The sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes.” ’ Say to them, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, where they have gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. One king will be king to them all. They will no longer be two nations. They won’t be divided into two kingdoms any more at all.
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Ezekiel 37:20-22 sits inside this longer paragraph.
“When the children of your people speak to you, saying, ‘Won’t you show us what you mean by these?’ tell them, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his companions; and I will put them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in my hand. The sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes.” ’ Say to them, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, where they have gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. One king will be king to them all. They will no longer be two nations. They won’t be divided into two kingdoms any more at all. They won’t defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. So they will be my people, and I will be their God.
Parallel Translations
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The sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes.” ’
Say to them, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, where they have gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land.
I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. One king will be king to them all. They will no longer be two nations. They won’t be divided into two kingdoms any more at all.
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And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.
And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:
And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:
Show all 3 translations
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And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thy hand before their eyes.
And say unto them: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, whither they are gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land;
and I will make them one nation in the land, upon the mountains of Israel, and one king shall be king to them all; and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all;
Cross-references (48)
- Ezekiel 36:24 (v21) “ ‘ “For I will take you from among the nations and gather you out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own land.
- Jeremiah 23:8 (v21) but, ‘As Yahweh lives, who brought up and who led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all the countries…
- Jeremiah 16:15 (v21) but, ‘As Yahweh lives, who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the countries where he had driven…
- Jeremiah 29:14 (v21) I will be found by you,” says Yahweh, “and I will turn again your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the…
- Jeremiah 32:37 (v21) “Behold, I will gather them out of all the countries where I have driven them in my anger, and in my wrath, and in great indignation; and I…
Show all 48 cross-references
- Amos 9:14-15 (v21) I will bring my people Israel back from captivity, and they will rebuild the ruined cities, and inhabit them; and they will plant…
- Isaiah 11:11-16 (v21) It will happen in that day that the Lord will set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant that is left of his people from…
- Jeremiah 23:3 (v21) “I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and…
- Jeremiah 30:3 (v21) For, behold, the days come,’ says Yahweh, ‘that I will reverse the captivity of my people Israel and Judah,’ says Yahweh. ‘I will cause…
- Jeremiah 50:19 (v21) I will bring Israel again to his pasture, and he will feed on Carmel and Bashan. His soul will be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and in…
- Ezekiel 34:13 (v21) I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. I will feed them on…
- Deuteronomy 30:3-4 (v21) that then Yahweh your God will release you from captivity, have compassion on you, and will return and gather you from all the peoples…
- Isaiah 43:5-6 (v21) Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. I will bring your offspring from the east, and gather you from the west. I will tell the north, ‘Give…
- Jeremiah 30:18 (v21) Yahweh says: “Behold, I will reverse the captivity of Jacob’s tents, and have compassion on his dwelling places. The city will be built on…
- Jeremiah 33:7 (v21) I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first.
- Ezekiel 37:24 (v22) “ ‘ “My servant David will be king over them. They all will have one shepherd. They will also walk in my ordinances, and observe my…
- Ezekiel 39:27 (v21) when I have brought them back from the peoples, and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of…
- Obadiah 1:17-21 (v21) But in Mount Zion, there will be those who escape, and it will be holy. The house of Jacob will possess their possessions. The house of…
- Isaiah 27:12-13 (v21) It will happen in that day that Yahweh will thresh from the flowing stream of the Euphrates to the brook of Egypt; and you will be gathered…
- Isaiah 49:12 (v21) Behold, these shall come from afar, and behold, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.”
