Passage
Thus says Lord Yahweh to these bones, ‘Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life.
Ezekiel 37:5 (LSB)
Nearby Context
Ezekiel 37:3 He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord Yahweh, You know.”
Ezekiel 37:4 Then He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of Yahweh.’
Ezekiel 37:5 Thus says Lord Yahweh to these bones, ‘Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life.
Ezekiel 37:6 I will put sinews on you, make flesh come up upon you, cover you with skin, and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am Yahweh.’”
Ezekiel 37:7 So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a rumbling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "thus", "says", "lord", "yahweh", "bones", "behold", "cause", and "breath". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thus" and "says", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 4's "Then He said to me Prophesy over..." into verse 6's "I will put sinews on you make...", so "thus" and "says" 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 "thus" and "says" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.