Ezekiel 39
New English Translation
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! 2 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. 3 I will knock your bow out of your left hand and make your arrows fall from your right hand. 4 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. 5 You will fall dead in the open field; for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord. 6 I will send fire on Magog and those who live securely in the coastlands; then they will know that I am the Lord.
7 “‘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] 8 Realize that it is coming and it will be done, declares the Sovereign Lord. It is the day I have spoken about.
9 “‘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
- 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.
- 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.
- Ezekiel 39:9 tn Heb “burn and kindle the weapons.”
- Ezekiel 39:9 tn Two different types of shields are specified in the Hebrew text.
- Ezekiel 39:10 tn Heb “they will not carry.”
- Ezekiel 39:10 tn Heb “loot their looters and plunder their plunderers.”
- Ezekiel 39:11 tn The name means “horde of Gog.”
- Ezekiel 39:12 tn Heb “the house of Israel.”
- Ezekiel 39:13 tn Heb “name.”
- Ezekiel 39:14 tn Heb “men of perpetuity.”
- 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).
- Ezekiel 39:15 tn Heb “as the scouts scout.”
- Ezekiel 39:15 tn That is, the aforementioned bone.
- Ezekiel 39:16 tn This name appears to be a feminine form of the word “horde,” used in the name Hamon Gog.
- Ezekiel 39:17 tn Or “sacrifice” (so also in the rest of this verse).
- Ezekiel 39:18 sn See Rev 19:17-18.
- Ezekiel 39:19 sn Eating the fat and drinking blood were God’s exclusive rights in Israelite sacrifices (Lev 3:17).
- Ezekiel 39:19 tn Or “sacrifice” (so also in the rest of this verse).
- Ezekiel 39:20 tn Heb “chariots.”
- Ezekiel 39:21 tn Or “my glory.”
- Ezekiel 39:21 tn Heb “my hand which I have placed.”
- 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.
- Ezekiel 39:25 tn Heb “cause to return.”
- Ezekiel 39:28 tn Heb “there,” referring to the foreign nations to which they were exiled. The translation makes the referent clear.
- Ezekiel 39:29 sn See Ezek 11:19 and 37:14.
Ezekiel 39
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Gog’s Armies Destroyed
39 And you, mortal, prophesy against Gog and say: Thus says the Lord God: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal!(A) 2 I will turn you around and drive you forward and bring you up from the remotest parts of the north and lead you against the mountains of Israel. 3 I will strike your bow from your left hand and will make your arrows drop out of your right hand.(B) 4 You shall fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you; I will give you to birds of prey of every kind and to the wild animals to be devoured.(C) 5 You shall fall in the open field, for I have spoken, says the Lord God. 6 I will send fire on Magog and on those who live securely in the coastlands, and they shall know that I am the Lord.(D)
7 My holy name I will make known among my people Israel, and I will not let my holy name be profaned any more, and the nations shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.(E) 8 It has come! It has happened, says the Lord God. This is the day of which I have spoken.
9 Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and make fires of the weapons and burn them—bucklers and shields, bows and arrows, clubs and spears—and they will make fires of them for seven years.(F) 10 They will not need to take wood out of the field or cut down any trees in the forests, for they will make their fires of the weapons; they will despoil those who despoiled them and plunder those who plundered them, says the Lord God.(G)
The Burial of Gog
11 On that day I will give to Gog a place for burial in Israel, the Valley of the Travelers[a] east of the sea; it shall block the path of the travelers, for there Gog and all his horde will be buried; it shall be called the Valley of Hamon-gog.[b](H) 12 Seven months the house of Israel shall spend burying them, in order to cleanse the land. 13 All the people of the land shall bury them, and it will bring them honor on the day that I show my glory, says the Lord God.(I) 14 They will set apart men to pass through the land regularly and bury any invaders[c] who remain on the face of the land, so as to cleanse it; for seven months they shall make their search.(J) 15 As the searchers[d] pass through the land, anyone who sees a human bone shall set up a sign by it until the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon-gog.[e] 16 (A city Hamonah[f] is there also.) Thus they shall cleanse the land.
17 As for you, mortal, thus says the Lord God: Speak to the birds of every kind and to all the wild animals: Assemble and come, gather from all around to the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you, a great sacrificial feast on the mountains of Israel, and you shall eat flesh and drink blood.(K) 18 You 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 bulls, all of them fatted calves of Bashan.(L) 19 You shall eat fat until you are filled and drink blood until you are drunk, at the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you. 20 And you shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with warriors and all kinds of soldiers, says the Lord God.(M)
Israel Restored to the Land
21 I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations shall see my judgment that I have executed and my hand that I have laid on them.(N) 22 The house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day forward. 23 And the nations shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity, because they dealt treacherously with me. So I hid my face from them and gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and they all fell by the sword.(O) 24 I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their transgressions and hid my face from them.(P)
25 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for my holy name.(Q) 26 They shall bear their shame, and all the treachery they have practiced against me, when they live securely in their land with no one to make them afraid,(R) 27 when I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from their enemies’ lands and through them have displayed my holiness in the sight of many nations.(S) 28 Then they shall 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 leave none of them behind,(T) 29 and I will never again hide my face from them, when I pour out my spirit upon the house of Israel, says the Lord God.(U)
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