17. And join these, one to the other, for yourself, as one piece of wood. And they will be united in your hand.
18. Then, when the sons of your people will speak to you, saying: 'Will you not tell us what you intend by this?'
19. you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will take up the wood of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, which are joined to him, and I will put them together with the wood of Judah, and I will make them one piece of wood. And they will be one in his hand.
20. Then the pieces of wood, on which you have written, will be in your hand, before their eyes.
21. And you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will take up the sons of Israel, from the midst of the nations to which they have gone, and I will gather them together on every side, and I will lead them onto their own soil.