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39 “As for you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal! I will turn you around and drag you along;[a] I will lead you up from the remotest parts of the north and bring you against the mountains of Israel. I will knock your bow out of your left hand and make your arrows fall from your right hand. You will fall dead on the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the people who are with you. I give you as food to every kind of bird and every wild beast. You will fall dead in the open field; for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord. I will send fire on Magog and those who live securely in the coastlands; then they will know that I am the Lord.

“‘I will make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; I will not let my holy name be profaned anymore. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.[b] Realize that it is coming and it will be done, declares the Sovereign Lord. It is the day I have spoken about.

“‘Then those who live in the cities of Israel will go out and use the weapons for kindling[c]—the shields,[d] bows and arrows, war clubs and spears—they will burn them for seven years. 10 They will not need to take[e] wood from the field or cut down trees from the forests because they will make fires with the weapons. They will take the loot from those who looted them and seize the plunder of those who plundered them,[f] declares the Sovereign Lord.

11 “‘On that day I will assign Gog a grave in Israel. It will be the valley of those who travel east of the sea; it will block the way of the travelers. There they will bury Gog and all his horde; they will call it the Valley of Hamon Gog.[g] 12 For seven months Israel[h] will bury them, in order to cleanse the land. 13 All the people of the land will bury them, and it will be a memorial[i] for them on the day I magnify myself, declares the Sovereign Lord. 14 They will designate men to scout continually[j] through the land, burying those who remain on the surface of the ground,[k] in order to cleanse it. They will search for seven full months. 15 When the scouts survey[l] the land and see a human bone, they will place a sign by it, until those assigned to burial duty have buried it[m] in the valley of Hamon Gog. 16 (A city by the name of Hamonah[n] will also be there.) They will cleanse the land.’

17 “As for you, son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Tell every kind of bird and every wild beast: ‘Assemble and come! Gather from all around to my slaughter[o] that I am going to make for you, a great slaughter on the mountains of Israel! You will eat flesh and drink blood. 18 You will eat the flesh of warriors[p] and drink the blood of the princes of the earth—the rams, lambs, goats, and bulls, all of them fattened animals of Bashan. 19 You will eat fat until you are full, and drink blood until you are drunk[q] at my slaughter[r] that I have made for you. 20 You will fill up at my table with horses and charioteers,[s] with warriors and all the soldiers,’ declares the Sovereign Lord.

21 “I will display my majesty[t] among the nations. All the nations will witness the judgment I have executed and the power I have exhibited[u] among them. 22 Then the house of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God, from that day forward. 23 The nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile due to their iniquity,[v] for they were unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies; all of them died by the sword. 24 According to their uncleanness and rebellion I have dealt with them, and I hid my face from them.

