Ezekiel 39:17

17 Forsooth, thou, son of man, the Lord God saith these things, Say thou to each bird, and to all fowls, and to all beasts of the field, Come ye together, and haste ye, run ye together on each side to my sacrifice, which I slay to you, a great sacrifice on the hills of Israel, that ye eat fleshes, and drink blood. (And, thou, son of man, the Lord God saith these things, Say thou to each and every bird, and to all beasts of the field, Come ye together, and haste ye, run ye together on every side to my sacrifice, which I shall kill for you, yea, a great sacrifice on the hills of Israel, so that ye can eat flesh, or meat, and drink blood.)

Ezekiel 39:17 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 39:17

And thou, son of man, thus saith the Lord God
What the prophet is ordered by the Lord to say is to creatures not then in being, nor yet; and, were they, they could not understand his words; but however, when the time comes, partly by an instinct in nature, and partly by a particular direction of Providence, they will be gathered together upon so great a slaughter of men; for what follows, though mentioned in this place, will be between the slaughter of Gog's army, and the burial of it, as Kimchi well observes; after the burial such an invitation would be impertinent; and which is made not for the sake of creatures, but of men, to denote the certainty of this great carnage that shall be made: speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field;
this must be understood of such fowls, and such beasts, as devour dead carcasses, for all will not feed on them; a like invitation is given after the battle at Armageddon, the same with this here, ( Revelation 19:17 ) only with this difference, there an angel is said to cry, here the prophet; there to the fowls only, here to the beasts of the field also; no doubt respect there is had to this passage: assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my
sacrifices that I do sacrifice for you;
such a slaughter of men is called a sacrifice, because there is a likeness between that and the killing of beasts for sacrifice; besides, these enemies of God and his people will fall a victim to his justice, as well as be a repast for fowls and beasts, who are invited, as to a feast, to feed upon them; and there being so much of the power and providence of God in all this, it is ascribed to him, and is called "the supper of the great God", ( Revelation 19:17 ) : even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel;
where Gog's army will fall, ( Ezekiel 39:4 ) , and in such vast numbers, that it may well be called a great sacrifice; the sacrifice of a great army by the great God, and for such great number of creatures: that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood;
the flesh and blood of the sacrifices, even of slain men, which carnivorous creatures delight in. The Targum is,

``draw near everywhere round about to the slain, which I slay for you with a great slaughter upon the mountains of Israel, and ye shall eat the flesh, and drink the blood.''

Ezekiel 39:17 In-Context

15 and they shall compass going about the land; and when they shall see the bone of a man, they shall set a title, or a notable sign, beside it, till the buriers of carrions bury it in the valley of the multitude of Gog. (and going about they shall go all around the land; and when they shall see a person's bone, they shall set a title, or a notable sign, beside it, until the buriers of the dead bodies can bury it in the Valley of Hamongog.)

16 Soothly the name of the city (nearby) is Hamonah; and (so) they shall cleanse the land.

17 Forsooth, thou, son of man, the Lord God saith these things, Say thou to each bird, and to all fowls, and to all beasts of the field, Come ye together, and haste ye, run ye together on each side to my sacrifice, which I slay to you, a great sacrifice on the hills of Israel, that ye eat fleshes, and drink blood. (And, thou, son of man, the Lord God saith these things, Say thou to each and every bird, and to all beasts of the field, Come ye together, and haste ye, run ye together on every side to my sacrifice, which I shall kill for you, yea, a great sacrifice on the hills of Israel, so that ye can eat flesh, or meat, and drink blood.)

18 Ye shall eat the fleshes of strong men, and ye shall drink the blood of princes of earth, of wethers, of lambs, and of bucks of goats, and of bulls, and of beasts made fat, and of all fat things (of Bashan). (Ye shall eat the flesh of strong men, and ye shall drink the blood of the princes of the earth, and of rams, and of lambs, and of goat-bucks, and of bulls, and of the fat beasts of Bashan.)

19 And ye shall eat the inner fatness into fullness, and ye shall drink the blood into drunkenness, of the sacrifice which I shall slay to you (of the sacrifice which I shall kill for you).