- Jeremiah 30:10 (v21) Therefore don’t be afraid, O Jacob my servant, says Yahweh. Don’t be dismayed, Israel. For, behold, I will save you from afar, and save…
- Jeremiah 33:11 (v21) the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say, ‘Give…
- Ezekiel 34:23-24 (v22) I will set up one shepherd over them, and he will feed them, even my servant David. He will feed them, and he will be their shepherd. I,…
- Jeremiah 3:18 (v22) In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and they will come together out of the land of the north to the land…
- Jeremiah 31:8-10 (v21) Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the uttermost parts of the earth, along with the blind and the lame,…
- Jeremiah 50:4 (v22) “In those days, and in that time,” says Yahweh, “the children of Israel will come, they and the children of Judah together; they will go on…
- Genesis 49:10 (v22) The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs. To him will the…
- Isaiah 9:6-7 (v22) For a child is born to us. A son is given to us; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful Counselor,…
- Isaiah 11:12-13 (v22) He will set up a banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four…
- Jeremiah 23:5-6 (v22) “Behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that I will raise to David a righteous Branch, and he will reign as king and deal wisely, and will…
- Ezekiel 12:3 (v20) “Therefore, you son of man, prepare your stuff for moving, and move by day in their sight. You shall move from your place to another place…
- Ezekiel 39:25 (v21) “Therefore the Lord Yahweh says: ‘Now I will reverse the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel. I will be jealous…
- Hosea 1:11 (v22) The children of Judah and the children of Israel will be gathered together, and they will appoint themselves one head, and will go up from…
- Hosea 3:4-5 (v22) For the children of Israel shall live many days without king, and without prince, and without sacrifice, and without sacred stone, and…
- Micah 7:11-12 (v21) A day to build your walls— In that day, he will extend your boundary. In that day they will come to you from Assyria and the cities of…
- Luke 1:32-33 (v22) He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign…
- John 10:16 (v22) I have other sheep, which are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice. They will become one flock with one…
- Numbers 17:6-9 (v20) Moses spoke to the children of Israel; and all their princes gave him rods, for each prince one, according to their fathers’ houses, a…
- Psalms 2:6 (v22) “Yet I have set my King on my holy hill of Zion.”
- Psalms 2:12 (v22) Give sincere homage to the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish on the way, for his wrath will soon be kindled. Blessed are all those who…
- Psalms 72:1 (v22) God, give the king your justice; your righteousness to the royal son.
- Psalms 72:8 (v22) He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth.
- Jeremiah 32:39 (v22) I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their good, and the good of their children after them.
- Jeremiah 33:14-17 (v22) “Behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that I will perform that good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and concerning…
- Jeremiah 33:26 (v22) then I will also cast away the offspring of Jacob, and of David my servant, so that I will not take of his offspring to be rulers over the…
- Hosea 12:10 (v20) I have also spoken to the prophets, and I have multiplied visions; and by the ministry of the prophets I have used parables.
- Revelation 11:15 (v22) The seventh angel sounded, and great voices in heaven followed, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord, and…
- Ephesians 2:19-22 (v22) So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God, being built on…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (13 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv20–22 Eze 37:20 And the sticks whereon thou writest shall…
Eze 37:20 And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.
Ver. 20. Shall be in thine hand before their eyes.] That by this vision publicly acted they may be the better affected.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv20–22 To affect them the more, and to assure them…
To affect them the more, and to assure them the more fully, let them see these two divided sticks made one in thy hand.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv20–22 And the sticks whereon thou writest,.... Or art about…
And the sticks whereon thou writest,.... Or art about to write the above things, according to order and direction:
shall be in thine hand before their eyes; shall be held up to them to look at for some time, and observe the cement of the two sticks; and learn and lay up in their minds what is meant by this emblem; and be assured that what is hereafter said as a further explication of it shall certainly be fulfilled.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v22 One nation - They were one in David's time,…
One nation - They were one in David's time, who was a type of the Messiah, and continued so to the end of Solomon's time, whose name includes peace. So when the Beloved, the Peace- maker, the Messiah shall be king, they shall be one again. And one king - The Messiah.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v22 Verse 22. I will make them one nation] There…
Verse 22. I will make them one nation] There was no distinction after the return from Babylon.
