Passage

Ezekiel 37.17

Book: Ezekiel · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"15. The word of Jehovah came again unto me, saying, 16. And thou, son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:"

"17. and join them for thee one to another into one stick, that they may become one in thy hand."

"18. And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not show us what thou meanest by these? 19. say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his companions; and I will put them with it, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in my hand." (Ezekiel 37:15-19, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"15. Yahweh’s word came again to me, saying, 16. You, son of man, take one stick, and write on it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write on it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:"

"17. and join them for you to one another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand."

"18. When the children of your people shall speak to you, saying, Will you not show us what you mean by these? 19. tell them, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his companions; and I will put them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in my hand." (Ezekiel 37:15-19, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"15. The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, 16. Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:"

"17. And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand."

"18. And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these? 19. Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand." (Ezekiel 37:15-19, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"15. And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying, 16. 'And thou, son of man, take to thee one stick, and write on it, For Judah, and for the sons of Israel, his companions; and take another stick, and write on it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and all the house of Israel, his companions,"

"17. and bring them near one unto another, to thee, for one stick, and they have become one in thy hand."

"18. 'And when sons of thy people speak unto thee, saying, Dost thou not declare to us what these [are] to thee? 19. Speak unto them, Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I am taking the stick of Joseph, that [is] in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his companions, and have given them unto him, with the stick of Judah, and have made them become one stick, and they have been one in My hand." (Ezekiel 37:15-19, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: Ezekiel the priest + LORD direct discourse
Audience: exiles in Babylon
Location: Babylonian exile (Tel Abib)
Time period: ministry c. 593-571 BC

Theological reading

Key words

H0259 - echad, echad (Strong's H259). Also appears in: Genesis 2.24, Genesis 3, Genesis 10.25.

Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.