 And I will put muscles on you and make flesh come on you, and put skin over you, and breath into you, so that you may have life; and you will be certain that I am the Lord.
6 I will lay sinews on you, and will bring up flesh on you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you will live. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.”’”
7 So I gave the word as I was ordered: and at my words there was a shaking of the earth, and the bones came together, bone to bone.
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. As I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, there was an earthquake. Then the bones came together, bone to its bone.
8 And looking I saw that there were muscles on them and flesh came up, and they were covered with skin: but there was no breath in them.
8 I saw, and, behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh came up, and skin covered them above; but there was no breath in them.
9 And he said to me, Be a prophet to the wind, be a prophet, son of man, and say to the wind, The Lord has said: Come from the four winds, O wind, breathing on these dead so that they may come to life.
9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the wind, prophesy, son of man, and tell the wind, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Come from the four winds, breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.”’”
10 And I gave the word at his orders, and breath came into them, and they came to life and got up on their feet, a very great army.
10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up on their feet, an exceedingly great army.
11 Then he said to me, Son of man, these bones are all the children of Israel: and see, they are saying, Our bones have become dry our hope is gone, we are cut off completely.
11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost. We are completely cut off.’
12 For this cause be a prophet to them, and say, This is what the Lord has said: See, I am opening the resting-places of your dead, and I will make you come up out of your resting-places, O my people; and I will take you into the land of Israel.
12 Therefore prophesy, and tell them, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, my people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel.
13 And you will be certain that I am the Lord by my opening the resting-places of your dead and making you come up out of your resting-places, O my people.
13 You will know that I am Yahweh, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, my people.
14 And I will put my spirit in you, so that you may come to life, and I will give you a rest in your land: and you will be certain that I the Lord have said it and have done it, says the Lord.
14 I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live. Then I will place you in your own land; and you will know that I, Yahweh, have spoken it and performed it,” says Yahweh.’”
15 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
15 Yahweh’s word came again to me, saying,
16 And you, son of man, take one stick, writing on it, For Judah and for the children of Israel who are in his company: then take another stick, writing on it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and all the children of Israel who are in his company:
16 “You, son of man, take one stick and write on it, ‘For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions.’ Then take another stick, and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions.’
17 Then, joining them one to another, make them one stick, so that they may be one in your hand.
17 Then join them for yourself to one another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand.
18 And when the children of your people say to you, Will you not make clear to us what these things have to do with us?
18 “When the children of your people speak to you, saying, ‘Won’t you show us what you mean by these?’
19 Then say to them, This is what the Lord has said: See, I am taking the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel who are in his company; and I will put it on the stick of Judah and make them one stick, and they will be one in my hand.
19 tell them, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “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 And the sticks with your writing on them will be in your hand before their eyes.
20 The sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes.”’
21 And say to them, These are the words of the Lord: See, I am taking the children of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and will get them together on every side, and take them into their land:
21 Say to them, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land.
22 And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king will be king over them all: and they will no longer be two nations, and will no longer be parted into two kingdoms:
22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. One king will be king to them all. They will no longer be two nations. They won’t be divided into two kingdoms any more at all.
23 And they will no longer make themselves unclean with their images or with their hated things or with any of their sins: but I will give them salvation from all their turning away in which they have done evil, and will make them clean; and they will be to me a people, and I will be to them a God.
23 They won’t 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 dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. So they will be my people, and I will be their God.
24 And my servant David will be king over them; and they will all have one keeper: and they will be guided by my orders and will keep my rules and do them.
24 “‘“My servant David will be king over them. They all will have one shepherd. They will also walk in my ordinances and observe my statutes, and do them.
25 And they will be living in the land which I gave to Jacob, my servant, in which your fathers were living; and they will go on living there, they and their children and their children's children, for ever: and David, my servant, will be their ruler for ever.
25 They will dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob my servant, in which your fathers lived. They will dwell therein, they, and their children, and their children’s children, forever. David my servant will be their prince forever.
26 And I will make an agreement of peace with them: it will be an eternal agreement with them: and I will have mercy on them and make their numbers great, and will put my holy place among them for ever.
26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them. It will be an everlasting covenant with them. I will place them, multiply them, and will set my sanctuary among them forever more.
27 And my House will be over them; and I will be to them a God, and they will be to me a people.
27 My tent also will be with them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
28 And the nations will be certain that I who make Israel holy am the Lord, when my holy place is among them for ever.
28 The nations will know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is among them forever more.”’”
Cross references (26)

Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.

