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“‘Then those who live in the cities of Israel will go out and use the weapons for kindling[a]—the shields,[b] bows and arrows, war clubs and spears—they will burn them for seven years. 10 They will not need to take[c] 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,[d] 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.[e] 12 For seven months Israel[f] 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[g] for them on the day I magnify myself, declares the Sovereign Lord. 14 They will designate men to scout continually[h] through the land, burying those who remain on the surface of the ground,[i] in order to cleanse it. They will search for seven full months. 15 When the scouts survey[j] the land and see a human bone, they will place a sign by it, until those assigned to burial duty have buried it[k] in the valley of Hamon Gog. 16 (A city by the name of Hamonah[l] will also be there.) They will cleanse the land.’

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 39:9 tn Heb “burn and kindle the weapons.”
  2. Ezekiel 39:9 tn Two different types of shields are specified in the Hebrew text.
  3. Ezekiel 39:10 tn Heb “they will not carry.”
  4. Ezekiel 39:10 tn Heb “loot their looters and plunder their plunderers.”
  5. Ezekiel 39:11 tn The name means “horde of Gog.”
  6. Ezekiel 39:12 tn Heb “the house of Israel.”
  7. Ezekiel 39:13 tn Heb “name.”
  8. Ezekiel 39:14 tn Heb “men of perpetuity.”
  9. 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).
  10. Ezekiel 39:15 tn Heb “as the scouts scout.”
  11. Ezekiel 39:15 tn That is, the aforementioned bone.
  12. Ezekiel 39:16 tn This name appears to be a feminine form of the word “horde,” used in the name Hamon Gog.

And [when you, Gog, no longer exist] those who live in the cities of Israel will go out and make fires with the weapons and burn them, both the [large] shields and the [a]bucklers (small shields), the bows and the arrows, the war clubs and the spears; and for seven years they will burn them. 10 They will not take any wood from the field or cut down and gather [any] firewood from the forests, because they will make their fires using the weapons. And they will take the spoil from those who despoiled them and seize the plunder of those who plundered them,” says the Lord God.

11 “And on that day I will give Gog a place for burial there in Israel, the valley of those who pass through east of the sea, and it will block the way of those who would pass through. So they will [b]bury Gog there with all his hordes, and they will call it the Valley of Hamon-gog (the multitude of Gog). 12 For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them in order to cleanse the land. 13 Yes, all the people of the land will bury them; and it will be to their renown on the day that I appear in My glory and brilliance,” says the Lord God. 14 “They will elect men who will constantly go through the land, [men commissioned] to bury those who were passing through, those bodies that lie unburied on the surface of the ground, in order to cleanse it. At the end of seven months they will do a search. 15 As those who pass through the land pass through and anyone sees a human bone, he will set up a marker beside it, until the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon-gog. 16 And even the name of the city will be Hamonah. In this manner they shall cleanse the land.”’

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 39:9 See note Jer 46:3.
  2. Ezekiel 39:11 The number of dead bodies left after the great catastrophe which God will send on Gog and his hordes will be innumerable. Their bodies will even interfere with traffic. The dead will not be killed in battle. God will destroy them by a great natural disaster (38:18-23). And not just some, but all of Gog’s hordes will die then (vv 4, 11); before they have had a chance to use their weapons, God will strike them from their hands (v 3).