Then He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones come to life?” “O Lord GOD,” I replied, “only You know.”
Parallel translations
- WEB He said to me, Son of man, can these bones live? I answered, Lord Yahweh, you know.
- KJV And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.
- NKJV And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” So I answered, “O Lord God, You know.”
- NASB Then He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “Lord God, You Yourself know.”
- NLT Then he asked me, “Son of man, can these bones become living people again?” “O Sovereign Lord,” I replied, “you alone know the answer to that.”
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
God asks whether these bones can live, and Ezekiel leaves the answer to God. The question highlights that life is God's prerogative alone.
Overview
Faced with an impossible question, Ezekiel wisely defers to God's knowledge and power: 'Lord Yahweh, you know.' Human ability is exhausted; hope rests in God alone. This posture of faith acknowledges that resurrection life comes only from the Lord, fulfilled in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- John 11:25–26Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies.
- John 5:21For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He wishes.
- Deut 32:39See now that I am He; there is no God besides Me. I bring death and I give life; I wound and I heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My hand.
- Rom 4:17As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the presence of God, in whom he believed, the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being what does not yet exist.
- 2 Cor 1:9–10Indeed, we felt we were under the sentence of death, in order that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God, who raises the dead.
- Heb 11:19Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and in a sense, he did receive Isaac back from death.
- 1 Sam 2:6The LORD brings death and gives life; He brings down to Sheol and raises up.
- Acts 26:8Why would any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?
- John 6:5–6When Jesus looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread for these people to eat?”
- Deut 32:29If only they were wise, they would understand it; they would comprehend their fate.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 37:3 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.