Ezekiel 37:1-28 TLB

[1] The power of the Lord was upon me and I was carried away by the Spirit of the Lord to a valley full of old, dry bones that were scattered everywhere across the ground. He led me around among them, [3] and then he said to me: "Son of dust, can these bones become people again?" I replied, "Lord, you alone know the answer to that." [4] Then he told me to speak to the bones and say: "O dry bones, listen to the words of God, [5] for the Lord God says, 'See! I am going to make you live and breathe again! [6] I will replace the flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you, and you shall live and know I am the Lord.'" [7] So I spoke these words from God, just as he told me to; and suddenly there was a rattling noise from all across the valley, and the bones of each body came together and attached to each other as they used to be. [8] Then, as I watched, the muscles and flesh formed over the bones, and skin covered them, but the bodies had no breath. [9] Then he told me to call to the wind and say: "The Lord God says: Come from the four winds, O Spirit, and breathe upon these slain bodies, that they may live again." [10] So I spoke to the winds as he commanded me, and the bodies began breathing; they lived and stood up-a very great army. [11] Then he told me what the vision meant: "These bones," he said, "represent all the people of Israel. They say: 'We have become a heap of dried-out bones-all hope is gone.' [12] But tell them, 'The Lord God says: My people, I will open your graves of exile and cause you to rise again and return to the land of Israel. [13] And, then at last, O my people, you will know I am the Lord. [14] I will put my Spirit into you, and you shall live and return home again to your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have done just what I promised you.'" [15] Again a message from the Lord came to me, saying: [16] "Take a stick and carve on it these words: 'This stick represents Judah and her allied tribes.' Then take another stick and carve these words on it: 'This stick represents all the other tribes of Israel.' [17] Now hold them together in your hand as one stick. [18] Tell these people (holding the sticks so they can see what you are doing), the Lord God says: 'I will take the tribes of Israel and join them to Judah and make them one stick in my hand.'" [21] For the Lord God says: "I am gathering the people of Israel from among the nations and bringing them home from around the world to their own land, [22] to unify them into one nation. One king shall be king of them all; no longer shall they be divided into two nations. [23] They shall stop polluting themselves with idols and their other sins, for I will save them from all this foulness. Then they shall truly be my people and I their God. [24] "And David, my Servant-the Messiah-shall be their King, their only Shepherd; and they shall obey my laws and all my wishes. [25] They shall live in the land of Israel where their fathers lived, the land I gave my servant Jacob. They and their children after them shall live there, and their grandchildren, for all generations. And my Servant David, their Messiah, shall be their Prince forever. [26] And I will make a covenant of peace with them, an everlasting pact. I will bless them and multiply them and put my Temple among them forever. [27] And I will make my home among them. Yes, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. [28] And when my Temple remains among them forever, then the nations will know that I, the Lord, have chosen Israel as my very own."