Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry.
Parallel translations
- WEB 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.
- KJV And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.
- BSB He led me all around among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, and indeed, they were very dry.
- NASB He had me pass among them all around, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and behold, they were very dry.
- NLT He led me all around among the bones that covered the valley floor. They were scattered everywhere across the ground and were completely dried out.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Ezekiel sees that the bones are very many and very dry. The scene stresses how utterly dead and hopeless the situation is.
Overview
Led around the valley, Ezekiel observes countless, thoroughly dry bones, emphasizing total death with no human remedy. The detail underscores the impossibility of self-recovery. Only the God who raises the dead can bring life here, as He does in raising sinners with Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Ps 141:7“As when one plows and breaks up the earth, our bones are scattered at the mouth of Sheol.”
- Ezek 37:11Then 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 clean cut off.
- Deut 11:30Aren’t they beyond the Jordan, behind the way of the going down of the sun, in the land of the Canaanites who dwell in the Arabah, near Gilgal, beside the oaks of Moreh?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The promise of one Shepherd-King David, a new heart and new Spirit, and the river of life flowing from the temple all stream toward Christ, the good Shepherd who gives the Spirit.
How Ezekiel 37:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.