Bible Reading September 15 
Ezekiel 37:1--39:29
Context37:1 The hand 1 of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and placed 2 me in the midst of the valley, and it was full of bones. 37:2 He made me walk all around among them. 3 I realized 4 there were a great many bones in the valley and they were very dry. 37:3 He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said to him, “Sovereign Lord, you know.” 37:4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and tell them: ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 37:5 This is what the sovereign Lord says to these bones: Look, I am about to infuse breath 5 into you and you will live. 37:6 I will put tendons 6 on you and muscles over you and will cover you with skin; I will put breath 7 in you and you will live. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
37:7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. There was a sound when I prophesied – I heard 8 a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 37:8 As I watched, I saw 9 tendons on them, then muscles appeared, 10 and skin covered over them from above, but there was no breath 11 in them.
37:9 He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, 12 – prophesy, son of man – and say to the breath: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these corpses so that they may live.’” 37:10 So I prophesied as I was commanded, and the breath came into them; they lived and stood on their feet, an extremely great army.
37:11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are all the house of Israel. Look, they are saying, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope has perished; we are cut off.’ 37:12 Therefore prophesy, and tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to open your graves and will raise you from your graves, my people. I will bring you to the land of Israel. 37:13 Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and raise you from your graves, my people. 37:14 I will place my breath 13 in you and you will live; I will give you rest in your own land. Then you will know that I am the Lord – I have spoken and I will act, declares the Lord.’”
37:15 The word of the Lord came to me: 37:16 “As for you, son of man, take one branch, and write on it, ‘For Judah, and for the Israelites associated with him.’ Then take another branch and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the branch of Ephraim and all the house of Israel associated with him.’ 37:17 Join 14 them as one stick; 15 they will be as one in your hand. 37:18 When your people 16 say to you, ‘Will you not tell us what these things mean?’ 37:19 tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to take the branch of Joseph which is in the hand of Ephraim and the tribes of Israel associated with him, and I will place them on the stick of Judah, 17 and make them into one stick – they will be one in my hand.’ 18 37:20 The sticks you write on will be in your hand in front of them. 37:21 Then tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to take the Israelites from among the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from round about and bring them to their land. 37:22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king will rule over them all. They will never again be two nations and never again be divided into two kingdoms. 19 37:23 They will not defile themselves with their idols, their detestable things, and all their rebellious deeds. I will save them from all their unfaithfulness 20 by which they sinned. I will purify them; they will become my people and I will become their God.
37:24 “‘My servant David will be king over them; there will be one shepherd for all of them. They will follow 21 my regulations and carefully observe my statutes. 22 37:25 They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, in which your fathers lived; they will live in it – they and their children and their grandchildren forever. David my servant will be prince over them forever. 37:26 I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be a perpetual covenant with them. 23 I will establish them, 24 increase their numbers, and place my sanctuary among them forever. 37:27 My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. 37:28 Then, when my sanctuary is among them forever, the nations will know that I, the Lord, sanctify Israel.’” 25
38:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 38:2 “Son of man, turn toward 26 Gog, 27 of the land of Magog, 28 the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. 29 Prophesy against him 38:3 and say: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, 30 I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. 38:4 I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and bring you out with all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them fully armed, a great company with shields of different types, 31 all of them armed with swords. 38:5 Persia, 32 Ethiopia, and Put 33 are with them, all of them with shields and helmets. 38:6 They are joined by 34 Gomer with all its troops, and by Beth Togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops – many peoples are with you. 35
38:7 “‘Be ready and stay ready, you and all your companies assembled around you, and be a guard for them. 36 38:8 After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come to a land restored from the ravages of war, 37 with many peoples gathered on the mountains of Israel that had long been in ruins. Its people 38 were brought out from the peoples, and all of them will be living securely. 38:9 You will advance; 39 you will come like a storm. You will be like a cloud covering the earth, you, all your troops, and the many other peoples with you.
