And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.
Parallel translations
- WEB He said to me, Son of man, can these bones live? I answered, Lord Yahweh, you know.
- BSB Then He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones come to life?” “O Lord GOD,” I replied, “only You know.”
- 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 unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
- John 5:21For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.
- Deut 32:39See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.
- Rom 4:17(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
- 2 Cor 1:9–10But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:
- Heb 11:19Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.
- 1 Sam 2:6The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.
- Acts 26:8Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?
- John 6:5–6When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?
- Deut 32:29O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!
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 37:3 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.