Ezekiel 38
New Living Translation
A Message for Gog
38 This is another message that came to me from the Lord: 2 “Son of man, turn and face Gog of the land of Magog, the prince who rules over the nations of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him. 3 Give him this message from the Sovereign Lord: Gog, I am your enemy! 4 I will turn you around and put hooks in your jaws to lead you out with your whole army—your horses and charioteers in full armor and a great horde armed with shields and swords. 5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya[a] will join you, too, with all their weapons. 6 Gomer and all its armies will also join you, along with the armies of Beth-togarmah from the distant north, and many others.
7 “Get ready; be prepared! Keep all the armies around you mobilized, and take command of them. 8 A long time from now you will be called into action. In the distant future you will swoop down on the land of Israel, which will be enjoying peace after recovering from war and after its people have returned from many lands to the mountains of Israel. 9 You and all your allies—a vast and awesome army—will roll down on them like a storm and cover the land like a cloud.
10 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: At that time evil thoughts will come to your mind, and you will devise a wicked scheme. 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! 12 I will go to those formerly desolate cities that are now filled with people who have returned from exile in many nations. I will capture vast amounts of plunder, for the people are rich with livestock and other possessions now. They think the whole world revolves around them!’ 13 But Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish will ask, ‘Do you really think the armies you have gathered can rob them of silver and gold? Do you think you can drive away their livestock and seize their goods and carry off plunder?’
14 “Therefore, son of man, prophesy against Gog. Give him this message from the Sovereign Lord: When my people are living in peace in their land, then you will rouse yourself.[b] 15 You will come from your homeland in the distant north with your vast cavalry and your mighty army, 16 and you will attack my people Israel, covering their land like a cloud. At that time in the distant future, I will bring you against my land as everyone watches, and my holiness will be displayed by what happens to you, Gog. Then all the nations will know that I am the Lord.
17 “This is what the Sovereign Lord asks: Are you the one I was talking about long ago, when I announced through Israel’s prophets that in the future I would bring you against my people? 18 But this is what the Sovereign Lord says: When Gog invades the land of Israel, my fury will boil over! 19 In my jealousy and blazing anger, I promise a mighty shaking in the land of Israel on that day. 20 All living things—the fish in the sea, the birds of the sky, the animals of the field, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and all the people on earth—will quake in terror at my presence. Mountains will be thrown down; cliffs will crumble; walls will fall to the earth. 21 I will summon the sword against you on all the hills of Israel, says the Sovereign Lord. Your men will turn their swords against each other. 22 I will punish you and your armies with disease and bloodshed; I will send torrential rain, hailstones, fire, and burning sulfur! 23 In this way, I will show my greatness and holiness, and I will make myself known to all the nations of the world. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
Ezekiel 38
Lexham English Bible
God’s Message to Gog
38 And the word of Yahweh came[a] to me, saying,[b] 2 “Son of man,[c] set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the head[d] leader of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him. 3 And you must say, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am against you, Gog, the head[e] leader of Meshach and Tubal, 4 and I will turn you around, and I will place[f] hooks in your cheeks, and I will bring you out and all of your horses and horsemen fully armed,[g] all of them, a great crowd, holding a shield,[h] and small shield, and holding[i] swords, all of them. 5 Persia, Cush, and Put are with them, all of them, with a small shield and helmet. 6 Gomer and all of its troops, Beth Togarmah, the remote areas of the north, and with all of its troops and many peoples with them. 7 Be ready, and prepare yourselves,[j] you and all of your assembly,[k] the assembling[l] around you, and you must be[m] for them as a guard. 8 After many days you will be mustered; in the last years[n] you will come to a restored land from the sword, gathered from many peoples on the mountains of Israel which were as permanent ruins[o] but from peoples it was brought out, and they will dwell in safety,[p] all of them. 9 And you will advance like a storm; you will come, and you will be like a cloud covering[q] the land, and all of your troops and many nations along with you.”
10 “‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “And then[r] on that day, things[s] will come up on[t] your mind, and you will devise evil plans. 11 And you will say, ‘I will go up against a land of open country; I will come[u] to the people being at rest in safety,[v] all of them dwelling without a wall[w] and crossbars[x] and without doors,[y] 12 to[z] loot loot,[aa] and to plunder[ab] plunder, to assail[ac] inhabited ruins and a people gathered together from various peoples and who are acquiring livestock and goods and dwelling at the center of the world. 13 Sheba and Dedan and traders of Tarshish and all its strong lions,[ad] they will ask you, ‘To[ae] loot loot[af] are you coming? To plunder[ag] plunder have you summoned your assembly, to take away silver and gold, to take livestock and goods, to loot great amounts[ah] of loot?”’
