33 “Thus says the Lord God: On the day that ^sI cleanse you from all your iniquities, ^tI will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt. 34 And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by. 35 And they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like ^uthe garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ 36 Then ^vthe nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the Lord; I have rebuilt the ruined places and ^wreplanted that which was desolate. ^xI am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.

37 “Thus says the Lord God: This also ^yI will let the house of Israel ask me to do for them: ^zto increase their people like ^aa flock. 38 Like the flock for sacrifices,^{1 b}like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so ^tshall the waste cities be filled with flocks of people. ^cThen they will know that I am the Lord.”

The Valley of Dry Bones

1 ^dThe hand of the Lord was upon me, and ^ehe brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley;² it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, ^f“Son of man, ^gcan these bones live?” And ^hI answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, ⁱ“Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, ^jO dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause ^kbreath³ to enter you, and you shall live. 6 ^lAnd I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and ^lcover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, ^mand you shall know that I am the Lord.”

7 So I prophesied ⁿas I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, ^oa rattling,⁴ and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But ^pthere was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, ⁱ“Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, ^fson of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from ^qthe four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied ⁿas he commanded me, and ^rthe breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

11 Then he said to me, ^f“Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and ^sour hope is lost; ^twe are indeed cut off.’ 12 Therefore ⁱprophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, ^uI will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And ^vI will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And ^wyou shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And ^xI will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; ^yI have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”

Peace with God Through Faith

1 ^aTherefore, since we have been justified by faith, ^bwe¹ have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also ^cobtained access by faith² into this grace ^din which we stand, and ^ewe³ rejoice⁴ in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we ^frejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering ^gproduces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and ^hhope does not put us to shame, because God’s love ⁱhas been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

6 For ^jwhile we were still weak, at the right time ^kChrist died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but ^lGod shows his love for us in that ^mwhile we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, ⁿwe have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from ^othe wrath of God. 10 For if ^pwhile we were enemies ^qwe were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by ^rhis life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received ^sreconciliation.

Death in Adam, Life in Christ

12 Therefore, just as ^tsin came into the world through one man, and ^udeath through sin, and ^vso death spread to all men⁵ because ^wall sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but ^xsin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not ^ylike the transgression of Adam, ^zwho was a type of ^athe one who was to come.

15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for ^bmany. 16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For ^cthe judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought ^djustification. 17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness ^ereign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

18 Therefore, as one trespass⁶ led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness⁷ leads to justification and life for ^fall men. 19 For as by the one man’s ^gdisobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s ^hobedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now ⁱthe law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, ^jgrace abounded all the more, 21 so that, ^kas sin reigned in death, ^lgrace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.