The Valley of Dry Bones

37 (A)The hand of the Lord was upon me, and (B)he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley;[a] it was full of bones. And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. And he said to me, (C)“Son of man, (D)can these bones live?” And (E)I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Then he said to me, (F)“Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, (G)O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause (H)breath[b] to enter you, and you shall live. (I)And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and (J)cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, (K)and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

So I prophesied (L)as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, (M)a rattling,[c] and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But (N)there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, (O)“Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, (P)son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from (Q)the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied (R)as he commanded me, and (S)the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

11 Then he said to me, (T)“Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and (U)our hope is lost; (V)we are indeed cut off.’ 12 Therefore (W)prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, (X)I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And (Y)I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And (Z)you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And (AA)I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; (AB)I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 37:1 Or plain; also verse 2
  2. Ezekiel 37:5 Or spirit; also verses 6, 9, 10
  3. Ezekiel 37:7 Or an earthquake (compare 3:12, 13)

Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

139 O Lord, you have (A)searched me and known me!
You (B)know when I sit down and when I rise up;
    you (C)discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
    and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
    behold, O Lord, (D)you know it altogether.
You (E)hem me in, behind and before,
    and (F)lay your hand upon me.
(G)Such knowledge is (H)too wonderful for me;
    it is high; I cannot attain it.

(I)Where shall I go from your Spirit?
    Or where (J)shall I flee from your presence?
(K)If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
    (L)If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
    and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall (M)lead me,
    and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, (N)“Surely the darkness shall cover me,
    and the light about me be night,”
12 (O)even the darkness is not dark to you;
    the night is bright as the day,
    for darkness is as light with you.

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The Coming of the Holy Spirit

When (A)the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like (B)a mighty rushing wind, and (C)it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues (D)as of fire appeared to them and rested[a] on each one of them. And they were all (E)filled with the Holy Spirit and began (F)to speak in other tongues (G)as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And (H)at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And (I)they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking (J)Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and (K)Medes and (L)Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and (M)proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” 12 And (N)all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others (O)mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

Peter's Sermon at Pentecost

14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, (P)since it is only the third hour of the day.[b] 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

17 (Q)“‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
(R)that I will pour out my Spirit (S)on all flesh,
and your sons and (T)your daughters shall prophesy,
    and your young men shall see visions,
    and your old men shall dream dreams;
18 even on my male servants and female servants
    in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and (U)they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above
    and signs on the earth below,
    blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
20 (V)the sun shall be turned to darkness
    and the moon to blood,
    before (W)the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.
21 And it shall come to pass that (X)everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 2:3 Or And tongues as of fire appeared to them, distributed among them, and rested
  2. Acts 2:15 That is, 9 a.m.

26 “But (A)when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, (B)he will bear witness about me. 27 And (C)you also will bear witness, (D)because you have been with me (E)from the beginning.

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But (A)I have said these things to you, that when (B)their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.

The Work of the Holy Spirit

“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, (C)because I was with you. But now (D)I am going to him who sent me, and (E)none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you, (F)sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for (G)if I do not go away, (H)the Helper will not come to you. But (I)if (J)I go, (K)I will send him to you. (L)And when he comes, he will (M)convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, (N)because they do not believe in me; 10 (O)concerning righteousness, (P)because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 (Q)concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world (R)is judged.

12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When (S)the Spirit of truth comes, (T)he will (U)guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but (V)whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will (W)glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 (X)All that the Father has is mine; (Y)therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

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