Ezekiel 38:4

4 and I will turn you around, and I will place hooks in your cheeks, and I will bring you out and all of your horses and horsemen {fully armed}, all of them, [a] great crowd, holding [a] shield, and small shield, [and] holding swords, all of them.

Ezekiel 38:4 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 38:4

And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws
Or, I will put hooks in thy jaws, and with them turn thee back; or rather, "turn thee about" ^F6; and lead thee where and as I please; for this is not to be understood of God's putting hooks into his jaws, and leading him back from his enterprise of invading the land of Judea; as he put a hook in the nose and a bridle in the lips of the king of Assyria, and brought him back from Jerusalem, ( Isaiah 37:29 ) , but of his using him thus in his providence to draw him to the land of Israel, out of his own land, as fishes are drawn with the hook out of the water. The sense is, that he would so work upon and influence the heart of Gog, that he should be inclined to come out of his own land and invade Judea; just as the Lord is said to draw Sisera and his army, ( Judges 4:7 ) , as Kimchi and Ben Melech observe. So the Targum,

``I will persuade thee, and put hooks in thy jaws;''

that is, incline his heart to take such a step, which should be to his destruction: and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army;
all his janizaries, and large army out of Turkey, and other parts of his dominions: horses and horsemen;
the Turkish armies, chiefly consisting of cavalry; (See Gill on Revelation 9:16): all of them clothed with all sorts of [armour];
or completely clothed, as the Targum; for the word "armour" is not in the text; and besides, their armour is particularly mentioned afterwards; and so Kimchi has it, with all kind of ornaments, richly clothed and decorated, especially the principal officers, and, so made a fine show: even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords;
or large armies, as the Targum; the Turks have always been used to bring prodigious large armies into the field; (See Gill on Revelation 9:16).

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FOOTNOTES:

F6 (Kytbbwv) "circumducam te", Piscator; "circumagam te", Grotius.

Ezekiel 38:4 In-Context

2 "Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the head leader of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him.

3 And you must say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Look! I [am] against you, Gog, the head leader of Meshach and Tubal,

4 and I will turn you around, and I will place hooks in your cheeks, and I will bring you out and all of your horses and horsemen {fully armed}, all of them, [a] great crowd, holding [a] shield, and small shield, [and] holding swords, all of them.

5 Persia, Cush, and Put [are] with them, all of them, with [a] small shield and helmet.

6 Gomer and all of its troops, Beth Togarmah, the remote areas of the north, and with all of its troops and many peoples with them.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "give"
• [b]. Literally "clothed of fullness"
• [c]. Or "buckler"
• [d]. Or "wielding"