38:10 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind, 40 and you will devise an evil plan. 38:11 You will say, “I will invade 41 a land of unwalled towns; I will advance against 42 those living quietly in security – all of them living without walls and barred gates – 38:12 to loot and plunder, to attack 43 the inhabited ruins and the people gathered from the nations, who are acquiring cattle and goods, who live at the center 44 of the earth.” 38:13 Sheba and Dedan and the traders of Tarshish with all its young warriors 45 will say to you, “Have you come to loot? Have you assembled your armies to plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to haul away a great amount of spoils?”’
38:14 “Therefore, prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: On that day when my people Israel are living securely, you will take notice 46 38:15 and come from your place, from the remote parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a vast army. 38:16 You will advance 47 against my people Israel like a cloud covering the earth. In the latter days I will bring you against my land so that the nations may acknowledge me, when before their eyes I magnify myself 48 through you, O Gog.
38:17 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Are you the one of whom I spoke in former days by my servants 49 the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days 50 that I would bring you against them? 38:18 On that day, when Gog invades 51 the land of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord, my rage will mount up in my anger. 38:19 In my zeal, in the fire of my fury, 52 I declare that on that day there will be a great earthquake 53 in the land of Israel. 38:20 The fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the wild beasts, all the things that creep on the ground, and all people who live on the face of the earth will shake 54 at my presence. The mountains will topple, the cliffs 55 will fall, and every wall will fall to the ground. 38:21 I will call for a sword to attack 56 Gog 57 on all my mountains, declares the sovereign Lord; every man’s sword will be against his brother. 38:22 I will judge him with plague and bloodshed. I will rain down on him, his troops and the many peoples who are with him a torrential downpour, hailstones, fire, and brimstone. 38:23 I will exalt and magnify myself; I will reveal myself before many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’
39:1 “As for you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal! 39:2 I will turn you around and drag you along; 58 I will lead you up from the remotest parts of the north and bring you against the mountains of Israel. 39:3 I will knock your bow out of your left hand and make your arrows fall from your right hand. 39:4 You will fall dead on the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the people who are with you. I give you as food to every kind of bird and every wild beast. 39:5 You will fall dead in the open field; for I have spoken, declares the sovereign Lord. 39:6 I will send fire on Magog and those who live securely in the coastlands; then they will know that I am the Lord.
39:7 “‘I will make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; I will not let my holy name be profaned anymore. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 59 39:8 Realize that it is coming and it will be done, declares the sovereign Lord. It is the day I have spoken about.
39:9 “‘Then those who live in the cities of Israel will go out and use the weapons for kindling 60 – the shields, 61 bows and arrows, war clubs and spears – they will burn them for seven years. 39:10 They will not need to take 62 wood from the field or cut down trees from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons. They will take the loot from those who looted them and seize the plunder of those who plundered them, 63 declares the sovereign Lord.
39:11 “‘On that day I will assign Gog a grave in Israel. It will be the valley of those who travel east of the sea; it will block the way of the travelers. There they will bury Gog and all his horde; they will call it the valley of Hamon-Gog. 64 39:12 For seven months Israel 65 will bury them, in order to cleanse the land. 39:13 All the people of the land will bury them, and it will be a memorial 66 for them on the day I magnify myself, declares the sovereign Lord. 39:14 They will designate men to scout continually 67 through the land, burying those who remain on the surface of the ground, 68 in order to cleanse it. They will search for seven full months. 39:15 When the scouts survey 69 the land and see a human bone, they will place a sign by it, until those assigned to burial duty have buried it 70 in the valley of Hamon-Gog. 39:16 (A city by the name of Hamonah 71 will also be there.) They will cleanse the land.’
39:17 “As for you, son of man, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Tell every kind of bird and every wild beast: ‘Assemble and come! Gather from all around to my slaughter 72 which I am going to make for you, a great slaughter on the mountains of Israel! You will eat flesh and drink blood. 39:18 You will eat the flesh of warriors 73 and drink the blood of the princes of the earth – the rams, lambs, goats, and bulls, all of them fattened animals of Bashan. 39:19 You will eat fat until you are full, and drink blood until you are drunk, 74 at my slaughter 75 which I have made for you. 39:20 You will fill up at my table with horses and charioteers, 76 with warriors and all the soldiers,’ declares the sovereign Lord.