And one king shall be king to them all] Politically speaking they never had a king from that day to this; and the grand junction and government spoken of here must refer to another time - to that in which they shall be brought into the Christian Church with the fulness of the Gentiles; when JESUS, the King of kings and Lord of lords, shall rule over all.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v21 Eze 37:21-25. Behold, I will take the children of…
Eze 37:21-25. Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen — See the margin. I will make them one nation — They shall not be divided any more into separate kingdoms; the consequence of which was, their setting up separate ways of worship, and espousing separate interests: compare Isa 11:13. This promise was in a great degree fulfilled in the restoration of the Jews to their own land from their captivity in Babylon; for then many of the house of Israel returned with the house of Judah, and were united in one body with them, and were under one and the same governor, Zerubbabel; who, though he did not (lest it should give umbrage to the Persian kings) assume the title of king, yet executed the authority, and was looked upon as a king by the Jewish people: but the expressions here made use of seem to imply something further, and to refer, in their full sense, to the final restoration of the Jews, after their conversion to Christianity, when Christ, in a peculiar sense, shall be their king. The Messiah is described as King of the Jews in most of the prophecies in the Old Testament, beginning with that of Gen 49:10, concerning Shiloh. From David’s time he is commonly spoken of as the person in whom the promises relating to the perpetuity of David’s kingdom were to be accomplished. This was a truth unanimously owned by the Jews: see Joh 1:49, to which our Saviour bore testimony before Pontius Pilate, when the question being put to him, Art thou a king? he made answer, Thou sayest [the truth] for I am a king: thus these words should be translated, for St. Paul, alluding to them, calls them a good confession, 1Ti 6:13. The same truth Pontius Pilate himself asserted, in that inscription which he providentially ordered to be written upon the cross; (see Joh 19:19-22;) so that the chief priests impiously renounced their own avowed principles, when they told Pilate that they had no king but Cesar, Eze 37:15. Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols — Or, abominations, as the word שׁקוציםis elsewhere translated, and generally signifies idols: see the margin. But I will save them out of all their dwelling-places — I will bring them safe out of them; and will cleanse them — Both justify and sanctify them. And David my servant — That is, the son of David, who was also David’s Lord; shall be king over them — Shall reign over their hearts and lives; and they shall all have one shepherd — This king shall be their one chief shepherd; others that shall feed and rule the flock shall be shepherds by commission from him. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob — A promise often repeated in this prophecy: see Eze 37:12; Eze 37:21, and the note on Eze 28:25. Even they and their children for ever — The Jews, converted to Christ, shall inherit Canaan till Christ come to judgment at the end of the world.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v22 King. The Jews were long without kings, after the…
King. The Jews were long without kings, after the captivity; then they were not of the tribe of Juda, and all did not return. Christ fulfils the prediction.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v22 one nation-- (Isa 11:13; Jer 3:18; Hos 1:11).
one nation-- (Isa 11:13; Jer 3:18; Hos 1:11).
one king--not Zerubbabel, who was not a king either in fact or name, and who ruled over but a few Jews, and that only for a few years; whereas the King here reigns for ever. MESSIAH is meant (Eze 34:23-24). The union of Judah and Israel under King Messiah symbolizes the union of Jews and Gentiles under Him, partly now, perfectly hereafter (Eze 37:24; Joh 10:16).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv20, 22 20. This symbolical action may have been actually performed,…
20. This symbolical action may have been actually performed, though the supposition is scarcely necessary, cf. Eze_12:3.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv20–21 (20) Before their eyes.—The symbolical action was not only…
(20) Before their eyes.—The symbolical action was not only to be performed before the people, but the united wood was to remain in the prophet’s hand, while he unfolded to them the Divine promise. That promise is essentially a repetition of Eze_34:11-31; Eze_36:22-30.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On v21 Verses 21-28 explain how the unification of the two…
Verses 21-28 explain how the unification of the two kingdoms should be brought about. The first step should be the bringing of the people home to their own land (vers. 21, 22); the second, their purification from idolatry (ver. 23); the third, the installation over them, thus united and purified, of one King, the ideal David of the future, or the Messiah (vers. 24, 25); the fourth, the establishment with them of Jehovah"s covenant of peace (ver. 26), and the permanent erection amongst them of Jehovah"s temple (vers. 27, 28).
Vers. 21, 22. I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen. That tills promise was intended to find an initial and partial fulfillment in the return from Babylon is undoubted. That it was also designed to look across the centuries towards the final ingathering of God"s spiritual Israel into their permanent inheritance, the heavenly Canaan, an examination of its terms shows. These clearly presuppose a wider dispersion of Israel than had then, i.e. in Ezekiel"s day, taken place; and that Israel has never yet been made one nation upon the mountains of Israel, is incontestable. Nor is there ground for expecting she ever will be. Not even after the exile closed did all Israel return to Palestine. Nor did it ever come true in their experience that one king was king to them all, since, in point of fact, they never afterwards had an earthly sore-reign at all who was properly independent. If, therefore, the prince who in the future should shepherd them was not to be a temporal monarch, but the Messiah, the probability is that the Israel he should shepherd was designed to be, not Israel after the flesh, but Israel after the spirit, who should walk in his judgments and observe his statutes, and who, in the fullness of the times, should develop out into the Christian Church. Hence it seems reasonable to conclude that their own land, into which they should eventually be brought, would be not so much the veritable soil from which their ancestors had been expelled, as the country or region in which the new, rejuvenated, reunited, and reformed Israel should dwell, which, again, should be n territory cleansed from sin and idolatry, so as to render it a fit abode for a people devoted to righteousness. Viewed in this light, their own land was first Canaan, in so far as after the exile it was cleansed from idolatry; now it is those portions of the earth in which the Christian Church has been planted, so far as these are influenced by the holy principles of religion; finally, it will be the new heavens and the new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. (Eze_34:24 Eze_36:24)
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Vers. 21-28The blessed kingdom.
