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38 The Lord gave this message to me: 2 ‘Son of man, turn and look towards Gog, in the land of Magog. He is the most important prince of Meshech and Tubal. Speak my message to warn him. 3 Say, “This is what the Almighty Lord says: I am your enemy, Gog, prince of Meshech and Tubal. 4 I will turn you around. I will put hooks into your mouth and catch you. I will take hold of you and your great army, with its horses and their riders. I will take hold of all your soldiers, who are ready to fight with their swords and their shields. I will pull them all away. 5 Soldiers from Persia, Ethiopia and Libya will be there with your army. They all have shields and helmets. 6 All the soldiers from Gomer will join you. An army from Beth Togarmah will also come with all its soldiers from far away in the north. So armies from many nations will be with you.”

7 Say to Gog, “Prepare to fight! You must be ready to command all the armies that are with you. 8 After many days you will have to bring your soldiers together to fight a battle. In the years at the end of time, you will go to attack the land of Israel. It will be a land that has become strong again after war. The people there will have returned from other nations. They will all be living safely in that land that had become heaps of stones. They will all be together on Israel's mountains. 9 Then you will attack them. You, with your armies and all the people with you, will attack them like a great storm. You will be like a dark cloud that covers the land.

10 This is what the Almighty Lord says: On that day you will have evil thoughts. You will decide to do a wicked thing. 11 You will say: ‘We will attack a land where the villages have no walls around them. The people are living quietly in peace and we will attack them. They have no walls or strong gates to keep them safe. 12 We will fight them and take their things for ourselves. The people there have come back from other nations where they lived. They are living in their homes which had become heaps of stones. Now they have got many animals and valuable things. Their land has become an important place in the middle of everywhere.’

13 The people of Sheba and Dedan, and the traders and leaders of Tarshish will ask you questions. They will say, ‘Why have you brought all your armies together? Have you come to attack Israel and take away their valuable things for yourselves? Will you take away their silver and their gold? Will you take their animals and all their things? Will you carry away such a great load of things for yourselves? ’ ”

14 So, son of man, you must prophesy to Gog. Say to him, “This is what the Almighty Lord says: That is what you will decide to do at that time. You will do it when you see that my people, the Israelites, are living safely. 15 You will come from your country far away in the north. You will bring many soldiers with you. All of them will be riding on horses. They will be a great army of many soldiers. 16 Your army will be like a cloud that covers the land when you attack my people, the Israelites. In the days at the end of time I will bring you to attack my land. Yes, Gog, I will use you to show the nations that I am holy. Then they will know who I am.

17 This is what the Almighty Lord says: In years long ago, I gave my servants, the prophets of Israel, messages about you. At that time they prophesied that I would bring you to attack my people. 18 I, the Almighty Lord , say this: On the day that Gog attacks the land of Israel, I will become more and more angry. 19 I promise you this, because I am so very angry. On that day, there will be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. 20 Everything that lives will shake with fear when they see what I am doing. The fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the wild animals, the small animals that move along the ground and all the people on earth will be very afraid. I will make the mountains and hills break into pieces. All the walls in the cities will fall down.

21 I will command the soldiers on all the mountains of my land to attack Gog. That is what I, the Almighty Lord , say. Gog's soldiers will fight against each other with their swords. 22 I will judge Gog. I will punish his men with disease and death. I will send storms of rain, hail, fire and sulphur. They will pour down from the sky on him and on his armies. 23 I will show all the nations that I am great and I am holy. Then they will know that I am the Lord .” ’

The Message Against Gog

38 The word of the Lord came to me. He said, 2 “Son of man, [ a ] look toward Gog in the land of Magog. He is the most important leader of the nations of Meshech and Tubal. Speak for me against Gog. 3 Tell him that this is what the Lord God says: ‘Gog, you are the most important leader of the nations of Meshech and Tubal, but I am against you. 4 I will capture you and bring you back. I will bring back all the men in your army, all the horses, and horse soldiers. I will put hooks in your mouths, and I will bring all of you back. All the soldiers will be wearing their uniforms with all their shields and swords. 5 Soldiers from Persia, Ethiopia, and Put will be with them. They will all be wearing their shields and helmets. 6 There will also be Gomer with all its groups of soldiers, and there will be the nation of Togarmah [ b ] from the far north with all its groups of soldiers. There will be many people in that parade of prisoners.

