Ezekiel 37:3 (ASV)

Passage

And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord Jehovah, thou knowest.

Nearby Context

Ezekiel 37:1 The hand of Jehovah was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of Jehovah, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones.

Ezekiel 37:2 And he caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.

Ezekiel 37:3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord Jehovah, thou knowest.

Ezekiel 37:4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy over these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of Jehovah.

Ezekiel 37:5 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah unto these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "said", "bones", "live", "answered", "lord", "jehovah", "thou", and "knowest". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "said" and "bones", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "And he caused me to pass by..." into verse 4's "Again he said unto me Prophesy over...", so "said" and "bones" belong inside that flow. In Ezekiel context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "said" and "bones" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.