Richard McBee
artist & writer

The Valley of Dry Bones

Ezekiel 37: 1 - 14

1The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the wind of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, 2 And he led me around among them; and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, you know. 4 And he said to me, Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O you dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live; 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord. 7 And I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And as I beheld, behold, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above; but there was no breath in them. 9 And he said to me, Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. 10 And I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, a very large army. 11 Then he said to 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 clean cut off. 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up from your graves, 14 And I shall put my spirit in you, and you shall live, and I shall place you in your own land; then shall you know that I, the Lord, have spoken it, and performed it, says the Lord.

Used with permission Davka Corporation