Ezekiel 37 · Verse 12

Ezekiel 37:12

Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith 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.
Ezekiel 37:12, King James Version

Ezekiel 37:12 in other translations

BSBTherefore prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘O My people, I will open your graves and bring you up from them, and I will bring you back to the land of Israel.
WEBTherefore prophesy, and tell them, ‘The Lord GOD says: “Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, my people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel.
ASVTherefore prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, O my people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel.
YLTTherefore, prophesy, and thou hast said unto them, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I am opening your graves, And have brought you up out of your graves, O My people, And brought you in unto the land of Israel.
DARBYTherefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, O my people, and bring you into the land of Israel.
BBEFor this cause be a prophet to them, and say, This is what the Lord has said: See, I am opening the resting-places of your dead, and I will make you come up out of your resting-places, O my people; and I will take you into the land of Israel.
WebsterTherefore prophesy and say to them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.

What does Ezekiel 37:12 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
12. my people--in antithesis to "for our parts" (Eze 37:11). The hope that is utterly gone, if looking at themselves, is sure for them in God, because He regards them as His people. Their covenant relation to God ensures His not letting death permanently reign over them. Christ makes the same principle the ground on which the literal resurrection rests. God had said, "I am the God of Abraham," &c.; God, by taking the patriarchs as His, undertook to do for them all that Omnipotence can perform: He, being the ever living God, is necessarily the God of, not dead, but living persons, that is, of those whose bodies His covenant love binds Him to raise again. He can--and because He can--He will--He must [Fairbairn]. He calls them "My people" when receiving them into favor; but "thy people," in addressing His servant, as if He would put them away from Him (Eze 13:17; 33:2; Ex 32:7). out of your graves--out of your politically dead state, primarily in Babylon, finally hereafter in all lands (compare Eze 6:8; Ho 13:14). The Jews regarded the lands of their captivity and dispersion as their "graves"; their restoration was to be as "life from the dead" (Ro 11:15). Before, the bones were in the open plain (Eze 37:1, 2); now, in the graves, that is, some of the Jews were in the graves of actual captivity, others at large but dispersed. Both alike were nationally dead.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 12 I will open your graves - Here is a pointed allusion to the general resurrection; a doctrine properly credited and understood by the Jews, and to which our Lord refers, Joh 5:25, Joh 5:28, Joh 5:29 : "The hour is coming when they that are in their graves shall hear his voice, and come forth." And cause you to come up out of your graves - I am determined that ye shall be restored; so that were ye even in your graves, as mankind at the general resurrection, yet my all-powerful voice shall call you forth.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Ezekiel 37:1-14

God restores dried bones to life. (Ezek 37:1-14) The whole house of Israel is represented as enjoying the blessings of Christ's kingdom. (Ezek 37:15-28) Verses 1-14 No created power could restore human bones to life. God alone could cause them to live. Skin and flesh covered them, and the wind was then told to blow upon these bodies; and they were restored to life. The wind was an emblem of the Spirit of God, and…

Read the full comment on Ezekiel 37:1-14 →

Ezekiel 37:12 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

לָכֵן֩la.Khen<to> thereforeH3651
הִנָּבֵ֨אhi.na.Ve'prophesyH5012
וְאָמַרְתָּ֜ve.'a.mar.Taand you will sayH559
אֲלֵיהֶ֗ם'a.lei.Hemto themH413
כֹּֽה\־koh-thusH3541
אָמַר֮'a.Marhe saysH559
אֲדֹנָ֣י'a.do.Nai[the] LordH136
יְהוִה֒Yah.wehYahwehH3069
הִנֵּה֩hi.Nehhere!H2009
אֲנִ֨י'a.NiIH589
פֹתֵ֜חַfo.Te.ach[am] about to openH6605
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
קִבְרֽוֹתֵיכֶ֗םkiv.ro.tei.Khemgraves yourH6913
וְהַעֲלֵיתִ֥יve.ha.'a.lei.Tiand I will bring upH5927
אֶתְכֶ֛ם'et.Khem<obj.> youH853
מִקִּבְרוֹתֵיכֶ֖םmi.kiv.ro.tei.Khemfrom graves yourH6913
עַמִּ֑י'a.MiO people myH5971
וְהֵבֵאתִ֥יve.he.ve.Tiand I will bringH935
אֶתְכֶ֖ם'et.Khem<obj.> youH853
אֶל\־'el-intoH413
אַדְמַ֥ת'ad.Mat[the] land ofH127
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל\׃\ \סYis.ra.'ElIsraelH3478

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Ezekiel 37:12

  • Isaiah 26:19

    Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.

  • Hosea 13:14

    I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.

  • 1 Thessalonians 4:16

    For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

  • Isaiah 66:14

    And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb: and the hand of the Lord shall be known toward his servants, and his indignation toward his enemies.

  • Amos 9:14-15

    And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God.

  • Revelation 20:13

    And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

  • Ezekiel 37:25

    And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.

  • Hosea 6:2

    After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.

  • Ezekiel 36:24

    For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.

  • Ezekiel 37:21

    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:

  • Deuteronomy 32:39

    See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.

  • Job 35:14-15

    Although thou sayest thou shalt not see him, yet judgment is before him; therefore trust thou in him. But now, because it is not so, he hath visited in his anger; yet he knoweth it not in great extremity:

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Therefore.
Job 35:14,15
I will open.This is a pointed allusion to the resurrection; under which figure Isaiah (ch. 26:9) also describes the restoration of the house of Israel, when he says, "thy dead men shall live;" at which time their bones are said to flourish, (ch. 66:14,) or to be restored to their former strength and vigour; and, in like manner, St. Paul, (Ro 11:15,) expresses their conversion by "life from the dead." In the land of their captivity, they seemed as absolutely deprived of their country as persons committed to the grave are cut off from the land of the living; but when Cyrus issued his proclamation, Jehovah, as it were, opened their graves, and when he stirred up their spirits to embrace the proffered liberty, he put his Spirit within them, that they might live; and their re-establishment in their own land evinced the truth of God in the prediction, and his power in its accomplishment.
21; Isa 26:19; 66:14; Ho 6:2; 13:14; 1Th 4:16; Re 20:13
and bring.
25; 28:25; 36:24; Ezr 1:1-2:70; Am 9:14,15

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Ezekiel 37:11

    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.

  • Ezekiel 37:12

    Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith 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.

  • Ezekiel 37:13

    And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,

Read all of Ezekiel 37

Ezekiel 37:12 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Por tanto profetiza, y diles: Así ha dicho el Señor Jehová: He aquí, yo abro vuestros sepulcros, pueblo mío, y os haré subir de vuestras sepulturas, y os traeré á la tierra de Israel.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		C’est pourquoi prophétise, et dis-leur: Ainsi dit le Seigneur, l’ Éternel: Voici, j’ouvrirai vos sépulcres, et je vous ferai monter hors de vos sépulcres, mon peuple, et je vous amènerai dans la terre d’Israël.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Darum weissage und sprich zu ihnen: So spricht der Herr, Jehova: Siehe, ich werde eure Gräber öffnen und euch aus euren Gräbern heraufkommen lassen, mein Volk, und werde euch in das Land Israel bringen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Propterea vaticinare, et dices ad eos: Hæc dicit Dominus Deus: Ecce ego aperiam tumulos vestros, et educam vos de sepulchris vestris, populus meus, et inducam vos in terram Israël.