Ezekiel 37:20

Revised Standard Version

When the sticks on which you write are in your hand before their eyes,

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“When the sticks you have written on are in your hand and in full view of the people,

Hebrew Names Version
The sticks whereon you write shall be in your hand before their eyes.

King James Version
And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.

English Standard Version
When the sticks on which you write are in your hand before their eyes,

New American Standard Bible
"The sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes.

New Century Version
Hold the sticks on which you wrote these names in your hand so the people can see them.

Amplified Bible
"The sticks on which you write shall be in your hand before their eyes.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And the pieces of wood, whereon thou writest, shalbe in thine hand, in their sight.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"The sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes.

Legacy Standard Bible
And the sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes.

Berean Standard Bible
When the sticks on which you write are in your hand and in full view of the people,

Contemporary English Version
Hold these two sticks where they can be seen by everyone

Complete Jewish Bible
The sticks on which you write are to be in your hand as they watch.

Darby Translation
And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thy hand before their eyes.

Easy-to-Read Version
"Take the sticks that you wrote on and hold them in front of you.

George Lamsa Translation
And the sticks on which you write, hold them in your hand before their eyes;

Good News Translation
"Hold in your hand the two sticks and let the people see them.

Lexham English Bible
And the pieces of wood on which you wrote will be in your hand before their eyes.

Literal Translation
And the sticks shall be in your hand, the ones on which you write before their eyes.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And the two stickes where vpon thou wrytest, shalt thou haue in thine honde, that they maye se,

American Standard Version
And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thy hand before their eyes.

Bible in Basic English
And the sticks with your writing on them will be in your hand before their eyes.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thy hand before their eyes.

King James Version (1611)
And the stickes whereon thou writest, shalbe in thine hand before their eyes.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the stickes where vpon thou wrytest, shalt thou haue in thy hand, that they may see.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the rods on which thou didst write shall be in thine hand in their presence.

English Revised Version
And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.

World English Bible
The sticks whereon you write shall be in your hand before their eyes.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Sotheli the trees, on whiche thou hast write, schulen be in thin hond bifore the iyen of hem.

Update Bible Version
And the sticks whereon you write shall be in your hand before their eyes.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the sticks on which thou writest shall be in thy hand before their eyes.

New English Translation
The sticks you write on will be in your hand in front of them.

New King James Version
And the sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes.

New Living Translation
"Then hold out the pieces of wood you have inscribed, so the people can see them.

New Life Bible
Hold in front of them the sticks you write on,

New Revised Standard
When the sticks on which you write are in your hand before their eyes,

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And the sticks whereon thou shalt write shall remain in thy hand before their eyes.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the sticks whereon thou hast written, shall be in thy hand, before their eyes.

Young's Literal Translation
And the sticks on which thou writest have been in thy hand before thine eyes,

THE MESSAGE
"Then take the sticks you've inscribed and hold them up so the people can see them. Tell them, ‘ God , the Master, says, Watch me! I'm taking the Israelites out of the nations in which they've been exiled. I'll gather them in from all directions and bring them back home. I'll make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and give them one king—one king over all of them. Never again will they be divided into two nations, two kingdoms. Never again will they pollute their lives with their no-god idols and all those vile obscenities and rebellions. I'll save them out of all their old sinful haunts. I'll clean them up. They'll be my people! I'll be their God! My servant David will be king over them. They'll all be under one shepherd. "‘They'll follow my laws and keep my statutes. They'll live in the same land I gave my servant Jacob, the land where your ancestors lived. They and their children and their grandchildren will live there forever, and my servant David will be their prince forever. I'll make a covenant of peace with them that will hold everything together, an everlasting covenant. I'll make them secure and place my holy place of worship at the center of their lives forever. I'll live right there with them. I'll be their God! They'll be my people! "‘The nations will realize that I, God , make Israel holy when my holy place of worship is established at the center of their lives forever.'"

