Ezekiel 38
New King James Version
Gog and Allies Attack Israel
38 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 (A)“Son of man, (B)set your face against (C)Gog, of the land of (D)Magog, [a]the prince of Rosh, (E)Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. 4 (F)I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and (G)lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, (H)all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords. 5 Persia, [b]Ethiopia, and [c]Libya are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; 6 (I)Gomer and all its troops; the house of (J)Togarmah from the far north and all its troops—many people are with you.
7 (K)“Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard for them. 8 (L)After many days (M)you will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword (N)and gathered from many people on (O)the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them (P)dwell safely. 9 You will ascend, coming (Q)like a storm, covering the (R)land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you.”
10 ‘Thus says the Lord God: “On that day it shall come to pass that thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will make an evil plan: 11 You will say, ‘I will go up against a land of (S)unwalled villages; I will (T)go to a peaceful people, (U)who dwell [d]safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates’— 12 to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again inhabited, (V)and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell in the midst of the land. 13 (W)Sheba, (X)Dedan, the merchants (Y)of Tarshish, and all (Z)their young lions will say to you, ‘Have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army to take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder?’ ” ’
14 “Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog, ‘Thus says the Lord God: (AA)“On that day when My people Israel (AB)dwell safely, will you not know it? 15 (AC)Then you will come from your place out of the far north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army. 16 You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be in the latter days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may (AD)know Me, when I am (AE)hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes.” 17 Thus says the Lord God: “Are you he of whom I have spoken in former days by My servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied for years in those days that I would bring you against them?
Judgment on Gog
18 “And it will come to pass at the same time, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,” says the Lord God, “that My fury will show in My face. 19 For (AF)in My jealousy (AG)and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: (AH)‘Surely in that day there shall be a great [e]earthquake in the land of Israel, 20 so that (AI)the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that creep on the earth, and all men who are on the face of the earth shall shake at My presence. (AJ)The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.’ 21 I will (AK)call for (AL)a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains,” says the Lord God. (AM)“Every man’s sword will be against his brother. 22 And I will (AN)bring him to judgment with (AO)pestilence and bloodshed; (AP)I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, (AQ)great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. 23 Thus I will magnify Myself and (AR)sanctify Myself, (AS)and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.” ’
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 38:2 Tg., Vg., Aquila the chief prince of Meshech, also v. 3
- Ezekiel 38:5 Heb. Cush
- Ezekiel 38:5 Heb. Put
- Ezekiel 38:11 securely
- Ezekiel 38:19 Lit. shaking
Ezekiel 38
New American Standard Bible
Prophecy about Gog and Future Invasion of Israel
38 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, set your face toward (A)Gog of the land of (B)Magog, the (C)chief prince of (D)Meshech and (E)Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3 and say, ‘This is what the Lord [a]God says: “Behold, I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. 4 So I will turn you around and put hooks into your jaws, and I will (F)bring you out, and all your army, (G)horses and horsemen, all of them magnificently dressed, a great contingent with shield and [b]buckler, all of them wielding swords; 5 (H)Persia, [c](I)Cush, and (J)Put with them, all of them with buckler and helmet; 6 (K)Gomer with all its troops; (L)Beth-togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops—many peoples with you.
7 “(M)Be ready, and be prepared, you and all your contingents that are assembled around you, and be a guard for them. 8 (N)After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been (O)gathered from many [d]nations to the (P)mountains of Israel which had been a continual place of ruins; but [e]its people were brought out from the [f]nations, and they are (Q)living securely, all of them. 9 And you will go up, you will come (R)like a storm; you will be like a (S)cloud covering the land, you and all your troops, and many peoples with you.”
10 ‘This is what the Lord God says: “It will come about on that day, that [g]thoughts will come into your mind and you will (T)devise an evil plan, 11 and you will say, ‘I will go up against the land of [h](U)unwalled villages. I will go against those who are (V)at rest, who live securely, all of them living without walls and having no bars or gates, 12 to (W)capture spoils and to seize plunder, to turn your hand against the ruins that are now inhabited, and against the people who are gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who live at the [i]center of the world.’ 13 (X)Sheba and (Y)Dedan and the merchants of (Z)Tarshish with all its [j]villages will say to you, ‘Have you come to capture spoils? Have you assembled your contingent to seize plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to capture great (AA)spoils?’”’
14 “Therefore prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “On that day when My people Israel are (AB)living securely, will you not know it? 15 (AC)You will come from your place out of the remote parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding horses, a large assembly and a mighty army; 16 and you will come up against My people Israel like a cloud to cover the land. It shall come about in the last days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may (AD)know Me when I (AE)show Myself holy through you before their eyes, Gog.”
