Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.
Parallel translations
- WEB Again he said to me, Prophesy over these bones, and tell them, you dry bones, hear Yahweh’s word.
- BSB And He said to me, “Prophesy concerning these bones and tell them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!
- NKJV Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!
- NASB Again He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones and say to them, ‘You dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.’
- NLT Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to these bones and say, ‘Dry bones, listen to the word of the Lord!
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 commands Ezekiel to prophesy to the dry bones and call them to hear Yahweh's word. God's word is the means by which life will come.
Overview
The prophet is told to preach to lifeless bones, a striking picture of the power of God's word over death. What seems futile becomes the channel of God's life-giving power. So the preaching of the gospel, the word of Christ, raises those dead in sin.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- John 5:25Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
- John 5:28–29Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
- Matt 21:21Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.
- Ezek 36:1Also, thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD:
- Jer 22:29O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.
- Isa 26:19Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.
- Ezek 37:11Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
- John 2:5His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.
- Num 20:8Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.
- 1 Kgs 13:2And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee.
- Isa 42:18Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see.
- Ezek 37:15–16The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
- Mic 6:2Hear ye, O mountains, the LORD’s controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth: for the LORD hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel.
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 37:4 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.