Ezekiel 37:11
in Ezekiel 37Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Look, they are saying, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope has perished; we are cut off.’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then he said unto 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.
KJV
Then he said unto 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 cut off for our parts.
⋯
This verse in Ezekiel 37
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Our bones are dried-- (Ps 141:7), explained by "our hope is lost" (Isa 49:14); our national state is as hopeless of resuscitation, as marrowless bones are of reanimation. cut off for our parts--that is, so far as we are concerned.
This site's exposition
these bones are the whole house of Israel
on Ezekiel 37:11-14
The vision interprets itself, and the exposition keeps the text's own referent at full strength: these bones are the whole house of Israel, the exiles who say our bones are dried, and our hope is lost. The promise answers with graves opened, a return to the land of Israel named twice, and my spirit put in you, the same order as the vision, regathering and then life. The church's readings are carried as the readings they are, with holders named: the fathers and many since heard the general resurrection here, and Jerome records the passage read at funerals; the site's ruling stands with the text, the promise is to named Israel, and the larger hearings stand beside it rather than in its place.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The application of this vision to the present calamitous condition of the Jews in captivity: These bones are the whole house of Israel, both the ten tribes and the two. See in this what they are and what they shall be. The depth of despair to which they are now reduced,
on Ezekiel 37:11-14
That they were so divided among themselves, too much of the old enmity between Judah and Ephraim remaining even in their captivity. But, as to this, by a sign of two sticks made one in the hand of the prophet is foreshown the happy coalition that should be, at their return, between the two nations of Israel and Judah,
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
these bones are all the house of Israel They are an intimation and an example of the entire house of Israel in their exile, for they say, “Our bones have become dried up from the troubles; our hope is lost, and what further hope can we have for salvation?
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Therefore, prophesy that I am destined to resurrect you a second time.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
18 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמֶר֮ | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלַי֒ | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | O son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אָדָ֕ם | ʾadam | humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
| הָעֲצָמ֣וֹת | haatzamot | the bones | H6106 → | 126 times |
| הָאֵ֔לֶּה | haeleh | <the> these | H428 → | 746 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | [are] all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בֵּ֥ית | beit | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| הֵ֑מָּה | hemah | they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| הִנֵּ֣ה | hineh | there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| אֹמְרִ֗ים | ʾomerim | [they are] saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יָבְשׁ֧וּ | yaveshu | they have dried up | H3001 → | 59 times |
| עַצְמוֹתֵ֛ינוּ | atzmoteinu | bones our | H6106 → | 126 times |
| וְאָבְדָ֥ה | veavedah | and it has been lost | H6 → | 184 times |
| תִקְוָתֵ֖נוּ | tikvatenu | hope our | H8615 → | |
| נִגְזַ֥רְנוּ | nigzarnu | we have been cut off | H1504 → | |
| לָֽנוּ׃ | lanu | <for> ourselves |
וַיֹּאמֶר֮and he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֵלַי֒to me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
בֶּן־O son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
אָדָ֕םhumankind
ʾadamH120 →551 times
הָעֲצָמ֣וֹתthe bones
haatzamotH6106 →126 times
הָאֵ֔לֶּה<the> these
haelehH428 →746 times
כָּל־[are] all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
בֵּ֥ית[the] house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
הֵ֑מָּהthey
hemahH1992 →553 times
הִנֵּ֣הthere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
אֹמְרִ֗ים[they are] saying
ʾomerimH559 →5305 times
יָבְשׁ֧וּthey have dried up
yaveshuH3001 →59 times
עַצְמוֹתֵ֛ינוּbones our
atzmoteinuH6106 →126 times
וְאָבְדָ֥הand it has been lost
veavedahH6 →184 times
תִקְוָתֵ֖נוּhope our
tikvatenuH8615 →
נִגְזַ֥רְנוּwe have been cut off
nigzarnuH1504 →
לָֽנוּ׃<for> ourselves
lanu
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ephesians 2:1And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
it leads to
- Colossians 2:13
When you were dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our trespasses,
- Ephesians 2:5–6
made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved!
- Colossians 3:1–4
Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, strive for the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
- Romans 8:2
For in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set you free from the law of sin and death.
- Ephesians 4:18
They are darkened in their understanding and alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts.
- Colossians 2:13
Through
Jeremiah 31:1“At that time,” declares the LORD, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be My people.”
it leads to
- Jeremiah 30:22
“And you will be My people, and I will be your God.”
- Jeremiah 30:22
Through
Ezekiel 39:25Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Now I will restore Jacob from captivity and will have compassion on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for My holy name.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 34:13
I will bring them out from the peoples, gather them from the countries, and bring them into their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines, and in…
- Ezekiel 34:13
Through
Ezekiel 36:10I will multiply the people upon you—the house of Israel in its entirety. The cities will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 36:33
This is what the Lord GOD says: On the day I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be resettled and the ruins to be rebuilt.
- Ezekiel 36:33
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this verse
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Patrick Fairbairn, An Exposition of Ezekiel.