“‘Then the inhabitants of Israel’s cities will go out, kindle fires, and burn the weapons—the small and large shields, the bows and arrows, the clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them to make fires. 10 They will not gather wood from the countryside or cut it down from the forests, for they will use the weapons to make fires. They will take the loot from those who looted them and plunder those who plundered them.(A) This is the declaration of the Lord God.

11 “‘Now on that day I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel—the Travelers’ Valley[a] east of the Sea. It will block those who travel through, for Gog and all his hordes will be buried there. So it will be called Hordes of Gog[b] Valley. 12 The house of Israel will spend seven months burying them in order to cleanse the land.(B) 13 All the people of the land will bury them and their fame will spread(C) on the day I display my glory.(D) This is the declaration of the Lord God.

14 “‘They will appoint men on a full-time basis to pass through the land and bury the invaders[c] who remain on the surface of the ground, in order to cleanse it. They will make their search at the end of the seven months. 15 When they pass through the land and one of them sees a human bone, he will set up a marker next to it until the buriers have buried it in Hordes of Gog Valley. 16 There will even be a city named Hamonah[d] there. So they will cleanse the land.’

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Footnotes

  1. 39:11 Hb obscure
  2. 39:11 = Hamon-gog, also in v. 15
  3. 39:14 Or basis, some to pass through the land, and with them some to bury those
  4. 39:16 In Hb, Hamonah is related to the word “horde.”

The Aftermath of the Battle

“After all this happens, the people who live in the cities of Israel will be kindling fires for seven years, using small shields, large shields, bows, arrows, clubs, personal weapons, and spears to do so. 10 They won’t need to cut down trees from the fields nor gather firewood from the forests, because they will light fires with the weapons as they plunder the plunderers and loot the looters!” declares the Lord God. 11 “When all of this happens, I’m going to set aside a grave site for Gog in Israel’s Traveler’s Valley,[a] near the approach[b] to the Dead Sea. She[c] will block off everyone who tries to bypass it. There they will bury Gog, and rename the area ‘Valley of Gog’s Gang’.[d] 12 The house of Israel will be burying them for seven months in order to purify the land. 13 Everyone in the land will be involved in the burials, and this will serve as a reminder for them that I have glorified myself,” declares the Lord God. 14 “Men will be assigned to travel continuously throughout the land, exploring for seven full months as they go about burying the bodies that remain from the battle[e] on the surface of the ground, so that the land may be sterilized. 15 As scouts go searching throughout the land, whenever they see someone’s bones, they will place a sign beside the remains until the remains have been buried in the Valley of Gog’s Gang. 16 They’ll also name the city that is there ‘Hamonah,’[f] as they purify the land.”

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 39:11 Lit. in the Crossover Valley; or Israel, the valley where people cross
  2. Ezekiel 39:11 I.e. to the north, as one travels from Jerusalem
  3. Ezekiel 39:11 MT does not identify the woman
  4. Ezekiel 39:11 Lit. Gog’s Crowd’ and so in v. 15
  5. Ezekiel 39:14 The Heb. lacks from the battle
  6. Ezekiel 39:16 The Heb. name means The Crowds