Ezekiel 37:16
New International Version
“Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, ‘Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him.’ Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, ‘Belonging to Joseph (that is, to Ephraim) and all the Israelites associated with him.’

New Living Translation
“Son of man, take a piece of wood and carve on it these words: ‘This represents Judah and its allied tribes.’ Then take another piece and carve these words on it: ‘This represents Ephraim and the northern tribes of Israel.’

English Standard Version
“Son of man, take a stick and write on it, ‘For Judah, and the people of Israel associated with him’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph (the stick of Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with him.’

Berean Standard Bible
“And you, son of man, take a single stick and write on it: ‘Belonging to Judah and to the Israelites associated with him.’ Then take another stick and write on it: ‘Belonging to Joseph—the stick of Ephraim—and to all the house of Israel associated with him.’

King James Bible
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:

New King James Version
“As for you, son of man, take a stick for yourself 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.’

New American Standard Bible
“Now you, son of man, take for yourself one stick and write on it, ‘For Judah and for the sons of Israel, his companions’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel, his companions.’

NASB 1995
“And you, son of man, take for yourself one stick and write on it, ‘For Judah and for the sons of Israel, his companions’ then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel, his companions.’

NASB 1977
“And you, son of man, take for yourself one stick and write on it, ‘For Judah and for the sons of Israel, his companions’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel, his companions.’

Legacy Standard Bible
“Now as for you, son of man, take for yourself one stick and write on it, ‘For Judah and for the sons of Israel, his companions’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel, his companions.’

Amplified Bible
“And you, son of man, take a 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 all the house of Israel, his companions.’

Christian Standard Bible
“Son of man, take a single stick and write on it: Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him. Then take another stick and write on it: Belonging to Joseph—the stick of Ephraim—and all the house of Israel associated with him.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Son of man, take a single stick and write on it: Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him. Then take another stick and write on it: Belonging to Joseph—the stick of Ephraim—and all the house of Israel associated with him.

American Standard Version
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:

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
“But you, son of man, take one stick for yourself, and write upon it ‘Yehuda and the children of Israel his companions’, and take another stick and write upon it, ‘Yoseph’ on the stick of Aphreim, ‘And all the children of Israel his companions’

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Son of man, take for thyself a rod, and write upon it, Juda, and the children of Israel his adherents; and thou shalt take for thyself another rod, and thou shalt inscribe it for Joseph, the rod of Ephraim, and all the children of Israel that belong to him.

Contemporary English Version
Ezekiel, son of man, get a stick and write on it, "The kingdom of Judah." Then get another stick and write on it, "The kingdom of Israel."

Douay-Rheims Bible
And thou son of man, take thee a stick: and write upon it: Of Juda, and of the children of Israel his associates: and take another stick and write upon it: For Joseph the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel, and of his associates.

English Revised Version
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:

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"Son of man, take a stick and write on it: 'For Judah and for the Israelites who are associated with it.' Then take another stick and write on it, 'The stick of Ephraim, for Joseph and for all the people of Israel associated with it.'

Good News Translation
"Mortal man," he said, "take a wooden stick and write on it the words, 'The kingdom of Judah.' Then take another stick and write on it the words, 'The kingdom of Israel.'

International Standard Version
"Now as for you, Son of Man, grab a stick of wood for yourself and write on it these words: 'FOR JUDAH AND THE ISRAELIS, HIS COMPANIONS' "Then grab another stick and write on it: 'FOR JOSEPH, THE STICK OF EPHRAIM, AND ALL THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL, HIS COMPANIONS'

JPS Tanakh 1917
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 of all the house of Israel his companions;

Literal Standard Version
“And you, son of man, take one stick for yourself, 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,

Majority Standard Bible
“And you, son of man, take a single stick and write on it: ‘Belonging to Judah and to the Israelites associated with him.’ Then take another stick and write on it: ‘Belonging to Joseph—the stick of Ephraim—and to all the house of Israel associated with him.’

New American Bible
As for you, son of man, take one stick and write on it, “Judah and those Israelites associated with it.” Then take another stick and write on it: “Joseph, Ephraim’s stick, and the whole house of Israel associated with it.”

