1. The Lord put his strong hand on me. His Spirit brought me away from my home. He put me down in the middle of a valley. It was full of bones.
2. He led me back and forth among them. I saw a huge number of bones in the valley. The bones were very dry.
3. The Lord asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "Lord and King, you are the only one who knows."
4. Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones. Tell them, 'Dry bones, listen to the Lord's message.
5. The Lord and King speaks to you. He says, "I will put breath in you. Then you will come to life again.
6. I will attach tendons to you. I will put flesh on you. I will cover you with skin. So I will put breath in you. And you will come to life again. Then you will know that I am the Lord." ' "
7. So I prophesied just as the Lord commanded me to. As I was prophesying, I heard a noise. It was a rattling sound. The bones came together. One bone connected itself to another.
8. I saw tendons and flesh appear on them. Skin covered them. But there was no breath in them.
9. Then the Lord said to me, "Prophesy to the breath. Prophesy, son of man. Tell it, 'The Lord and King says, "Breath, come from all four directions. Go into these dead bodies. Then they can live." ' "
10. So I prophesied just as he commanded me to. And the breath entered them. Then they came to life again. They stood up on their feet. They were like a huge army.
11. Then the Lord said to me, "Son of man, these bones stand for all of the people of Israel. The people say, 'Our bones are dried up. We've lost all hope. We are cut off.'