Ezekiel 38-39

Contemporary English Version

Gog Invades Israel

38 The Lord said:

^2 (A) Ezekiel, son of man, condemn Gog, that wicked ruler of the kingdoms of Meshech and Tubal in the land of Magog. Tell him:

³ I, the Lord God, am your enemy, ⁴ and I will make you powerless! I will put a hook in your jaw and drag away both you and your large army. You command cavalry troops that wear heavy armor and carry shields and swords. ⁵ Your army includes soldiers from Persia, Ethiopia,^[a] and Libya, ⁶ as well as from Gomer and Beth-Togarmah in the north. Your army is enormous!

⁷ So keep your troops prepared to fight, ⁸ because in a few years, I will command you to invade Israel, a country that was ruined by war. It was deserted for a long time, but its people have returned from the foreign nations where they once lived. The Israelites now live in peace in the mountains of their own land. ⁹ But you and your army will attack them like a fierce thunderstorm and surround them like a cloud.

¹⁰ When that day comes, I know that you will have an evil plan ¹¹ to take advantage of Israel, that weak and peaceful country where people live safely inside towns that have no walls or gates or locks. ¹² You will rob the people in towns that were once a pile of rubble. These people lived as prisoners in foreign nations, but they have returned to Israel, the most important place in the world, and they own livestock and property. ¹³ The people of Sheba and Dedan, along with merchants from villages in^[b] southern Spain,^[c] will be your allies. They will want some of the silver and gold, as well as the livestock and property that your army takes from Israel.

¹⁴ I, the Lord God, know that when you see^[d] my people Israel living in peace, ¹⁵ you will lead your powerful cavalry from your kingdom in the north. ¹⁶ You will attack my people like a storm-cloud that covers their land. I will let you invade my country Israel, so that every nation on earth will know that I, the Lord, am holy.

Judgment on Gog

¹⁷ The Lord said to Gog:

Long ago, I ordered my prophets to warn the people of Israel that someday I would send an enemy to attack them. You, Gog, are that enemy, and that day is coming. ¹⁸ When you invade Israel, I will become furious, ¹⁹ and in my anger I will send a terrible earthquake to shake Israel. ²⁰ Every living thing on earth will tremble in fear of me—every fish and bird, every wild animal and reptile, and every human. Mountains will crumble, cliffs will fall, and cities will collapse. ²¹ I, the Lord, will make the mountains of Israel turn against you.^[e] Your troops will be so terrified that they will attack each other. ²² I will strike you with diseases and punish you with death. You and your army will be pounded with rainstorms, hailstones, and burning sulfur. ²³ I will do these things to show the world that I, the Lord, am holy.

Gog Is Defeated

The Lord said:

39 Ezekiel, son of man, condemn Gog and tell him:

You are the ruler of Meshech and Tubal, but I, the Lord, am your enemy! ² I will turn you around and drag you from the north until you reach the mountains of Israel. ³ I will knock the bow out of your left hand and the arrows out of your right hand, ^4 (B) and you and your army will die on those mountains. Then birds and wild animals will eat the flesh ⁵ of your dead bodies left lying in open fields. I, the Lord, have spoken.

⁶ I will set fire to the land of Magog and to those nations along the seacoast that think they are so secure, and they will know that I am the Lord.

⁷ My people Israel will know me, and they will no longer disgrace my holy name. Everyone on earth will know that I am the holy Lord God of Israel. ⁸ The day is coming when these things will happen, just as I have promised.

⁹ When that day comes, the people in the towns of Israel will collect the weapons of their dead enemies. They will use these shields, bows and arrows, spears, and clubs as firewood, and there will be enough to last for seven years. ¹⁰ They will burn these weapons instead of gathering sticks or chopping down trees. That's how the Israelites will take revenge on those who robbed and abused them. I, the Lord, have spoken.

The Burial of Gog

The Lord said:

¹¹ After Gog has been destroyed, I will bury him and his army in Israel, in Travelers'^[f] Valley, east of the Dead Sea. That graveyard will be so large that it will block the way of anyone who tries to walk through the valley,^[g] which will then be known as “The Valley of Gog's Army.”^{[h] 12} The Israelites will spend seven months burying dead bodies and cleaning up their land. ¹³ Everyone will help with the burial, and they will be honored for this on the day the brightness of my glory is seen. ¹⁴ After those seven months, the people will appoint a group of men to look for any dead bodies left unburied. This must be done for seven months to make sure that the land is no longer unclean. ¹⁵ Whenever they find a human bone, they will set up a marker next to it. Then the gravediggers will bury it in “The Valley of Gog's Army” ¹⁶ near the town of “Gog's Army.” After that, the land will be pure again.

^17 (C) Ezekiel, son of man, I am going to hold a feast on Israel's mountains and offer sacrifices there. So invite all the birds and wild animals to come from every direction and eat the meat of sacrifices and drink the blood. The birds and animals ¹⁸ will feast on the bodies of warriors and foreign rulers that I will sacrifice like sheep, goats, and bulls. ¹⁹ I want the birds and animals to eat until they are full and drink until they are drunk. ²⁰ They will come to my table and stuff themselves with the flesh of horses and warriors of every kind. I, the Lord God, have spoken.

Israel Will Be Restored

The Lord said:

²¹ When I punish the nations of the earth, they will see the brightness of my glory. ²² The people of Israel will know from then on that I am the Lord their God. ²³ Foreign nations will realize that the Israelites were forced to leave their own land because they sinned against me. I turned my back on my people and let enemies attack and kill them. ²⁴ Their lives were wicked and corrupt, and they deserved to be punished.

²⁵ Now I will show mercy to the people of Israel and bring them back from the nations where they are living. They are Jacob's descendants, so I will bless them and show that I am holy. ²⁶ They will live safely in their own land, but will be ashamed when they remember their evil ways and how they disgraced me.^{[i] 27} Foreign nations will watch as I take the Israelites from enemy lands and bring them back home, and those nations will see that I am holy.

²⁸ My people will realize that I, the Lord their God, sent them away as prisoners and now will bring them back to their own land. ²⁹ Never again will I turn my back on the people of Israel, and my Spirit will live in them. I, the Lord, have spoken.