  1. 1 Ezekiel 3:22; Acts 8:39; Ezekiel 1:3; Ezekiel 33:22; Jeremiah 7:32
  2. 2 Psalm 141:7; Ezekiel 37:11
  3. 3 John 11:25–26; John 5:21; Deuteronomy 32:39; Romans 4:17; Hebrews 11:19
  4. 4 John 5:25; John 5:28–29; Matthew 21:21; Ezekiel 36:1; Jeremiah 22:29
  5. 5 Psalm 104:29–30; Ezekiel 37:14; Genesis 2:7; Ezekiel 37:9–10; John 20:22
  6. 6 Joel 2:27; Isaiah 49:23; Joel 3:17; Ezekiel 37:14; Ezekiel 38:23
  7. 7 Acts 2:2; 1 Kings 19:11–13; Acts 4:19; Jeremiah 13:5–7; Acts 2:37
  8. 9 John 3:8; Song of Songs 4:16; Ezekiel 37:14; Ezekiel 37:5; Psalm 104:30
  9. 10 Revelation 11:11; Psalm 104:30; Revelation 20:4–5
  10. 11 Ephesians 2:1; Psalm 77:7–9; Ezekiel 39:25; Ezekiel 36:10; Jeremiah 31:1
  11. 12 Isaiah 26:19; Hosea 13:14; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Isaiah 66:14; Amos 9:14–15
  12. 13 Ezekiel 37:6; Ezekiel 16:62; Psalm 126:2–3
  13. 14 Joel 2:28–29; Ezekiel 36:27; Ezekiel 11:19; Ezekiel 36:36; Ezekiel 39:29
  14. 16 2 Chronicles 15:9; 2 Chronicles 10:19; 2 Chronicles 10:17; Numbers 17:2–3; 1 Kings 12:16–20
  15. 17 Hosea 1:11; Jeremiah 50:4; Isaiah 11:13; Ezekiel 37:22–24; Zephaniah 3:9
  16. 18 Ezekiel 24:19; Ezekiel 12:9; Ezekiel 17:12; Ezekiel 20:49
  17. 19 Zechariah 10:6; Ephesians 2:13–14; Colossians 3:11; Ezekiel 37:16–17; 1 Chronicles 9:1–3
  18. 20 Ezekiel 12:3; Numbers 17:6–9; Hosea 12:10
  19. 21 Ezekiel 36:24; Jeremiah 23:8; Jeremiah 16:15; Amos 9:14–15; Jeremiah 29:14
  20. 22 Ezekiel 37:24; Ezekiel 34:23–24; Jeremiah 3:18; Jeremiah 50:4; Genesis 49:10
  21. 23 Revelation 21:3–4; Ezekiel 36:28–29; 1 John 1:9; Revelation 21:7; Ephesians 5:26–27
  22. 24 Ezekiel 34:23–24; Hosea 3:5; Jeremiah 30:9; Ezekiel 37:25; Ezekiel 36:27
  23. 25 Amos 9:15; Ezekiel 37:24; Ezekiel 36:28; Ezekiel 28:25; Zephaniah 3:14–15
  24. 26 Isaiah 55:3; Ezekiel 34:25; Hebrews 13:20–21; Jeremiah 30:19; Leviticus 26:11–12
  25. 27 Revelation 21:3; Ezekiel 37:23; Leviticus 26:11–12; John 1:14; 2 Corinthians 6:16
  26. 28 John 17:17–19; Ezekiel 20:12; Exodus 31:13; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Leviticus 21:8

Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences

What the Fathers said

Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).

How these were chosen

“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).

  1. Quotes verse 37:12 Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies (Book V, Chapters XXVII–XXVIII)

    … bring you forth out of your graves; when I will draw my people from the sepulchres, and I will put breath in you, and ye shall live; and I will place you on your own land, and ye shall know that I am the Lord." And again the same speaks thus: "These things saith the Lord, I will gather Israel …

    Read in context · Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1 (1885)

  2. Quotes verse 37:22–24 Augustine of Hippo, The City of God (Book XVIII, Chapters 33–35)

    And my servant David shall be king over them, and there shall be one Shepherd for them all." Chapter 35 — Of the Prophecy of the Three Prophets, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi There remain three minor prophets, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, who prophesied at the close of the captivity.

    Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)

  3. Quotes verse 37:1 Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures (Lecture XVI)

    And again, The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the Spirit of the Lord.

    Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)

  4. Quotes verse 37:12 Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures (Lecture XVIII)

    And the Prophet Ezekiel now before us, says most plainly, Behold I will open your graves, and bring you up out of your graves.

    Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)