Ezekiel 38:11

11 You will say, “I will invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people—all of them living without walls and without gates and bars.

Ezekiel 38:11 in Other Translations

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,

11 and say, 'I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will fall upon the quiet people who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having no bars or gates,'

11 You will say, ‘Israel is an unprotected land filled with unwalled villages! I will march against her and destroy these people who live in such confidence!

11 You'll say, "I'm going to invade a country without defenses, attack an unsuspecting, carefree people going about their business - no gates to their cities, no locks on their doors.

11 You will say: I will go up against a land of open villages; I will come against a tranquil people who are living securely, all of them living without walls and without bars or gates-

Ezekiel 38:11 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 38:11

And thou shall say
What came into his mind, and what he thought of; this he shall say to his privy counsellors and ministers of state; or to the generals and officers of his army; or to his confederates and allies, and even to them all, to have their opinion and approbation of it; and to encourage them to join him, and go with him: I will go up to the land of unwalled villages;
a land which has nothing but villages in it, and those no walls about them to protect them: this he said by way of contempt; and the Septuagint and Arabic versions render it "the abject land"; and to observe how easily he could conquer it, there being nothing in his way to hinder him, or give him trouble: I will go to them that are at rest, and dwell safely:
as the Jews will do in the latter day, when they shall own and acknowledge the Messiah, ( Jeremiah 23:5 Jeremiah 23:6 ) , and dwell in their own land, where they will be quiet and peaceable, and think and do no harm to any, nor mistrust their neighbours doing any harm to them; but shall live in the utmost tranquillity and security; and which Gog or the Turks will take the advantage of; and from hence promise themselves an easy conquest of them: all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates;
no walls to their cities; no gates to walls; nor bars to gates; but without either; being under the protection of God, and putting their trust in him, who is a wall of fire round about his people; and is better to them, than gates with bars.

Ezekiel 38:11 In-Context

9 You and all your troops and the many nations with you will go up, advancing like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land.

10 “ ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil scheme.

11 You will say, “I will invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people—all of them living without walls and without gates and bars.

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. ”

13 Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all her villages 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?” ’

Cross References

• 1. S Genesis 34:25
• 2. Jeremiah 49:31; Zechariah 2:4