Ezekiel 38
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Invasion by Gog
38 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 Mortal, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. Prophesy against him(A) 3 and say: Thus says the Lord God: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; 4 I will turn you around and put hooks into your jaws, and I will lead you out with all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great company, all of them with shield and buckler, wielding swords.(B) 5 Paras, Cush, and Put are with them, all of them with buckler and helmet;(C) 6 Gomer and all its troops; Beth-togarmah from the remotest parts of the north with all its troops—many peoples are with you.(D)
7 Be ready and keep ready, you and all the companies that are assembled around you, and take command of them.[a] 8 After many days you shall be mustered; in the latter years you shall go against a land restored from war, a land where people were gathered from many nations on the mountains of Israel, which had long lain waste; its people were brought out from the nations and now are living in safety, all of them.(E) 9 You shall advance, coming on like a storm; you shall be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your troops and many peoples with you.(F)
10 Thus says the Lord God: On that day thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil scheme.(G) 11 You will say, “I will go up against the land of unwalled villages; I will fall upon the quiet people who live in safety, all of them living without walls and having no bars or gates,(H) 12 to seize spoil and carry off plunder, to assail the waste places that are now inhabited and the people who were gathered from the nations, who are acquiring cattle and goods, who live at the center[b] of the earth.”(I) 13 Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all its young warriors[c] will say to you, “Have you come to seize spoil? Have you assembled your horde to carry off plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to seize a great amount of spoil?”(J)
14 Therefore, mortal, prophesy and say to Gog: Thus says the Lord God: On that day when my people Israel are living securely, you will rouse yourself[d](K) 15 and come from your place out of the remotest parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great horde, a mighty army;(L) 16 you will come up against my people Israel like a cloud covering the earth. In the latter days I will bring you against my land, so that the nations may know me, when through you, O Gog, I display my holiness before their eyes.(M)
Judgment on Gog
17 Thus says the Lord God: Are you he of whom I spoke in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel, who in those days prophesied for years that I would bring you against them?(N) 18 On that day, when Gog comes against the land of Israel, says the Lord God, my wrath shall be aroused.(O) 19 For in my jealousy and in my blazing wrath I declare: On that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;(P) 20 the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and the animals of the field and all creeping things that creep on the ground and all humans who are on the face of the earth shall quake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the cliffs shall fall, and every wall shall tumble to the ground.(Q) 21 I will summon the sword against Gog[e] in[f] all my mountains, says the Lord God; the swords of all will be against their comrades.(R) 22 With pestilence and bloodshed I will enter into judgment with him, and I will pour down torrential rains and hailstones, fire and sulfur upon him and his troops and the many peoples who are with him.(S) 23 So I will display my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.(T)
Ezekiel 38
Common English Bible
Attack of Gog
38 The Lord’s word came to me: 2 Human one, face Gog in the land of Magog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. Prophesy concerning him 3 and say, The Lord God proclaims: I challenge you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal! 4 I will turn you about, set hooks in your jaws, and lead you out, you and all your army, horses and riders, handsomely dressed, all of them, a great assembly, with buckler and shield, all of them wielding swords. 5 Persia, Cush, and Put are with you,[a] all of them equipped with shield and helmet. 6 Gomer and all his troops, Beth-togarmah from the far north and all his troops; many peoples are with you. 7 Stand ready and be prepared, you and all your assembly. You will watch out for those who gather against you.
8 After many days you will be called out. In future years you will enter a country that has been freed from the sword, a gathering from many peoples on the mountains of Israel, which had become a perpetual ruin. This country was brought out from the peoples, and all of them live securely. 9 You will invade like a sudden storm. You and all your troops, and the many peoples with you, will be like clouds covering the earth.
10 The Lord God proclaims: On that day, thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil plan. 11 You will say, “I will go up against the open country and come against a quiet people who all live securely without walls, bars, or doors 12 to take plunder and seize loot, to use my[b] power against the resettled waste places, against a people gathered from the nations, who are acquiring goods and cattle, and who live at the center[c] of the earth.” 13 Sheba and Dedan and the merchants and officials of Tarshish will say to you, “Have you come to take plunder and seize loot? Have you assembled your army to take silver and gold, to take goods and cattle, to engage in great looting?”
14 So now, prophesy, human one, and say to Gog, The Lord God proclaims: Isn’t that what you will decide to do[d] on that day, when my people Israel live securely? 15 You will come up from your place from the far north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding horses, a great assembly, a mighty army. 16 You will go up against my people Israel like a cloud covering the earth. But when this happens in future days, I will be the one who brings you up against my land, so that the nations may know me, Gog, when through you I show my holiness in their sight!
17 The Lord God proclaims: Are you the one about whom I spoke in former times through my servants, Israel’s prophets, the ones who prophesied for years in those days to bring you against them? 18 On that day, the day when Gog comes against Israel’s fertile land, my wrath will be aroused. This is what the Lord God says. 19 In my jealousy and blazing anger I declare: On that day, a great quaking will come over Israel’s fertile land. 20 The fish of the sea, the birds in the sky, the beasts of the field, all the creatures crawling on the ground, and every living human being will quake in my presence. Mountains will be thrown down and cliffs will crumble; every wall will fall to the ground. 21 I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains. This is what the Lord God says! The swords of the warriors will be against each other, 22 and I will enter into judgment with him, with plague and blood. I will pour out flooding rain, hailstones, fire, and sulfur on him, on all his troops, and on the many peoples with him. 23 So I will display my greatness, show my holiness, and make myself known in the sight of many nations. And they will know that I am the Lord.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 38:5 Cf 38:6; MT them
- Ezekiel 38:12 LXX; MT your
- Ezekiel 38:12 Or navel
- Ezekiel 38:14 Or you will know
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible