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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.

Gog’s Armies Destroyed

39 “And (A)you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, [a]the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal; and I will (B)turn you around and lead you on, (C)bringing you up from the far north, and bring you against the mountains of Israel. Then I will knock the bow out of your left hand, and cause the arrows to fall out of your right hand. (D)You shall [b]fall upon the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you; (E)I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. You shall [c]fall on [d]the open field; for I have spoken,” says the Lord God. (F)“And I will send fire on Magog and on those who live [e]in security in (G)the coastlands. Then they shall know that I am the Lord. (H)So I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let them (I)profane My holy name anymore. (J)Then the nations shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. (K)Surely it is coming, and it shall be done,” says the Lord God. “This is the day (L)of which I have spoken.

“Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and bucklers, the bows and arrows, the [f]javelins and spears; and they will make fires with them for seven years. 10 They will not take wood from the field nor cut down any from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons; (M)and they will plunder those who plundered them, and pillage those who pillaged them,” says the Lord God.

The Burial of Gog

11 “It will come to pass in that day that I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel, the valley of those who pass by east of the sea; and it will obstruct travelers, because there they will bury Gog and all his multitude. Therefore they will call it the Valley of [g]Hamon Gog. 12 For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them, (N)in order to cleanse the land. 13 Indeed all the people of the land will be burying, and they will gain (O)renown for it on the day that (P)I am glorified,” says the Lord God. 14 “They will set apart men regularly employed, with the help of [h]a search party, to pass through the land and bury those bodies remaining on the ground, in order (Q)to cleanse it. At the end of seven months they will make a search. 15 The search party will pass through the land; and when anyone sees a man’s bone, he shall [i]set up a marker by it, till the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon Gog. 16 The name of the city will also be [j]Hamonah. Thus they shall (R)cleanse the land.” ’

A Triumphant Festival

17 “And as for you, son of man, thus says the Lord God, (S)‘Speak to every sort of bird and to every beast of the field:

(T)“Assemble yourselves and come;
Gather together from all sides to My (U)sacrificial meal
Which I am sacrificing for you,
A great sacrificial meal (V)on the mountains of Israel,
That you may eat flesh and drink blood.
18 (W)You shall eat the flesh of the mighty,
Drink the blood of the princes of the earth,
Of rams and lambs,
Of goats and bulls,
All of them (X)fatlings of Bashan.
19 You shall eat fat till you are full,
And drink blood till you are drunk,
At My sacrificial meal
Which I am sacrificing for you.
20 (Y)You shall be filled at My table
With horses and riders,
(Z)With mighty men
And with all the men of war,” says the Lord God.

Israel Restored to the Land

21 (AA)“I will set My glory among the nations; all the nations shall see My judgment which I have executed, and (AB)My hand which I have laid on them. 22 (AC)So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day forward. 23 (AD)The Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they were unfaithful to Me, therefore (AE)I hid My face from them. I (AF)gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. 24 (AG)According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I have dealt with them, and hidden My face from them.” ’

25 “Therefore thus says the Lord God: (AH)‘Now I will bring back the captives of Jacob, and have mercy on the (AI)whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name— 26 (AJ)after they have borne their shame, and all their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, when they (AK)dwelt safely in their own land and no one made them afraid. 27 (AL)When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and I (AM)am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations, 28 (AN)then they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their land, and left none of them [k]captive any longer. 29 (AO)And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have (AP)poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says the Lord God.”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 39:1 Tg., Vg., Aquila the chief prince of Meshech
  2. Ezekiel 39:4 Be slain
  3. Ezekiel 39:5 Be slain
  4. Ezekiel 39:5 Lit. the face of the field
  5. Ezekiel 39:6 securely or confidently
  6. Ezekiel 39:9 Lit. hand staffs
  7. Ezekiel 39:11 Lit. The Multitude of Gog
  8. Ezekiel 39:14 Lit. those who pass through
  9. Ezekiel 39:15 build
  10. Ezekiel 39:16 Lit. Multitude
  11. Ezekiel 39:28 Lit. there