14 “Therefore prophesy, son of man,[ai] and you must say to Gog, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Will you not realize[aj] on that day when my people Israel are dwelling in safety,[ak] 15 and so you will come from your place, from the remote areas of the north, you and many people with you, horsemen[al] all of them, a great crowd and a vast army, 16 and you will advance against my people Israel like a cloud covering[am] the land; it will be[an] in the last days, and I will bring you against my land, so that the nations know me, when I show myself holy through you before their eyes, O Gog!”’
17 “Thus says the Lord Yahweh, ‘Are you he of whom I spoke in former days by the hand of my servants the prophets of Israel who were prophesying in those days for years that I would bring you against them? 18 And so then in that day, on the day of the coming of God against the land of Israel,’ declares[ao] the Lord Yahweh, ‘my rage will come up in my anger. 19 And in my passion, in the fire of my wrath, I spoke[ap] that certainly[aq] on that day a great earthquake will be on the land of Israel. 20 And the fish of the sea and the birds[ar] of the heaven[as] and the animals[at] of the field and all of the creeping things that creep on the earth and all of the humans[au] who are on the surface of the earth will shake at my presence;[av] and the mountains will be demolished, and the steep mountain sides will fall, and every wall on[aw] the earth will fall. 21 And I will call against him[ax] in all of my mountains a sword,’ declares[ay] the Lord Yahweh, ‘And the sword of each person will be against his brother. 22 And I will execute justice with[az] him with a plague and with blood and torrents of rain,[ba] and hailstones; fire and sulfur I will cause to fall on him and on his troops and on many peoples who are with him. 23 And so I will exalt myself, and I will show myself holy, and I will make myself known before the eyes of many nations, and they will know that I am Yahweh.’”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 38:1 Literally “was”
- Ezekiel 38:1 Literally “to say”
- Ezekiel 38:2 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
- Ezekiel 38:2 Or “chief”
- Ezekiel 38:3 Or “chief”
- Ezekiel 38:4 Or “give”
- Ezekiel 38:4 Literally “clothed of fullness”
- Ezekiel 38:4 Or “buckler”
- Ezekiel 38:4 Or “wielding”
- Ezekiel 38:7 Literally “for you”
- Ezekiel 38:7 Or “battalions” or “hoards”
- Ezekiel 38:7 Or “assemblies”
- Ezekiel 38:7 Or “serve”
- Ezekiel 38:8 Or “final years”; literally “in the last of the years”
- Ezekiel 38:8 Literally “ruins continually/permanently”
- Ezekiel 38:8 Literally “with confidence/assurance/trust”
- Ezekiel 38:9 Literally “to cover”
- Ezekiel 38:10 Literally “and it will be”
- Ezekiel 38:10 Or “thoughts”
- Ezekiel 38:10 Or “in”
- Ezekiel 38:11 Or “go”
- Ezekiel 38:11 Literally “with confidence”
- Ezekiel 38:11 Or “walls”
- Ezekiel 38:11 Hebrew “crossbar”
- Ezekiel 38:11 Literally “and doors there are not for them”
- Ezekiel 38:12 Or “for”
- Ezekiel 38:12 Or “war-booty”; this word is chosen because of the alliteration in Hebrew
- Ezekiel 38:12 Or “seize”; this word is chosen because of the alliteration in Hebrew
- Ezekiel 38:12 Literally “to bring back your hand against”; NJPS, “to turn your hand against”
- Ezekiel 38:13 Or “all of its violent leaders”
- Ezekiel 38:13 Or “for”
- Ezekiel 38:13 Or “war-booty” this word is chosen because of the alliteration in Hebrew
- Ezekiel 38:13 Or “seize”; this word is chosen because of the alliteration in Hebrew
- Ezekiel 38:13 Hebrew “amount”
- Ezekiel 38:14 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
- Ezekiel 38:14 LXX reads, “stir up/rouse yourself”
- Ezekiel 38:14 Literally “with confidence/trust”
- Ezekiel 38:15 Literally “riders of horsemen”
- Ezekiel 38:16 Literally “to cover”
- Ezekiel 38:16 Or “occur”
- Ezekiel 38:18 Literally “declaration of”
- Ezekiel 38:19 Or “I asserted”
- Ezekiel 38:19 Literally “if not”
- Ezekiel 38:20 Hebrew “bird”
- Ezekiel 38:20 Or “sky”
- Ezekiel 38:20 Hebrew “animal”
- Ezekiel 38:20 Or “every human being”
- Ezekiel 38:20 Literally “from the face of me”
- Ezekiel 38:20 Or “to”
- Ezekiel 38:21 Or “summon against him” (cf. NJPS)
- Ezekiel 38:21 Literally “declaration of”
- Ezekiel 38:22 Or “with respect to him”
- Ezekiel 38:22 Literally “rain flooding/pouring down”
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