Ezekiel 37:15-28

YAHWEH spoke to me, saying, “Son of man, take a stick and carve on it the words, ‘For Judah and all the Israelites with him.’ Then take another stick and carve on it the words, ‘The stick of Ephraim, for Joseph and all the Israelites with him.’ Now join them together to make a single piece of wood to become one stick in your hand. And when your fellow exiles ask, ‘Won’t you tell us what you mean by this?’ answer them, ‘Lord YAHWEH says: Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph that belongs to Ephraim and those tribes loyal to him and join them to the stick of Judah. I will make two sticks into one, a single stick in my hand.’ “Now, show the people the pieces of wood you have written on, and tell them, ‘Lord YAHWEH says this: I will gather the Israelites from the nations where they have gone. I will gather them together from everywhere and bring them to their homeland. And I will make them into a single nation in the mountainous land of Israel and give them one king to be king over them all. They will never again be divided into two nations nor split into two separate kingdoms. Never again will they defile themselves with their disgusting idols, their detestable things, and rebellions. I will save them from always turning back and repeating their old sins. I will cleanse and purify them. They will be my people, and I shall be their God. “ ‘My beloved servant David will reign over them, and he will be one faithful shepherd for them all. They will walk in my ways, respect my laws, and practice them. They will live in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your ancestors once lived. They and their children and grandchildren will live in it forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever. I will make my eternal covenant of peace with them. I will resettle them, and I will bless them and multiply them. I will establish my sanctuary among them forever. I will make my home above them. I will be their God, and they will be my beloved people. When my sanctuary is with them forever, then the nations will realize that I set Israel apart as my own.’ ”