Ezekiel 38
English Standard Version
Prophecy Against Gog
38 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 (A)“Son of man, (B)set your face toward (C)Gog, of the land of (D)Magog, the (E)chief prince of (F)Meshech[a] and (G)Tubal, and (H)prophesy against him 3 and say, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, (I)I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech[b] and Tubal. 4 (J)And I will turn you about and (K)put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and (L)all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great host, all of them with buckler and shield, wielding swords. 5 (M)Persia, (N)Cush, and (O)Put are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; 6 (P)Gomer and all his (Q)hordes; (R)Beth-togarmah from (S)the uttermost parts of the north with all his hordes—(T)many peoples are with you.
7 (U)“Be ready and keep ready, you and all your hosts that are assembled about you, and be a guard for them. 8 (V)After many days you will be mustered. (W)In the latter years you will go against (X)the land that is restored from war, the land whose people (Y)were gathered from many peoples upon (Z)the mountains of Israel, which had been a continual waste. Its people were brought out from the peoples and (AA)now dwell securely, all of them. 9 You will advance, coming on (AB)like a storm. You will be (AC)like a cloud covering the land, you and all your (AD)hordes, and many peoples with you.
10 “Thus says the Lord God: On that day, (AE)thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil scheme 11 and say, ‘I will go up against (AF)the land of unwalled villages. I will fall upon (AG)the quiet people who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having no bars or gates,’ 12 to seize spoil and carry off plunder, to turn your hand against (AH)the waste places that are now inhabited, and (AI)the people who were gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, (AJ)who dwell at the center of the earth. 13 (AK)Sheba and (AL)Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all (AM)its leaders[c] will say to you, ‘Have you come to seize spoil? Have you assembled your hosts to carry off plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to seize great spoil?’
14 “Therefore, (AN)son of man, prophesy, and say to (AO)Gog, Thus says the Lord God: On that day when my people Israel are (AP)dwelling securely, (AQ)will you not know it? 15 You will come from your place out of (AR)the uttermost parts of the north, you and (AS)many peoples with you, (AT)all of them riding on horses, a great host, a mighty army. 16 You will come up against my people Israel, (AU)like a cloud covering the land. (AV)In the latter days I will bring you against my land, that the nations may know me, when through you, O Gog, (AW)I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.
17 “Thus says the Lord God: Are you (AX)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? 18 But on that day, the day that Gog shall come against the land of Israel, declares the Lord God, (AY)my wrath will be roused in my anger. 19 For (AZ)in my jealousy and in my blazing wrath I declare, On that day (BA)there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. 20 (BB)The fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field and all creeping things that creep on the ground, and all the people who are on the face of the earth, (BC)shall quake at my presence. And (BD)the mountains shall be thrown down, and the cliffs shall fall, and every wall shall tumble to the ground. 21 (BE)I will summon a sword against Gog[d] on all my mountains, declares the Lord God. (BF)Every man's sword will be against his brother. 22 With pestilence and bloodshed (BG)I will enter into judgment with him, and (BH)I will rain upon him and (BI)his hordes and the many peoples who are with him (BJ)torrential rains and hailstones, (BK)fire and sulfur. 23 So I will show my greatness and my (BL)holiness and (BM)make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then (BN)they will know that I am the Lord.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 38:2 Or Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech
- Ezekiel 38:3 Or Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech
- Ezekiel 38:13 Hebrew young lions
- Ezekiel 38:21 Hebrew against him
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.”
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.