Contextual Overview

¹⁵ The word of the LORD came to me: ¹⁶ "Son of man, take a stick and write on it, 'For Judah, and the children of Israel associated with him'; then take another stick and write upon it, 'For Joseph (the stick of E'phraim) and all the house of Israel associated with him'; ¹⁷ and join them together into one stick, that they may become one in your hand. ¹⁸ And when your people say to you, 'Will you not show us what you mean by these?' ¹⁹ say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am about to take the stick of Joseph (which is in the hand of E'phraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with him; and I will join with it the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, that they may be one in my hand. ²⁰ When the sticks on which you write are in your hand before their eyes, ²¹ then say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all sides, and bring them to their own land; ²² and I will make them one nation in the land, upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. ²³ They shall not defile themselves any more with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions; but I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. ²⁴ "My servant David shall be king over them; and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall follow my ordinances and be careful to observe my statutes.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

in thine: Ezekiel 12:3, Numbers 17:6-9, Hosea 12:10

Reciprocal: Ezekiel 21:6 - before Ephesians 2:14 - both

Cross-References

Genesis 37:2
This is the history of the family of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock with his brothers; he was a lad with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives; and Joseph brought an ill report of them to their father.

Genesis 37:10
But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him, and said to him, "What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?"

Genesis 37:11
And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.

Genesis 37:12
Now his brothers went to pasture their father's flock near Shechem.

Genesis 37:16
"I am seeking my brothers," he said, "tell me, I pray you, where they are pasturing the flock."

Genesis 37:18
They saw him afar off, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him.

Genesis 37:29
When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he rent his clothes

Genesis 37:32
and they sent the long robe with sleeves and brought it to their father, and said, "This we have found; see now whether it is your son's robe or not."

1 Samuel 24:20
And now, behold, I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand.

1 Samuel 26:2
So Saul arose and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, with three thousand chosen men of Israel, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

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.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A prophecy of the reunion of Israel and Judah, the incorporation of Israel under one Ruler, the kingdom of Messiah upon earth and in heaven.

Ezekiel 37:16

One stick - So in the marginal reference the names of the tribes had been written on rods or sticks.

For Judah ... - To the house of David had remained faithful, not only Judah, but also Benjamin, Levi, and part of Simeon, and individual members of various tribes 2 Chronicles 11:12-16. Compare the marginal references.

Joseph ... Ephraim - Compare Psalms 78:67; Hosea 5:5 ff “Joseph” is the general name here for the ten tribes, including “Ephraim,” the chief tribe, and his companions. Omit “for” before “all.” “All the house of Israel” is here the ten tribes.

Ezekiel 37:19

In the hand of Ephraim - Because Ephraim was the ruling tribe; the words are contrasted with “in mine hand.”

Ezekiel 37:20

This sign was literally enacted in the presence of the people, not, like some signs, merely in vision (see the Ezekiel 3:1 note).

Ezekiel 37:21

The gathering together of the children of Israel was to take effect in the first place in the return from Babylon, when the distinction of Israel and Judah should cease. The full completion concerns times still future, when all Israel shall come in to acknowledge the rule of Christ.

Ezekiel 37:22

One king - The restoration of Israel to their native soil will lead the way to the coming of the promised King, the Son of David, who will gather into His kingdom the true Israel, all who shall by faith be acknowledged as the Israel of God. The reign of the One King David is the reign of Christ in His kingdom, the Church.

Ezekiel 37:25, Ezekiel 37:26

An enlargement of the promises. The kingdom is to be “forever,” the covenant “everlasting.” This looks forward to the consummation of all God’s promises 1 Corinthians 15:24, 1 Corinthians 15:28.

Ezekiel 37:27

This gives a final blessing reserved for God’s accepted servants. The tabernacle and temple were outward symbols of His presence. The re-erection of the temple by Zerubbabel was the first step to a restoration of the presence of God. The second step was the presence of Christ, first in the flesh, then in His Church, and finally the eternal presence of God and of the Lamb in the New Jerusalem Revelation 21:0.