17 ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Are you the one of whom I spoke in former days through My servants the prophets of Israel, who (AF)prophesied in those days for many years that I would bring you against them? 18 It will come about on that day, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,” declares the Lord God, “that My fury will mount up in My (AG)anger. 19 In My (AH)zeal and in My blazing wrath I declare that on that day there will certainly be a great [k](AI)earthquake in the land of Israel. 20 (AJ)The fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the animals of the field, all the crawling things that crawl on the earth, and all mankind who are on the face of the earth will shake at My presence; and the (AK)mountains will be thrown down, the steep pathways will [l]collapse, and every wall will fall to the ground. 21 And I will call for a (AL)sword against [m]him on all My mountains,” declares the Lord God. “(AM)Every man’s sword will be against his brother. 22 With plague and with blood I will enter into (AN)judgment with him; and I will rain on him and on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, [n]a torrential rain, (AO)hailstones, fire, and brimstone. 23 So I will prove Myself great, show Myself holy, and (AP)make Myself known in the sight of many nations; and they will know that I am the Lord.”’
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 38:3 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
- Ezekiel 38:4 I.e., small shield
- Ezekiel 38:5 Or Ethiopia
- Ezekiel 38:8 Lit peoples
- Ezekiel 38:8 Lit it was
- Ezekiel 38:8 Lit peoples
- Ezekiel 38:10 Lit words
- Ezekiel 38:11 Or open country
- Ezekiel 38:12 Lit navel
- Ezekiel 38:13 As in ancient versions; MT young lions
- Ezekiel 38:19 Or shaking
- Ezekiel 38:20 Lit fall
- Ezekiel 38:21 I.e., Gog
- Ezekiel 38:22 Lit an overflowing
Ezekiel 38
Living Bible
38 Here is another message to me from the Lord:
2-3 “Son of dust, face northward[a] toward the land of Magog and prophesy against Gog king of Meshech and Tubal. Tell him that the Lord God says: ‘I am against you, Gog. 4 I will put hooks into your jaws and pull you to your doom. I will mobilize your troops and armored cavalry and make you a mighty host, all fully armed. 5 Peras, Cush, Put shall join you too with all their weaponry, 6 and so shall Gomer and all his hordes and the armies of Togarmah from the distant north, as well as many others. 7 Be prepared! Stay mobilized. You are their leader, Gog!
8 “‘A long time from now you will be called to action. In distant years you will swoop down onto the land of Israel that will be lying in peace after the return of its people from many lands. 9 You and all your allies—a vast and awesome army—will roll down upon them like a storm and cover the land like a cloud. 10 For at that time an evil thought will have come to your mind. 11 You will have said, “Israel is an unprotected land of unwalled villages! I will march against her and destroy these people living in such confidence! 12 I will go to those once-desolate cities that are now filled with people again—those who have returned from all the nations—and I will capture vast amounts of loot and many slaves. For the people are rich with cattle now, and the whole earth revolves around them!”’
13 “But Sheba and Dedan[b] and the merchant princes of Tarshish with whom she trades will ask, ‘Who are you to rob them of silver and gold and drive away their cattle and seize their goods and make them poor?’”
14 The Lord God says to Gog: “When my people are living in peace in their land, then you will rouse yourself. 15-16 You will come from all over the north with your vast host of cavalry and cover the land like a cloud. This will happen in the distant future—in the latter years of history.[c] I will bring you against my land, and my holiness will be vindicated in your terrible destruction before their eyes, so that all the nations will know that I am God.”
17 The Lord God says: “You are the one I spoke of long ago through the prophets of Israel, saying that after many years had passed, I would bring you against my people. 18 But when you come to destroy the land of Israel, my fury will rise! 19 For in my jealousy and blazing wrath, I promise a mighty shaking in the land of Israel on that day. 20 All living things shall quake in terror at my presence; mountains shall be thrown down; cliffs shall tumble; walls shall crumble to the earth. 21 I will summon every kind of terror against you,” says the Lord God, “and you will fight against yourselves in mortal combat! 22 I will fight you with sword, disease, torrential floods, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone! 23 Thus will I show my greatness and bring honor upon my name, and all the nations of the world will hear what I have done and know that I am God!
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 38:2 face northward, implied. against Gog. The names of Gog’s confederates (Meshech, Tubal, Gomer, Beth-togarmah) can be identified as Muschki, Tabal, Gimaraya, Tegerama, peoples who lived in the mountainous area southeast of the Black Sea and southwest of the Caspian, currently in central Turkey. It therefore seems that Gog was, or is to be, the leader of one of these nations. But from the context Gog seems to be a symbol rather than a historical figure like Nebuchadnezzar. In any event he represents the aggregate military might of the forces opposed to God, especially in a mighty battle of the end times. See also Revelation 20:7-9.
- Ezekiel 38:13 Sheba and Dedan, great trading centers in Arabia. the merchant princes of Tarshish with whom she trades, implied.
- Ezekiel 38:15 in the latter years of history, implied; literally, “in the latter days,” an expression which, in Hebrew usage, does not necessarily mean “the end times.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.