Understanding this Divine promise to find its true and complete fulfillment in the kingdom of Christ, we may recognize some of the features of that kingdom as it will one day be constituted.
I ITS ONE ACKNOWLEDGED HEAD. The ideal David" (vers. 24, 25) is found, not in any future ruler like Judas Maccabaeus, but in Jesus Christ; in him who is exalted "to be a Prince and a Savior," the Lord and Sovereign of his people everywhere. A far Greater than David is he. (see homily on Eze_34:23, Eze_34:24) He will have no rival in the day of the Lord, when all the Churches of Christ shall know and love the truth, and exalt him in the eyes of the world.
II ITS UNITY. (Vers. 21, 22.) The time will come when the Divine Head of the Church will look down upon a united people. There may be a great variety of organizations, but there wilt be no discord or disunion; none, because, while there will be no uniformity of method, but every order of spiritual life, there will be everywhere prevalent the spirit of a benignant charity, of Christ-like confidence, and love; all Churches and air hearts owning one Savior, teaching one redeeming truth, breathing one spirit, living one life, moving towards one goal, and looking for one prize.
III ITS HOLINESS. (Ver. 23.) There shall be nothing to defile. What the entire absence of idolatry signified in the case of Israel is realized by the Church in the absence of all worldliness and iniquity of every kind from its pale. It is "cleansed" by the truth and power of God, so that vice and violence, oppression and injustice, covetousness and selfishness, uncharitableness and inconsiderateness, are banished from its midst.
IV ITS GLORIOUS MAGNITUDE. "I will multiply them." If the largest promises made to Israel had been fulfilled to the letter, that fulfillment would have been small and slight indeed when compared with the realization they have had in the establishment and the growth of the Church of Christ. And it is extending its borders still, indeed much more rapidly now than in any century but the first. It has attained to a noble magnitude, and wilt "multiply and still increase," until that little stone of Nebuchadnezzar"s dream shall have rolled and grown till it "fills the whole earth.
V ITS JOY IN GOD. God"s "sanctuary is to be in the midst." His "tabernacle shall be with them." He will "be their God, and they shall be his people" (vers. 26, 27). The picture is one of happy, holy converse between God and man. It is a great thing for a nation to rejoice because the Holy One is near, is known and felt to be near. In the "glorious future time," when the kingdom of Christ shall be established on the earth, it will be the very near presence of God that will be felt to be the source of the deepest satisfaction, of the largest and truest enrichment. To be with him, coming into his nearer presence in all the ordinances of religion, to live in the spirit and habitude of devotion, to walk with God all the day long, to be guests at his table, to lift up the face unto him as unto the heavenly Father, to lean on Christ as on the unfailing Friend of the heart and life, this is the heritage of the good in the blessed kingdom of our Lord. C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v21 General Information:
General Information:
Yahweh continues speaking to Ezekiel.
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Behold!
"Look!" or "Listen!" or "Pay attention to what I am about to tell you!"
they will be my people and I will be their God
See how you translated this in Ezekiel 11:20.
translationWords
nation
king
kingdom
defile
false god
sin
save
faithless
pure
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v20 37:20-25 When the kingdoms were reunited, the problems that…
37:20-25 When the kingdoms were reunited, the problems that had led to the schism would also be resolved. In place of the abusive and unfaithful leadership of Rehoboam that had split the nation in two (1 Kgs 12), God would supply a single servant leader, a shepherd king. Like David, he would unite the tribes. This restored people would also be renewed and cleansed from their idols and vile images so that the Lord might once again be their God. Thus purified, they would keep the Lord’s decrees and live there forever.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.