25 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Now I will restore[w] the fortunes of Jacob, and I will have mercy on the entire house of Israel. I will be zealous for my holy name. 26 They will bear their shame for all their unfaithful acts against me, when they live securely on their land with no one to make them afraid. 27 When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will magnify myself among them in the sight of many nations. 28 Then they will know that I am the Lord their God because I sent them into exile among the nations and then gathered them into their own land. I will not leave any of them in exile[x] any longer. 29 I will no longer hide my face from them, when I pour out my Spirit on the house of Israel,[y] declares the Sovereign Lord.”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 39:2 tn The Hebrew root occurs only here in the OT. An apparent cognate in the Ethiopic language means “walk along.” For a discussion of the research on this verb, see D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:460.
  2. Ezekiel 39:7 sn The basic sense of the word “holy” is “set apart from that which is commonplace, special, unique.” The Lord’s holiness is first and foremost his transcendent sovereignty as the ruler of the world. He is “set apart” from the world over which he rules. At the same time his holiness encompasses his moral authority, which derives from his royal position. As king he has the right to dictate to his subjects how they are to live; indeed, his very own character sets the standard for proper behavior. This expression is a common title for the Lord in the book of Isaiah.
  3. Ezekiel 39:9 tn Heb “burn and kindle the weapons.”
  4. Ezekiel 39:9 tn Two different types of shields are specified in the Hebrew text.
  5. Ezekiel 39:10 tn Heb “they will not carry.”
  6. Ezekiel 39:10 tn Heb “loot their looters and plunder their plunderers.”
  7. Ezekiel 39:11 tn The name means “horde of Gog.”
  8. Ezekiel 39:12 tn Heb “the house of Israel.”
  9. Ezekiel 39:13 tn Heb “name.”
  10. Ezekiel 39:14 tn Heb “men of perpetuity.”
  11. Ezekiel 39:14 tn Heb “and bury the travelers and those who remain on the surface of the ground.” The reference to “travelers” seems odd and is omitted in the LXX. It is probably an accidental duplication (see v. 11).
  12. Ezekiel 39:15 tn Heb “as the scouts scout.”
  13. Ezekiel 39:15 tn That is, the aforementioned bone.
  14. Ezekiel 39:16 tn This name appears to be a feminine form of the word “horde,” used in the name Hamon Gog.
  15. Ezekiel 39:17 tn Or “sacrifice” (so also in the rest of this verse).
  16. Ezekiel 39:18 sn See Rev 19:17-18.
  17. Ezekiel 39:19 sn Eating the fat and drinking blood were God’s exclusive rights in Israelite sacrifices (Lev 3:17).
  18. Ezekiel 39:19 tn Or “sacrifice” (so also in the rest of this verse).
  19. Ezekiel 39:20 tn Heb “chariots.”
  20. Ezekiel 39:21 tn Or “my glory.”
  21. Ezekiel 39:21 tn Heb “my hand which I have placed.”
  22. Ezekiel 39:23 tn Or “in their punishment.” The phrase “in/for [a person’s] iniquity/punishment” occurs fourteen times in Ezekiel: here; 3:18, 19; 4:17; 7:13, 16; 18:17, 18, 19, 20; 24:23; 33:6, 8, 9. The Hebrew word for “iniquity” may also mean the “punishment” for iniquity or “guilt” of iniquity.
  23. Ezekiel 39:25 tn Heb “cause to return.”
  24. Ezekiel 39:28 tn Heb “there,” referring to the foreign nations to which they were exiled. The translation makes the referent clear.
  25. Ezekiel 39:29 sn See Ezek 11:19 and 37:14.

39 And thou, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, [a]prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal: and I will turn thee about, and will lead thee on, and will cause thee to come up from the uttermost parts of the north; and I will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel; and I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy hordes, and the peoples that are with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. Thou shalt fall upon the open field; for I have spoken it, saith the Lord Jehovah. And I will send a fire on Magog, and on them that dwell securely in the [b]isles; and they shall know that I am Jehovah. And my holy name will I make known in the midst of my people Israel; neither will I suffer my holy name to be profaned any more: and the nations shall know that I am Jehovah, the Holy One in Israel. Behold, it cometh, and it shall be done, saith the Lord Jehovah; this is the day whereof I have spoken. And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall make fires of the weapons and burn them, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall make fires of them seven years; 10 so that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall make fires of the weapons; and they shall plunder those that plundered them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord Jehovah.

11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place for burial in Israel, the valley of them that pass through [c]on the east of the sea; and it shall stop them that pass through: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude; and they shall call it The valley of [d]Hamon-gog. 12 And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying them, that they may cleanse the land. 13 Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown in the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord Jehovah. 14 And they shall set apart men of continual employment, that shall pass through the land, and, with them that pass through, those that bury them that remain upon the face of the land, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search. 15 And they that pass through the land shall pass through; and when any seeth a man’s bone, then shall he [e]set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamon-gog. 16 And [f]Hamonah shall also be the name of a city. Thus shall they cleanse the land.

17 And thou, son of man, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Speak unto the birds of every sort, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh and drink blood. 18 Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan. 19 And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. 20 And ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord Jehovah.

21 And I will set my glory among the nations; and all the nations shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them. 22 So the house of Israel shall know that I am Jehovah their God, from that day and forward. 23 And the nations shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they trespassed against me, and I hid my face from them: so I gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and they fell all of them by the sword. 24 According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions did I unto them; and I hid my face from them.

25 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Now will I bring back the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for my holy name. 26 And they shall bear their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they shall dwell securely in their land, and none shall make them afraid; 27 when I have brought them back from the peoples, and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations. 28 And they shall know that I am Jehovah their God, in that I caused them to go into captivity among the nations, and have gathered them unto their own land; and I will leave none of them any more there; 29 neither will I hide my face any more from them; for I have poured out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord Jehovah.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 39:1 Or, chief prince of Meshech
  2. Ezekiel 39:6 Or, coast-lands
  3. Ezekiel 39:11 Or, in front of
  4. Ezekiel 39:11 That is, the multitude of Gog.
  5. Ezekiel 39:15 Hebrew build.
  6. Ezekiel 39:16 That is, Multitude.