7 “‘Be prepared. Yes, prepare yourself and the armies that have joined with you. You must watch and be ready. 8 After a long time you will be called for duty. In the later years you will come into the land that has been healed from war. The people in that land were gathered from many nations and brought back to the mountains of Israel. In the past, the mountains of Israel had been destroyed again and again. But these people will have come back from those other nations. They all will have lived in safety. 9 But you will come to attack them. You will come like a storm. You will come like a thundercloud covering the land. You and all your groups of soldiers from many nations will come to attack them.’”

10 This is what the Lord God says: “At that time an idea will come into your mind. You will begin to make an evil plan. 11 You will say, ‘I will go attack the country that has towns without walls. The people there live in peace and think they are safe. There are no walls around the cities to protect them. They don’t have any locks on their gates—they don’t even have gates! 12 I will defeat them and take all their valuable things away from them. I will fight against the places that were destroyed but now have people living in them. I will fight against the people who were gathered from the nations. Now they have cattle and property. They live at the crossroads of the world. [ c ]

13 “Sheba, Dedan, and merchants of Tarshish and all the cities they trade with will ask you, ‘Did you come to capture valuable things? Did you bring your groups of soldiers together to grab the good things and to carry away silver, gold, cattle, and property? Did you come to take all those valuable things?’

14 “Son of man, speak to Gog for me. Tell him that this is what the Lord God says: ‘You will come to attack my people while they are living in peace and safety. 15 You will come from your place out of the far north, and you will bring many people with you. All of them will ride on horses. You will be a large and a powerful army. 16 You will come to fight against my people Israel. You will be like a thundercloud covering the land. When that time comes, I will bring you to fight against my land. Then, Gog, the nations will learn how powerful I am! They will learn to respect me and know that I am holy. They will see what I will do to you!’”

17 This is what the Lord God says: “At that time people will remember that I spoke about you in the past. They will remember that I used my servants, the prophets of Israel. They will remember that the prophets of Israel spoke for me in the past and said that I would bring you to fight against them.”

18 The Lord God said, “At that time Gog will come to fight against the land of Israel. I will show my anger. 19 In my anger and strong emotions, I make this promise: I promise that there will be a strong earthquake in the land of Israel. 20 At that time all living things will shake with fear. The fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the wild animals in the fields, and all the little creatures crawling on the ground will shake with fear. The mountains will fall down and the cliffs will break apart. Every wall will fall to the ground!”

21 The Lord God says, “On the mountains of Israel, I will call for every kind of terror against [ d ] Gog. His soldiers will be so afraid that they will attack each other and kill each other with their swords. 22 I will punish Gog with diseases and death. I will cause hailstones, fire, and sulfur to rain down on Gog and his groups of soldiers from many nations. 23 Then I will show how great I am. I will prove that I am holy. Many nations will see me do these things, and they will learn who I am. Then they will know that I am the Lord .

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 38:2 Son of man This was usually just a way of saying “a person” or “a human being.” Here, it is a way of addressing Ezekiel. Also in verse 14.
  2. Ezekiel 38:6 nation of Togarmah Or “Beth Togarmah.”
  3. Ezekiel 38:12 They live … the world The powerful countries must travel through there to get to all the other powerful countries.
  4. Ezekiel 38:21 every kind of terror against This is from the ancient Greek version. The standard Hebrew text has “a sword against.”

38 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,

3 And say, Thus saith the Lord God ; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:

4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:

5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:

6 Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.