NET Bible
"As for you, son of man, take one branch, and write on it, 'For Judah, and for the Israelites associated with him.' Then take another branch and write on it, 'For Joseph, the branch of Ephraim and all the house of Israel associated with him.'

New Revised Standard Version
Mortal, take a stick and write on it, “For Judah, and the Israelites associated with it”; then take another stick and write on it, “For Joseph (the stick of Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with it”;

New Heart English Bible
"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':

Webster's Bible Translation
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:

World English Bible
“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.’

Young's Literal Translation
'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,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
One Nation with One King
15Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 16“And you, son of man, take a single stick and write on it: ‘Belonging to Judah and to the Israelites associated with him.’ Then take another stick and write on it: ‘Belonging to Joseph— the stick of Ephraim— and to all the house of Israel associated with him.’ 17Then join them together into one stick, so that they become one in your hand.…

Cross References
Numbers 17:2
"Speak to the Israelites and take from them twelve staffs, one from the leader of each tribe. Write each man's name on his staff,

Numbers 17:3
and write Aaron's name on the staff of Levi, because there must be one staff for the head of each tribe.

1 Kings 12:16
When all Israel saw that the king had refused to listen to them, they answered the king: "What portion do we have in David, and what inheritance in the son of Jesse? To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, O David!" So the Israelites went home,

2 Chronicles 10:17
but Rehoboam still reigned over the Israelites living in the cities of Judah.

2 Chronicles 10:19
So to this day Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David.

2 Chronicles 11:11
He strengthened their fortresses and put officers in them, with supplies of food, oil, and wine.

2 Chronicles 15:9
And he assembled all Judah and Benjamin, along with those from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had settled among them, for great numbers had come over to him from Israel when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.


Treasury of Scripture

Moreover, you son of man, take you 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:

take thee

Numbers 17:2,3
Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of every one of them a rod according to the house of their fathers, of all their princes according to the house of their fathers twelve rods: write thou every man's name upon his rod…

For Judah

2 Chronicles 10:17
But as for the children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.

2 Chronicles 11:11-17
And he fortified the strong holds, and put captains in them, and store of victual, and of oil and wine…

2 Chronicles 15:9
And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.

For Joseph

1 Kings 12:16-20
So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents…

2 Chronicles 10:19
And Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day.

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Ezekiel 37
1. By the resurrection of dry bones
11. the dead hope of Israel is revived
15. By the uniting of two sticks
18. is shown the incorporation of Israel into Judah
21. The promises of Christ's kingdom














(16) One stick . . . another stick.--These are not rods, as in Numbers 17:6-9, although Ezekiel may have had that event in mind; the word here is an entirely different one, and means simply a piece of wood. The two pieces were, no doubt, so shaped that being firmly held together they would appear as one.

For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions.--The object is to represent by the two pieces of wood the two kingdoms. It would be insufficient, therefore, to mention Judah only; for with him Benjamin had been always associated, and also considerable fragments of the other tribes (2Chronicles 11:16; 2Chronicles 15:9). After the fall of the northern kingdom, individual members of the ten tribes who had not been carried into captivity joined themselves more or less completely to the kingdom of Judah (2Chronicles 30:11-18; 2Chronicles 31:1). . . .

