Read the Modern Pastor’s Version

The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in his Spirit, setting me down in the midst of a valley full of bones. The Lord caused me to walk among them, and I saw many in the open valley who were extremely dry.

"Can these bones live?" the Lord asked me. "Lord GOD," I replied, "you know." He said, "Prophesy over these bones, and say to them: O you dry bones, hear the word of the Lord."

The Lord told me to speak to the bones, saying, "Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you will live. And I will lay sinews upon you, bring up flesh upon you, cover you with skin, and put breath in you." So I prophesied as commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a shaking occurred, with the bones coming together, bone to its bone.

As I looked, there were sinews and flesh rising up on them, with skin covering them above, but still no breath in them. The Lord said to me, "Prophesy to the wind, son of man, and say to it: 'Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain.'" So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, standing up on their feet as an incredibly large army.

The Lord spoke to me again, saying, "These bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say: Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off from our people." The Lord said, "Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of them, my people, and bring you into the land of Israel. You will know that I am the Lord when I have opened your graves and brought you up out of them, my people."

The Lord continued, saying, "And I will put my Spirit in you, and you shall live, and then I will place you in your own land." He said, "I will take one stick and write on it: 'For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions.' Then I will take another stick and write on it: 'For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions.'"

He told me to join these sticks together into one stick in my hand. When your people ask you about this, say to them: "The Lord says: I will take the stick of Joseph which is in Ephraim's hand and join it with Judah's stick, making them one in my hand."

The Lord said, "Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in Ephraim's hand, and the tribes of Israel his companions, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in my hand." The staffs on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes.

The Lord said, "I will take the children of Israel from among the nations where they have gone and gather them on every side, bringing them into their own land. And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; with one king ruling over them all, and they shall no longer be two nations or divided into two kingdoms at any time."

The Lord continued, saying, "Neither shall they 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." David my servant will be king over them; they will all have one shepherd, and they will walk in my laws, observe my decrees, and follow them.

They will dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob my servant, where your fathers lived. They will live there with their children and grandchildren forever, under the leadership of my servant David as their prince forever. I will establish with them an eternal covenant, placing them in their land and multiplying them, and I will reside among them forever.

My tabernacle will be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And the nations will know that I, the Lord, am setting apart Israel when my sanctuary remains among them forever.