7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.

8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.

9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.

10 Thus saith the Lord God ; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:

11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,

12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.

13 Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?

14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord God ; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?

15 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:

16 And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.

17 Thus saith the Lord God ; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?

18 And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God , that my fury shall come up in my face.

19 For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;

20 So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.

21 And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord God : every man's sword shall be against his brother.

22 And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.

23 Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord .

Prophecy about Gog and Future Invasion of Israel

38 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, set your face toward ( A ) Gog of the land of ( B ) Magog, the ( C ) chief prince of ( D ) Meshech and ( E ) Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3 and say, ‘This is what the Lord [ a ] God says: “Behold, I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. 4 So I will turn you around and put hooks into your jaws, and I will ( F ) bring you out, and all your army, ( G ) horses and horsemen, all of them magnificently dressed, a great contingent with shield and [ b ] buckler, all of them wielding swords; 5 ( H ) Persia, [ c ] ( I ) Cush, and ( J ) Put with them, all of them with buckler and helmet; 6 ( K ) Gomer with all its troops; ( L ) Beth-togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops—many peoples with you.

7 ( M ) Be ready, and be prepared, you and all your contingents that are assembled around you, and be a guard for them. 8 ( N ) After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been ( O ) gathered from many [ d ] nations to the ( P ) mountains of Israel which had been a continual place of ruins; but [ e ] its people were brought out from the [ f ] nations, and they are ( Q ) living securely, all of them. 9 And you will go up, you will come ( R ) like a storm; you will be like a ( S ) cloud covering the land, you and all your troops, and many peoples with you.”

10 ‘This is what the Lord God says: “It will come about on that day, that [ g ] thoughts will come into your mind and you will ( T ) devise an evil plan, 11 and you will say, ‘I will go up against the land of [ h ] ( U ) unwalled villages. I will go against those who are ( V ) at rest, who live securely, all of them living without walls and having no bars or gates, 12 to ( W ) capture spoils and to seize plunder, to turn your hand against the ruins that are now inhabited, and against the people who are gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who live at the [ i ] center of the world.’ 13 ( X ) Sheba and ( Y ) Dedan and the merchants of ( Z ) Tarshish with all its [ j ] villages will say to you, ‘Have you come to capture spoils? Have you assembled your contingent to seize plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to capture great ( AA ) spoils?’”’

14 “Therefore prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “On that day when My people Israel are ( AB ) living securely, will you not know it ? 15 ( AC ) You will come from your place out of the remote parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding horses, a large assembly and a mighty army; 16 and you will come up against My people Israel like a cloud to cover the land. It shall come about in the last days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may ( AD ) know Me when I ( AE ) show Myself holy through you before their eyes, Gog.”

17 ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Are you the one of whom I spoke in former days through My servants the prophets of Israel, who ( AF ) prophesied in those days for many years that I would bring you against them? 18 It will come about on that day, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,” declares the Lord God , “that My fury will mount up in My ( AG ) anger. 19 In My ( AH ) zeal and in My blazing wrath I declare that on that day there will certainly be a great [ k ] ( AI ) earthquake in the land of Israel. 20 ( AJ ) The fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the animals of the field, all the crawling things that crawl on the earth, and all mankind who are on the face of the earth will shake at My presence; and the ( AK ) mountains will be thrown down, the steep pathways will [ l ] collapse, and every wall will fall to the ground. 21 And I will call for a ( AL ) sword against [ m ] him on all My mountains,” declares the Lord God . “ ( AM ) Every man’s sword will be against his brother. 22 With plague and with blood I will enter into ( AN ) judgment with him; and I will rain on him and on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, [ n ] a torrential rain, ( AO ) hailstones, fire, and brimstone. 23 So I will prove Myself great, show Myself holy, and ( AP ) make Myself known in the sight of many nations; and they will know that I am the Lord .”’

