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

Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of [a]Magog, the prince of Rosh, of Meshech, and of Tubal, and prophesy against him,

And say, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince (ruler) of Rosh, of Meshech, and of Tubal.

And I will turn you back and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you forth and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them handling swords—

Persia, Cush, and Put or Libya with them, all of them with shield and helmet,

Gomer and all his hordes, the house of Togarmah in the uttermost parts of the north and all his hordes—many people are with you.

You [Gog] be prepared; yes, prepare yourself, you and all your companies that are assembled about you, and you be a guard and a commander for them.

After many days you shall be visited and mustered [for service]; in the latter years you shall go against the land that is restored from the ravages of the sword, where people are gathered out of many nations upon the mountains of Israel, which had been a continual waste; but its [people] are brought forth out of the nations and they shall dwell securely, all of them.(A)

You shall ascend and come like a storm; you shall be like a cloud to cover the land, you and all your hosts and many people with you.

10 Thus says the Lord God: At the same time thoughts shall come into your mind, and you will devise an evil plan.

11 And you will say, I will go up against an open country [the land of unwalled villages]; I will fall upon those who are at rest, who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls and having neither bars nor gates,

12 To take spoil and prey, to turn your hand upon the desolate places now inhabited and assail the people gathered out of the nations, who have obtained livestock and goods, who dwell at the center of the earth [Palestine].

13 Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish, with all their lionlike cubs [or satellite areas], shall say to you, Have you come to take spoil? Have you gathered your hosts to take the prey? To carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take a great spoil?

14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog, Thus says the Lord God: In that day when My people Israel dwell securely, will you not know it and be aroused?

15 And you will come from your place out of the uttermost parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great host, a mighty army.

16 And you shall come up against My people Israel like a cloud to cover the land. In the latter days I will bring you against My land, that the nations may know, understand, and realize Me when My holiness shall be vindicated through you [vindicated and honored in your overwhelming destruction], O Gog, before their eyes.

17 Thus says the Lord God: Are you he of whom I have spoken in olden times by My servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days for years that I would bring you [Gog] against them?

18 But in that day when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, says the Lord God, My wrath shall come up into My nostrils.

19 For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath have I said, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking or cosmic catastrophe in the land of Israel,

20 So that the fishes of the sea and the birds of the heavens, 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 tremble and shake at My presence; and the mountains shall be thrown down and the steep places shall fall and every wall [natural or artificial] shall fall to the ground.

21 And I will call for a sword against [Gog] throughout all My mountains, says the Lord God, every man’s sword shall be against his brother [over the dividing of booty].

22 And with pestilence and with bloodshed will I enter into judgment with [Gog], and I will rain upon him and upon his hordes and upon the many peoples that are with him torrents of rain and great hailstones, fire and brimstone.(B)

23 Thus will I demonstrate My greatness and My holiness, and I will be recognized, understood, and known in the eyes of many nations; yes, they shall know that I am the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service].

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 38:2 Gog is a symbolic name, representing the leader of the world powers antagonistic to God (see also Rev. 20:8). Meshech and Tubal are understood to have been the same as the Moschi and Tibareni of the Greeks—tribes that inhabited regions in the Caucasus. Rosh, which some would identify with Russia, must have designated a land and people somewhere in the same area. And therefore the Gog of Ezekiel must be viewed as in some sense the head of the high regions in the northwest of Asia. (Patrick Fairbairn, The Imperial Bible-dictionary).

The Lord’s Great Victory Over the Nations

38 The word of the Lord came to me: “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 and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Gog, chief prince of[b] Meshek and Tubal.(D) 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) Persia, Cush[c](G) and Put(H) will be with them, all with shields and helmets, 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.

“‘Get ready; be prepared,(L) you and all the hordes gathered about you, and take command of them. 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) 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