Ezekiel 37:11–14
God says the bones are Israel: he will open their graves and put his spirit in them
Study it word by word11And he said to me, “Son of man, these bones, they are the whole house of Israel. Look, they are saying, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope has perished; we are cut off.’
12Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says Adonai YHWH: Look, I am opening your graves, and I will bring you up from your graves, my people, and I will bring you to the ground of Israel.
13And you will know that I am YHWH, when I open your graves and when I bring you up from your graves, my people.
14And I will put my spirit in you, and you will live, and I will settle you on your own ground; and you will know that I, YHWH, have spoken and will do it, declares YHWH.’”
In its context
9And he said to me, “Prophesy to the spirit; prophesy, son of man, and say to the spirit, ‘Thus says Adonai YHWH: From the four winds come, spirit, and breathe on these slain, and let them live.’”
10So I prophesied as he had commanded me; and the spirit came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an army exceedingly great.
…
15And the word of YHWH came to me, saying,
16“And you, son of man, take for yourself one stick, and write on it, ‘For Judah and for the sons of Israel, his companions’; and take one stick, and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and all the house of Israel, his companions.’
Its words in the original
- יֹּאמֶרyomer· say
Say, speak. The most common verb for bringing in what someone says; sometimes "think" (say to oneself) or "command".
- בֶּןben· son
Son. In the plural it can include sons and daughters, and also grandsons and descendants. "Son of..." also says what group someone belongs to ("sons of Israel" = Israelites).
- אָדָםadam· human being, man, Adam
The Hebrew word "adam". It has three uses: (1) humanity in general, men and women alike: "human beings" (Genesis 1:27); (2) a particular man; in Genesis 2-4, the first man, "the man"; (3) the personal name of that first man, "Adam". In Hebrew "adam" sounds like "adamah", the ground he was formed from (Genesis 2:7).
- עֲצָמוֹתatsamot· bone
Bone. "Bone of my bones" is the Hebrew way of saying "of my own family", "like me". It also means "very", "self" ("that very day").
- בֵּיתbet· house, household
House. Also the family that lives in it ("the house of Noah") and someone's descendants ("the house of David"); also a temple, "the house of God".
- יִשְׂרָאֵלyisrael· Israel
Israel, the new name Jacob received from God, explained as "you have striven with God" (Genesis 32:28); then the name of the people that came from him and, after the division, of the northern kingdom.
- יָבְשׁוּyavshu· dry up, wither
Dry up, become dry; wither.
- אָבְדָהavda· perish, be lost
Perish, be ruined, be lost; wander off. In the causative, destroy.
- תִקְוָתֵtikvate· cord, hope
Cord, rope. The same word means "hope" in other passages.
- נִגְזַרְנוּnigzarnu· cut, divide, decide
Cut, split in two; hence to separate someone, to exclude, or to decide a matter.
- הִנָּבֵאhinave· prophesy
Prophesy: speak moved by the spirit of God. It is not always foretelling the future; it is saying what God gives to say.
- אֲדֹנָadona· Adonai, Lord
"Adonai": "my Lord", said only to God. It is a title of respect that acknowledges his authority. It is not another god besides YHWH: often it goes with his name, "Adonai YHWH", Lord YHWH.
- יְהוִהyehvi· YHWH (with Adonai)
The four letters of God's name, YHWH (see "YHWH"). They almost always go with "Adonai"; then Jews, when reading, said "Elohim" so as not to repeat "Adonai".
- פֹתֵחַfoteach· open, engrave
Open; loosen, set free. In another form, engrave (cut lines in stone or metal).
- קִבְרוֹתֵיkivrote· tomb
Tomb, grave.
- הַעֲלֵיתִיhaaleti· go up, offer up
Go up, ascend, climb. It is also used for "offering" a sacrifice (making it go up), and for coming up from Egypt.
- עַמִּami· people
People: a human group joined by kinship, history and destiny. "My people", said by God, is Israel. Also the people as a crowd, or troops.
- הֵבֵאתִיheveti· come, go in, bring
Come, arrive, go in, enter. In the causative form, "bring" or "carry in". "Go in to" a woman is to have marital relations with her.
- אַדְמַתadmat· ground, land
The ground, the soil that is tilled; also the territory where people live. In Hebrew "adamah" sounds like "adam", the human being formed from it.
- ידַעְתֶּםydatem· know
Know. Not only having a fact: it is knowing by experience and closely; also recognize, care for, make known. So Hebrew also uses it for the intimate union of a man and his wife ("he knew his wife").
- יְהוָהyehva· YHWH
The personal name of the God of Israel, written in Hebrew with four letters, Y-H-W-H, without vowels. Out of reverence Jews stopped pronouncing it and read "Adonai" (Lord), so many Bibles put "the LORD" or "Jehovah". This translation keeps the four letters. The name is related to the verb "to be" (Exodus 3:14-15). He is not a god other than Elohim: "YHWH Elohim" is the same Creator God, called by his name.
- נָתַתִּיnatati· give, put, set
Give, in a very wide sense: hand over, put, place, grant, allow, make something be.
- רוּחִruchi· spirit, wind, breath
The basic idea is "air in motion". The same word can be "wind"; "breath", the air that is breathed and keeps life; or "spirit": the mood or inner strength of a person, or the Spirit of God, his presence and power at work.
- חְיִיתֶםcheyitem· live
Live, have life; recover. In the causative form, give life, keep alive, revive.
- הִנַּחְתִּיhinachti· put, leave
Put, set down, leave in a place; let rest.
- דִּבַּרְתִּיdibarti· speak
Speak, talk, say; also promise or command.
- עָשִׂיתִיasiti· do, make
Do, make, in the widest sense: build, produce, carry out, keep (a command), prepare.
- נְאֻםneum· declaration
Solemn declaration. "Declares YHWH" is the formula that marks words as spoken by God himself.