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 38:3 Heb YHWH , usually rendered Lord , and so throughout the ch
  2. Ezekiel 38:4 I.e., small shield
  3. Ezekiel 38:5 Or Ethiopia
  4. Ezekiel 38:8 Lit peoples
  5. Ezekiel 38:8 Lit it was
  6. Ezekiel 38:8 Lit peoples
  7. Ezekiel 38:10 Lit words
  8. Ezekiel 38:11 Or open country
  9. Ezekiel 38:12 Lit navel
  10. Ezekiel 38:13 As in ancient versions; MT young lions
  11. Ezekiel 38:19 Or shaking
  12. Ezekiel 38:20 Lit fall
  13. Ezekiel 38:21 I.e., Gog
  14. Ezekiel 38:22 Lit an overflowing

The Lord ’s Great Victory Over the Nations

38 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face against Gog, ( A ) of the land of Magog, ( B ) the chief prince of [ a ] Meshek and Tubal; ( C ) prophesy against him 3 and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Gog, chief prince of [ b ] Meshek and Tubal. ( D ) 4 I will turn you around, put hooks ( E ) in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army—your horses, your horsemen fully armed, and a great horde with large and small shields, all of them brandishing their swords. ( F ) 5 Persia, Cush [ c ] ( G ) and Put ( H ) will be with them, all with shields and helmets, 6 also Gomer ( I ) with all its troops, and Beth Togarmah ( J ) from the far north ( K ) with all its troops—the many nations with you.

7 “‘Get ready; be prepared, ( L ) you and all the hordes gathered about you, and take command of them. 8 After many days ( M ) you will be called to arms. In future years you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations ( N ) to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and now all of them live in safety. ( O ) 9 You and all your troops and the many nations with you will go up, advancing like a storm; ( P ) you will be like a cloud ( Q ) covering the land. ( R )

10 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind ( S ) and you will devise an evil scheme. ( T ) 11 You will say, “I will invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people ( U ) —all of them living without walls and without gates and bars. ( V ) 12 I will plunder and loot and turn my hand against the resettled ruins and the people gathered from the nations, rich in livestock and goods, living at the center of the land. [ d ] 13 Sheba ( W ) and Dedan ( X ) and the merchants of Tarshish ( Y ) and all her villages [ e ] will say to you, “Have you come to plunder? Have you gathered your hordes to loot, to carry off silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods and to seize much plunder? ( Z ) ”’

14 “Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: In that day, when my people Israel are living in safety, ( AA ) will you not take notice of it? 15 You will come from your place in the far north, ( AB ) you and many nations with you, all of them riding on horses, a great horde, a mighty army. ( AC ) 16 You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud ( AD ) that covers the land. ( AE ) In days to come, Gog, I will bring you against my land, so that the nations may know me when I am proved holy ( AF ) through you before their eyes. ( AG )

17 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: You are the one I spoke of in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel. At that time they prophesied for years that I would bring you against them. 18 This is what will happen in that day: When Gog attacks the land of Israel, my hot anger will be aroused, declares the Sovereign Lord . 19 In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake ( AH ) in the land of Israel. ( AI ) 20 The fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble ( AJ ) at my presence. The mountains will be overturned, ( AK ) the cliffs will crumble ( AL ) and every wall will fall to the ground. ( AM ) 21 I will summon a sword ( AN ) against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Sovereign Lord . Every man’s sword will be against his brother. ( AO ) 22 I will execute judgment ( AP ) on him with plague and bloodshed; ( AQ ) I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones ( AR ) and burning sulfur ( AS ) on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him. ( AT ) 23 And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord . ( AU )

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 38:2 Or the prince of Rosh,
  2. Ezekiel 38:3 Or Gog, prince of Rosh,
  3. Ezekiel 38:5 That is, the upper Nile region
  4. Ezekiel 38:12 The Hebrew for this phrase means the navel of the earth .
  5. Ezekiel 38:13 Or her strong lions