Verse 16. - Take thee one stick, and write. The symbolic action thus prescribed to the prophet was manifestly based on the well-known historical fact that the tribes of Israel, in Mosaic times, had been represented by a rod, on which was inscribed the name of the tribe (Numbers 17:2); but whether the stick Ezekiel was instructed to take was a staff, ῤάβδος (LXX., Hirernick, Hitzig, Kliefoth, and Smend), or a block (Ewald), or simply a piece (Keil, Schroder) of wood on which a few words might be traced, cannot be decided. On the first stick the prophet was directed to write, For Judah, and the house of his companions; i.e. for the southern kingdom and those of the northern tribes who adhered to it, as e.g., Benjamin, Levi, and part of Simeon, with those devout Jehovah-worshippers who from time to time emigrated from other tribes and settled in the land of Judah (2 Chronicles 11:12-16; 2 Chronicles 15:9; 2 Chronicles 30:11, 18, 31; 31:1; though by Wellhausen, Smend, and others, such passages are pronounced unhistorical). On the second stick also the prophet was directed to write; but whether For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and for (or, of) all the house of Israel his companions (Authorized and Revised Versions), or "For Joseph and the whole house of Israel" (Keil), or simply "For Joseph" (Ewald, Havernick, Smend), cannot be determined. Each interpretation can be supported by quite reasonable considerations. For the first may be pleaded that it best accords with the natural sense of the text; for the second, that the phrase, the stick of Ephraim, appears to be explanatory of and in opposition to "For Joseph;" for the third, that all the house of Israel stands, like "Ephraim," under the regimen of "stick." The introduction of Joseph as the representative of the northern kingdom rests, not on the fact that Joseph's was the most honorable name among the ten tribes (Havernick), but on the circumstance that the tribe of Joseph, as represented by Ephraim and Manasseh, constituted the main body of the northern kingdom. The addition of Ephraim's name is best accounted for by remembering that in his hand lay the hegemony of the kingdom. "All the house of Israel his companions" signified the rest of the ten tribes. That the two sticks, when joined together in the prophet's hand, were to become one cannot signify that they were then and there to be miraculously united.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
“And you,
וְאַתָּ֣ה (wə·’at·tāh)
Conjunctive waw | Pronoun - second person masculine singular
Strong's 859: Thou and thee, ye and you

son
בֶן־ (ḇen-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 1121: A son

of man,
אָדָ֗ם (’ā·ḏām)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 120: Ruddy, a human being

take
קַח־ (qaḥ-)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 3947: To take

a single
אֶחָ֔ד (’e·ḥāḏ)
Number - masculine singular
Strong's 259: United, one, first

stick
עֵ֣ץ (‘êṣ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 6086: Tree, trees, wood

and write
וּכְתֹ֤ב (ū·ḵə·ṯōḇ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 3789: To grave, to write

on it:
עָלָיו֙ (‘ā·lāw)
Preposition | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

‘Belonging to Judah
לִֽיהוּדָ֔ה (lî·hū·ḏāh)
Preposition-l | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3063: Judah -- 'praised', a son of Jacob, also the southern kingdom, also four Israelites

and to the Israelites
וְלִבְנֵ֥י (wə·liḇ·nê)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l | Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 1121: A son

associated with him.’
חֲבֵרָ֑יו (ḥă·ḇê·rāw)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 2270: United, associate, companion

Then take
וּלְקַח֙ (ū·lə·qaḥ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 3947: To take

another
אֶחָ֔ד (’e·ḥāḏ)
Number - masculine singular
Strong's 259: United, one, first

stick
עֵ֣ץ (‘êṣ)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 6086: Tree, trees, wood

and write
וּכְת֣וֹב (ū·ḵə·ṯō·wḇ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 3789: To grave, to write

on it:
עָלָ֗יו (‘ā·lāw)
Preposition | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

‘Belonging to Joseph—
לְיוֹסֵף֙ (lə·yō·w·sêp̄)
Preposition-l | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3130: Joseph -- 'he increases', a son of Jacob, also the name of several Israelites

the stick
עֵ֣ץ (‘êṣ)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 6086: Tree, trees, wood

of Ephraim—
אֶפְרַ֔יִם (’ep̄·ra·yim)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 669: Ephraim -- a son of Joseph, also his descendants and their territory

and to all
וְכָל־ (wə·ḵāl)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

the house
בֵּ֥ית (bêṯ)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 1004: A house

of Israel
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל (yiś·rā·’êl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3478: Israel -- 'God strives', another name of Jacob and his desc

associated with him.’
חֲבֵרָֽיו׃ (ḥă·ḇê·rāw)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 2270: United, associate, companion


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OT Prophets: Ezekiel 37:16 You son of man take one stick (Ezek. Eze Ezk)
Ezekiel 37:15
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