Ezekiel 38:1-16

The LORD’s Great Victory Over the Nations

1 The word of the LORD came to me:

2 “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of^[a] Meshek and Tubal; 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.

4 I will turn you around, put hooks 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.

5 Persia, Cush^[c] and Put will be with them, all with shields and helmets,

6 also Gomer with all its troops, and Beth Togarmah from the far north with all its troops—the many nations with you.

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

8 After many days 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 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.

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.^[d] ”

13 Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish 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?” ’

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, will you not take notice of it?

15 You will come from your place in the far north, you and many nations with you, all of them riding on horses, a great horde, a mighty army.

16 You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud that covers the land. In days to come, Gog, I will bring you against my land, so that the nations may know me when I am proved holy through you before their eyes.

Ezekiel 38:1-16 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 38

This chapter gives an account of an enemy of the Jews, under the name of Gog, that shall invade their land, and disturb their peace, after they are settled in it; who is described by the countries over which he rules; and against whom the prophet is bid to set his face, and prophesy of him, the Lord being against him; and who would cause him to return from Judea unsuccessful, Eze 38:1-4, the number of his confederates, their warlike accoutrements and preparations for the invasion of the land of Israel, are foretold, Eze 38:4-9, his wicked designs and intentions to spoil and plunder the inhabitants of it, Eze 38:10-12, the notice taken of his projects by the merchants of Tarshish and others, Eze 38:13,14, his coming up to invade the land is again observed for the certainty of it; and the place from whence, and the time when he should come, are mentioned, as well as God's design in it, and which had been before predicted by his prophets, Eze 38:14-17, and the chapter is concluded with a denunciation of divine wrath, which shall be terrible to all the inhabitants of the earth, and to all creatures in heaven, earth, and sea; when he and his forces shall be destroyed by the sword, by pestilence, and by dreadful storms and tempests, Eze 38:18-23, of which destruction a fuller account is given in the next chapter.

the preceding prophecy did, as the copulative and shows; which predicts the restoration and conversion of the Jews; the union of their tribes under the King Messiah; and their settlement in their own land: and this respects some disturbance they should meet with upon it, for a short time, by a powerful enemy hereafter described:

\\saying\\; as follows:

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Cross References

• 1. ver 14; Ezekiel 39:11
• 2. S Genesis 10:2
• 3. S Ezekiel 27:13; Revelation 20:8
• 4. Ezekiel 39:1
• 5. S 2 Kings 19:28
• 6. S Isaiah 43:17; Ezekiel 29:4; Ezekiel 39:2; Daniel 11:40
• 7. S Genesis 10:6
• 8. S Genesis 10:6; S Ezekiel 27:10
• 9. S Genesis 10:2
• 10. S Genesis 10:3; Ezekiel 27:14
• 11. S Ezekiel 32:30
• 12. S Isaiah 8:9
• 13. Isaiah 24:22
• 14. S Isaiah 11:11
• 15. ver 14; Jeremiah 23:6; S Ezekiel 28:26; Joel 3:1
• 16. Isaiah 25:4; Isaiah 28:2
• 17. ver 16; Jeremiah 4:13; Joel 2:2
• 18. Revelation 20:8
• 19. S Jeremiah 17:10
• 20. Psalms 36:4; Micah 2:1
• 21. S Genesis 34:25
• 22. Jeremiah 49:31; Zechariah 2:4
• 23. S Genesis 10:7; Ezekiel 27:22
• 24. S Genesis 25:3
• 25. S Genesis 10:4
• 26. Isaiah 10:6; Isaiah 33:23; S Jeremiah 15:13
• 27. S ver 8; S Leviticus 25:18; S Jeremiah 16:15; Zechariah 2:5
• 28. Ezekiel 32:30
• 29. Ezekiel 39:2; Revelation 20:8
• 30. S ver 9
• 31. Joel 3:11
• 32. S Leviticus 10:3
• 33. Isaiah 29:23; Ezekiel 39:21

Footnotes

• [a] Or "the prince of Rosh,"
• [b] Or "Gog, prince of Rosh,"
• [c] That is, the upper Nile region
• [d] The Hebrew for this phrase means "the navel of the earth" .
• [e] Or "her strong lions"