Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O 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.
- KJV Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.
- BSB And He said to me, “Prophesy concerning these bones and tell them, ‘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 5:25Most certainly, I tell you, the hour comes, and now is, when the dead will hear the Son of God’s voice; and those who hear will live.
- John 5:28–29Don’t marvel at this, for the hour comes, in which all that are in the tombs will hear his voice,
- Matt 21:21Jesus answered them, “Most certainly I tell you, if you have faith, and don’t doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you told this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it would be done.
- Ezek 36:1You, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say, You mountains of Israel, hear Yahweh’s word.
- Jer 22:29O earth, earth, earth, hear Yahweh’s word!
- Isa 26:19Your dead shall live. My dead bodies shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust; for your dew is like the dew of herbs, and the earth will cast out the departed spirits.
- 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.
- John 2:5His mother said to the servants, “Whatever he says to you, do it.”
- Num 20:8“Take the rod, and assemble the congregation, you, and Aaron your brother, and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it pour out its water. You shall bring water to them out of the rock; so you shall give the congregation and their livestock drink.”
- 1 Kgs 13:2He cried against the altar by Yahweh’s word, and said, “Altar! Altar! Yahweh says: ‘Behold, a son will be born to David’s house, Josiah by name. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and they will burn men’s bones on you.’”
- Isa 42:18“Hear, you deaf, and look, you blind, that you may see.
- Ezek 37:15–16Yahweh’s word came again to me, saying,
- Mic 6:2Hear, you mountains, Yahweh’s controversy, and you enduring foundations of the earth; for Yahweh has a controversy with his people, and he will contend with Israel.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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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.