Dual Panel1The LORD's hand was upon me, and he carried me out by his spirit and set me down in a plain that was full of bones.
2He made me pass among them in every direction. Countless in number and very dry, they covered the plain.
3He said to me, “O man, can these bones live?” I answered, “Only you, Lord GOD, know that.”
4He said, “Prophesy over these bones; say: Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.
5The Lord GOD says to these bones: I am going to put breath into you, and you will live.
6I shall fasten sinews on you, clothe you with flesh, cover you with skin, and give you breath, and you will live. Then you will know that I am the LORD.”
7I began to prophesy as I had been told, and as I prophesied there was a rattling sound and the bones all fitted themselves together.
8As I watched, sinews appeared upon them, flesh clothed them, and they were covered with skin, but there was no breath in them.
9Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the wind, prophesy, O man, and say to it: These are the words of the Lord GOD: Let winds come from every quarter and breathe into these slain, that they may come to life.”
10I prophesied as I had been told; breath entered them, and they came to life and rose to their feet, a mighty company.
11He said to me, “O man, these bones are the whole people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is gone, and we are cut off.’
12Prophesy, therefore, and say to them: The Lord GOD has said: My people, I shall open your graves and bring you up from them, and restore you to the land of Israel.
13You, my people, will know that I am the LORD when I open your graves and bring you up from them.
14Then I shall put my spirit into you and you will come to life, and I shall settle you on your own soil, and you will know that I the LORD have spoken and I shall act. This is the word of the LORD.”
15THIS word of the LORD came to me:
16“O man, take one leaf of a wooden tablet and write on it, ‘Judah and the Israelites associated with him’. Then take another leaf and write on it, ‘Joseph, the leaf of Ephraim and all the Israelite tribes’.
17Now bring the two together to form one tablet; then they will be a folding tablet in your hand.
18When your fellow-countrymen ask you to tell them what you mean by this,
19say to them: The Lord GOD has said: I am taking the leaf of Joseph, which belongs to Ephraim and the other tribes of Israel, and joining to it the leaf of Judah. Thus I shall make them one tablet, and they will be one in my hand.
20When the leaves on which you write are there in your hand for all to see,
21say to them: The Lord GOD has said: I am going to take the Israelites from their places of exile among the nations; I shall assemble them from every quarter and restore them to their own soil.
22I shall make them a single nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king will be over them all. No longer will they be two nations, no longer divided into two kingdoms.
23They will never again be defiled with their idols, their loathsome ways, and all their acts of disloyalty. I shall save them from all their sinful backsliding and purify them. Thus they will be my people, and I shall be their God.
24My servant David will be king over them; they will all have one shepherd. They will conform to my laws and my statutes and observe them faithfully.
25They will live in the land which I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your forefathers lived. They and their descendants will live there for ever, and my servant David is to be their prince for ever.
26I shall make an everlasting covenant with them to ensure peace and prosperity. I shall greatly increase their numbers, and I shall put my sanctuary in their midst for all time.
27They will live under the shelter of my dwelling; I shall be their God and they will be my people.
28The nations will know that I the LORD am keeping Israel sacred to myself, because my sanctuary is in their midst for ever.”