Yehezkiel 38:1-10

A Prophecy Against Gog

38:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 38:2 “Son of man, turn toward ¹  Gog, ²  of the land of Magog, ³  the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. ⁴  Prophesy against him 38:3 and say: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, ⁵  I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. 38:4 I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and bring you out with all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them fully armed, a great company with shields of different types, ⁶  all of them armed with swords. 38:5 Persia, ⁷  Ethiopia, and Put ⁸  are with them, all of them with shields and helmets. 38:6 They are joined by ⁹  Gomer with all its troops, and by Beth Togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops – many peoples are with you. ¹⁰ 

38:7 “‘Be ready and stay ready, you and all your companies assembled around you, and be a guard for them. ¹¹  38:8 After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come to a land restored from the ravages of war, ¹²  with many peoples gathered on the mountains of Israel that had long been in ruins. Its people ¹³  were brought out from the peoples, and all of them will be living securely. 38:9 You will advance; ¹⁴  you will come like a storm. You will be like a cloud covering the earth, you, all your troops, and the many other peoples with you.

38:10 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind, ¹⁵  and you will devise an evil plan.

[38:2]  ¹ tn Heb “set your face against.”

[38:2]  ² sn This may refer to a Lydian king in western Asia Minor in the seventh century b.c. Apart from Ezek 38-39, the only other biblical reference to this king/nation is in Rev 20:8. For a study of the names appearing in this verse, see E. Yamauchi, Foes From the Northern Frontier, 19-27.

[38:2]  ³ sn One of the sons of Japheth according to Gen 10:2; 1 Chr 1:5.

[38:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “the prince, the chief of Meshech and Tubal.” Some translate “the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal,” but it is more likely that the Hebrew noun in question is a common noun in apposition to “prince,” rather than a proper name. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:434-35. As Block demonstrates, attempts by some popular writers to identify these proper names with later geographical sites in Russia are anachronistic. See as well E. Yamauchi, Foes From the Northern Frontier, 19-27.

[38:2]  sn Meshech and Tubal were two nations in Cappadocia of Asia Minor. They were also sons of Japheth (Gen 10:2; 1 Chr 1:5).

[38:3]  ⁵ tn Or “I challenge you.” The phrase “I am against you” may be a formula for challenging someone to combat or a duel. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:201-2, and P. Humbert, “Die Herausforderungsformel ‘h!nn#n' ?l?K>,’” ZAW 45 (1933): 101-8.

[38:4]  ⁶ sn The Hebrew text mentions two different types of shields here.

[38:5]  ⁷ tn D. I. Block prefers to see the Hebrew word as referring here to a western ally of Egypt or as an alternative spelling for Pathros, that is, Upper Egypt. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:439-40.

[38:5]  ⁸ sn That is, Lydia.

[38:6]  ⁹ tn The words “they are joined by” are added in the translation for purposes of English style.

[38:6]  ¹⁰ sn The seven-nation coalition represents the north (Meshech, Tubal, Gomer, Beth-Togarmah), the south/west (Ethiopia, Put) and the east (Persia). The use of the sevenfold list suggests completeness. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:441.

[38:7]  ¹¹ tn The second person singular verbal and pronominal forms in the Hebrew text indicate that Gog is addressed here.

[38:8]  ¹² tn Heb “from the sword.”

[38:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “it.”

[38:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “go up.”

[38:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “words will go up upon your heart.”