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In the Latter Days, Gog Will Attack Israel but
Will Be Defeated by the Lord

38 The word of the Lord came to me.

Son of man, set your face against Gog from the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh,[a] Meshek, and Tubal, and prophesy against him and say this.

This is what the Lord God says. I am against you, Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshek, and Tubal.[b] I will turn you around. I will put hooks in your jaws, and I will bring you out with your entire army, horses and horsemen, all of them magnificently arrayed, a vast horde[c] armed with body shields and hand shields, all of them wielding swords. Persia, Cush, and Libya[d] are with them, all of them with hand shields and helmets, also Gomer and all its troops, Beth Togarmah from the remotest regions of the north and all its troops—many peoples will be with you. Ready yourself. Prepare yourself, you and your whole horde that is gathered around you, and keep watch over them. After many days you will be summoned to come together. In the latter years you will invade a land that was restored from the ravages of the sword, whose population had been gathered from among many peoples, back to the mountains of Israel, which had been lying in ruins for a long time. Its population had been brought out from among the peoples, and all of them were now living securely. You will come up like a devastating storm. You will come up like a cloud to cover the land, you and all your troops and many peoples with you.

10 This is what the Lord God says. On that day plans will come into your mind, and you will plot an evil scheme. 11 You will say, “I will go up against a land of unwalled villages. I will attack the peaceful people who live in security, all of them living without walls, with neither bars nor gates. 12 I will attack in order to seize spoils and carry off plunder, to assault resettled ruins and to attack people returned from the nations, people who are acquiring livestock and other property, people who live at the center[e] of the earth.”

13 Sheba, Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish, and all its leaders[f] will say to you, “Have you come to seize spoils? Have you gathered your horde to carry off plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and other property, to seize a large amount of spoils?”

14 Therefore prophesy, son of man, and say this to Gog. This is what the Lord God says. On that day, when my people Israel are dwelling securely, you will be aware of that, won’t you? 15 So you will come from your place, from the remotest regions of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great horde, a mighty army. 16 You will come up against my people Israel like a cloud covering the land. In the latter days this will happen. I will bring you against my land so that the nations will know me when I use you to reveal myself as holy in front of their eyes, O Gog.

17 This is what the Lord God says. Are you the one I spoke about in earlier days through my servants, the prophets of Israel? In those days didn’t they prophesy for many years that I would bring you against Israel? 18 On that day when Gog comes against the land of Israel, says the Lord God, my wrath will be evident on my face. 19 In my zeal and the fire of my fury, I have spoken. I swear that there will be a great earthquake in the land of Israel on that day. 20 All of these will quake in my presence: the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the animals in the open country, every creeping thing that creeps on the ground, and every human being on the face of the earth. The mountains will be overthrown. The hillside terraces will collapse, and every wall will fall to the ground. 21 I will summon against Gog a sword upon all my mountains, declares the Lord God. Every man’s sword will be against his brother. 22 I will judge him with plague and with bloodshed. I will rain down torrential rain, hailstones, and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many peoples who are with him. 23 In this way I will show myself to be great, and I will show myself to be holy, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 38:2 Or the chief prince
  2. Ezekiel 38:3 Places far to the north, in present-day Ukraine and Russia
  3. Ezekiel 38:4 The biblical accounts regularly use the Hebrew term hamon to refer to hostile, heathen armies. This term refers to a noisy, disorderly crowd. In reference to a barbarian army, horde is an appropriate rendering.
  4. Ezekiel 38:5 Hebrew Paras, Cush, and Put. These are the most distant places Israel was familiar with in North Africa and Asia.
  5. Ezekiel 38:12 Literally navel
  6. Ezekiel 38:13 Literally young lions

The Lord’s Great Victory Over the Nations

38 The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, set your face against Gog,(A) of the land of Magog,(B) the chief prince of[a] Meshek and Tubal;(C) prophesy against him and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Gog, chief prince of[b] Meshek and Tubal.(D) I will turn you around, put hooks(E) in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army—your horses, your horsemen fully armed, and a great horde with large and small shields, all of them brandishing their swords.(F) Persia, Cush[c](G) and Put(H) will be with them, all with shields and helmets, also Gomer(I) with all its troops, and Beth Togarmah(J) from the far north(K) with all its troops—the many nations with you.

“‘Get ready; be prepared,(L) you and all the hordes gathered about you, and take command of them. After many days(M) you will be called to arms. In future years you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations(N) to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and now all of them live in safety.(O) You and all your troops and the many nations with you will go up, advancing like a storm;(P) you will be like a cloud(Q) covering the land.(R)

10 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind(S) and you will devise an evil scheme.(T) 11 You will say, “I will invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people(U)—all of them living without walls and without gates and bars.(V) 12 I will plunder and loot and turn my hand against the resettled ruins and the people gathered from the nations, rich in livestock and goods, living at the center of the land.[d] 13 Sheba(W) and Dedan(X) and the merchants of Tarshish(Y) and all her villages[e] will say to you, “Have you come to plunder? Have you gathered your hordes to loot, to carry off silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods and to seize much plunder?(Z)”’

14 “Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: In that day, when my people Israel are living in safety,(AA) will you not take notice of it? 15 You will come from your place in the far north,(AB) you and many nations with you, all of them riding on horses, a great horde, a mighty army.(AC) 16 You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud(AD) that covers the land.(AE) In days to come, Gog, I will bring you against my land, so that the nations may know me when I am proved holy(AF) through you before their eyes.(AG)

17 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: You are the one I spoke of in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel. At that time they prophesied for years that I would bring you against them. 18 This is what will happen in that day: When Gog attacks the land of Israel, my hot anger will be aroused, declares the Sovereign Lord. 19 In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake(AH) in the land of Israel.(AI) 20 The fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble(AJ) at my presence. The mountains will be overturned,(AK) the cliffs will crumble(AL) and every wall will fall to the ground.(AM) 21 I will summon a sword(AN) against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Sovereign Lord. Every man’s sword will be against his brother.(AO) 22 I will execute judgment(AP) on him with plague and bloodshed;(AQ) I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones(AR) and burning sulfur(AS) on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him.(AT) 23 And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.(AU)

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 38:2 Or the prince of Rosh,
  2. Ezekiel 38:3 Or Gog, prince of Rosh,
  3. Ezekiel 38:5 That is, the upper Nile region
  4. Ezekiel 38:12 The Hebrew for this phrase means the navel of the earth.
  5. Ezekiel 38:13 Or her strong lions