39:21 “I will display my majesty 77 among the nations. All the nations will witness the judgment I have executed, and the power I have exhibited 78 among them. 39:22 Then the house of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God, from that day forward. 39:23 The nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile due to their iniquity, 79 for they were unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies; all of them died by the sword. 39:24 According to their uncleanness and rebellion I have dealt with them, and I hid my face from them.
39:25 “Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Now I will restore 80 the fortunes of Jacob, and I will have mercy on the entire house of Israel. I will be zealous for my holy name. 39:26 They will bear their shame for all their unfaithful acts against me, when they live securely on their land with no one to make them afraid. 39:27 When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will magnify myself among them in the sight of many nations. 39:28 Then they will know that I am the Lord their God, because I sent them into exile among the nations, and then gathered them into their own land. I will not leave any of them in exile 81 any longer. 39:29 I will no longer hide my face from them, when I pour out my Spirit on the house of Israel, 82 declares the sovereign Lord.”
[37:1] 2 tn Heb “caused me to rest.”
[37:2] 3 tn Heb “and he made me pass over them, around, around.”
[37:2] 4 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and is here translated as “I realized” because it results from Ezekiel’s recognition of the situation around him. In Hebrew, the exclamation is repeated in the following sentence.
[37:5] 5 tn Heb “I am about to bring a spirit.”
[37:6] 6 tn The exact physiological meaning of the term is uncertain. In addition to v. 8, the term occurs only in Gen 32:33; Job 10:11; 40:17; and Jer 48:4.
[37:7] 8 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[37:8] 9 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[37:9] 12 tn Or “spirit,” and several times in this verse.
[37:14] 13 tn Or “spirit.” This is likely an allusion to Gen 2 and God’s breath which creates life.
[37:17] 14 tn Heb “bring near.”
[37:17] 15 tn Heb “one to one for you for one stick.”
[37:18] 16 tn Heb “the sons of your people.”
[37:19] 17 tn Heb “I will place them on it, that is, on the stick of Judah.”
[37:19] 18 sn The reunification of Israel and Judah is envisioned as well in Ezek 33:23, 29; Jer 3:18; 23:5-6; Hos 1:11; Amos 9:11.
[37:22] 19 sn Jeremiah also attested to the reuniting of the northern and southern kingdoms (Jer 3:12, 14; 31:2-6).
[37:23] 20 tc Heb “their dwellings.” The text as it stands does not make sense. Based on the LXX, a slight emendation of two vowels, including a mater, yields the reading “from their turning,” a reference here to their turning from God and deviating from his commandments. See BDB 1000 s.v. מְשׁוּבָה, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:407.
[37:24] 21 tn Heb “walk [in].”
[37:24] 22 tn Heb “and my statutes they will guard and they will do them.”
[37:26] 23 sn See Isa 24:5; 55:3; 61:8; Jer 32:40; 50:5; Ezek 16:60, for other references to perpetual covenants.
[37:26] 24 tn Heb “give them.”
[37:28] 25 sn The sanctuary of Israel becomes the main focus of Ezek 40-48.
[38:2] 26 tn Heb “set your face against.”
[38:2] 27 sn This may refer to a Lydian king in western Asia Minor in the seventh century
[38:2] 28 sn One of the sons of Japheth according to Gen 10:2; 1 Chr 1:5.
[38:2] 29 tn Heb “the prince, the chief of Meshech and Tubal.” Some translate “the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal,” but it is more likely that the Hebrew noun in question is a common noun in apposition to “prince,” rather than a proper name. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:434-35. As Block demonstrates, attempts by some popular writers to identify these proper names with later geographical sites in Russia are anachronistic. See as well E. Yamauchi, Foes From the Northern Frontier, 19-27.
[38:3] 30 tn Or “I challenge you.” The phrase “I am against you” may be a formula for challenging someone to combat or a duel. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:201-2, and P. Humbert, “Die Herausforderungsformel ‘h!nn#n' ?l?K>,’” ZAW 45 (1933): 101-8.
[38:4] 31 sn The Hebrew text mentions two different types of shields here.
[38:5] 32 tn D. I. Block prefers to see the Hebrew word as referring here to a western ally of Egypt or as an alternative spelling for Pathros, that is, Upper Egypt. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:439-40.
[38:6] 34 tn The words “they are joined by” are added in the translation for purposes of English style.
[38:6] 35 sn The seven-nation coalition represents the north (Meshech, Tubal, Gomer, Beth-Togarmah), the south/west (Ethiopia, Put) and the east (Persia). The use of the sevenfold list suggests completeness. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:441.
[38:7] 36 tn The second person singular verbal and pronominal forms in the Hebrew text indicate that Gog is addressed here.
[38:8] 37 tn Heb “from the sword.”
[38:10] 40 tn Heb “words will go up upon your heart.”
[38:11] 41 tn Heb “go up against.”
[38:11] 42 tn Heb “come (to).”
[38:12] 43 tn Heb “to turn your hand against.”
[38:12] 44 tn The Hebrew term occurs elsewhere only in Judg 9:37. Perhaps it means “high point, top.”
[38:13] 45 tn Heb “young lions.”
[38:14] 46 tn The Hebrew text is framed as a rhetorical question: “will you not take notice?”
[38:16] 48 tn Or “reveal my holiness.”
[38:17] 49 tn Heb “by the hand of my servants.”
[38:17] 50 tn The Hebrew text adds “years” here, but this is probably a scribal gloss on the preceding phrase. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:201.
[38:18] 51 tn Heb “goes up against.”
[38:19] 52 sn The phrase “in the fire of my fury” occurs in Ezek 21:31; 22:21, 31.
[38:20] 55 tn The term occurs only here and in Song of Songs 2:14.
[38:21] 57 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Gog, cf. v. 18) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[39:2] 58 tn The Hebrew root occurs only here in the OT. An apparent cognate in the Ethiopic language means “walk along.” For a discussion of the research on this verb, see D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:460.
[39:7] 59 sn The basic sense of the word “holy” is “set apart from that which is commonplace, special, unique.” The
[39:9] 60 tn Heb “burn and kindle the weapons.”
[39:9] 61 tn Two different types of shields are specified in the Hebrew text.
[39:10] 62 tn Heb “they will not carry.”
[39:10] 63 tn Heb “loot their looters and plunder their plunderers.”
[39:11] 64 tn The name means “horde of Gog.”
[39:12] 65 tn Heb “the house of Israel.”
[39:14] 67 tn Heb “men of perpetuity.”
[39:14] 68 tn Heb “and bury the travelers and those who remain on the surface of the ground.” The reference to “travelers” seems odd and is omitted in the LXX. It is probably an accidental duplication (see v. 11).
[39:15] 69 tn Heb “as the scouts scout.”
[39:15] 70 tn That is, the aforementioned bone.
[39:16] 71 tn This name appears to be a feminine form of the word “horde,” used in the name Hamon-Gog.
[39:17] 72 tn Or “sacrifice” (so also in the rest of this verse).
[39:18] 73 sn See Rev 19:17-18.
[39:19] 74 sn Eating the fat and drinking blood were God’s exclusive rights in Israelite sacrifices (Lev 3:17).
[39:19] 75 tn Or “sacrifice” (so also in the rest of this verse).
[39:21] 78 tn Heb “my hand which I have placed.”
[39:23] 79 tn Or “in their punishment.” The phrase “in/for [a person’s] iniquity/punishment” occurs fourteen times in Ezekiel: here; 3:18, 19; 4:17; 7:13, 16; 18: 17, 18, 19, 20; 24:23; 33:6, 8, 9. The Hebrew word for “iniquity” may also mean the “punishment” for iniquity or “guilt” of iniquity.
[39:25] 80 tn Heb “cause to return.”
[39:28] 81 tn Heb “there,” referring to the foreign nations to which they were exiled. The translation makes the referent clear.
[39:29] 82 sn See Ezek 11:19; 37:14.
