Ezekiel

Ezekiel 38

23 verses · Major Prophets · Old Testament

1Yahweh’s word came to me, saying, 2“Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3and say, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Behold, I am against you, Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. 4I will turn you around, and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, with all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them handling swords; 5Persia, Cush, and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet; 6Gomer, and all his hordes; the house of Togarmah in the uttermost parts of the north, and all his hordes; even many peoples with you.

7“ ‘ “Be prepared, yes, prepare yourself, you, and all your companies who are assembled to you, and be a guard to them. 8After many days you will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land that is brought back from the sword, that is gathered out of many peoples, on the mountains of Israel, which have been a continual waste; but it is brought out of the peoples, and they will dwell securely, all of them. 9You will ascend. You will come like a storm. You will be like a cloud to cover the land, you, and all your hordes, and many peoples with you.”

10“ ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “It will happen in that day that things will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil plan. 11You will say, ‘I will go up to the land of unwalled villages. I will go to those who are at rest, who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, 12to take the plunder and to take prey; to turn your hand against the waste places that are inhabited, and against the people who are gathered out of the nations, who have gotten livestock and goods, who dwell in the middle of the earth.’ 13Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions of it, will ask you, ‘Have you come to take the plunder? Have you assembled your company to take the prey, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder?’ ” ’

14“Therefore, son of man, prophesy, and tell Gog, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “In that day when my people Israel dwells securely, will you not know it? 15You will come from your place out of the uttermost parts of the north, you, and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army. 16You will come up against my people Israel, as a cloud to cover the land. It will happen in the latter days, that I will bring you against my land, that the nations may know me, when I am sanctified in you, Gog, before their eyes.”

17“ ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Are you he of whom I spoke in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days for years that I would bring you against them? 18It will happen in that day, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,” says the Lord Yahweh, “that my wrath will come up into my nostrils. 19For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath I have spoken. Surely in that day there will be a great shaking in the land of Israel; 20so that the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the animals of the field, all creeping things who creep on the earth, and all the men who are on the surface of the earth will shake at my presence. Then the mountains will be thrown down, the steep places will fall, and every wall will fall to the ground. 21I will call for a sword against him to all my mountains,” says the Lord Yahweh. “Every man’s sword will be against his brother. 22I will enter into judgment with him with pestilence and with blood. I will rain on him, and on his hordes, and on the many peoples who are with him, an overflowing shower, with great hailstones, fire, and sulfur. 23I will magnify myself, and sanctify myself, and I will make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.” ’


Commentary on this chapter


What others are saying

5 commentators · 60 notes on this chapter

Matthew HenryEnglish Puritan / Nonconformist · 1708–17142

Writes as a pastor rather than a critic. Expect devotional and practical application over historical or linguistic analysis, read through a Reformed covenantal frame — and expect the Old Testament to be read forward toward Christ throughout.

Why this voice is here: The most widely read English commentary for three centuries. Included as a baseline: where Henry and a modern voice diverge, the divergence itself is usually the interesting part.

v. 1–13

The critical expositors have enough to do here to enquire out Gog and Magog. We cannot pretend either to add to their observations or to determine their controversies. Gog seems to be the king and Magog the kingdom; so that Gog and Magog are like Pharaoh and…

v. 14–23

This latter part of the chapter is a repetition of the former; the dream is doubled, for the thing is certain and to be very carefully regarded. I. It is here again foretold that this spiteful enemy should make a formidable descent upon the land of Israel…

John GillParticular Baptist / High Calvinist · 1746–176323

The most exhaustive and the most doctrinally committed here. Expect high — even supralapsarian — Calvinism applied consistently, and unusually heavy use of rabbinic and Talmudic sources for Jewish context. Where a passage bears on election or the will, Gill will read it in one direction, and knowing that in advance is the point.

Why this voice is here: The strongest Calvinist reading available in the public domain, and the best on Jewish background. Read alongside Clarke, not instead of him — between them you get both sides of the argument.

v. 1

And the word of the Lord came unto me,.... At the same time as the preceding prophecy did, as the copulative and shows; which predicts the restoration and conversion of the Jews; the union of their tribes under the King Messiah; and their settlement in their…

v. 2

Son of man, set thy face against Gog,.... Of the phrase, "setting the face towards", or "against"; see Gill on Ezekiel 6:2, Ezekiel 21:2, Ezekiel 25:2 but who this Gog is the prophet is bid boldly to face, and intrepidly declare the wrath of God against…

v. 3

And say, thus saith the Lord God, behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. Which is repeated for the confirmation of it, that so it would certainly be; that the Lord, the mighty God, and King of kings, would in his providence…

Adam ClarkeMethodist / Wesleyan-Arminian · 1810–182613

The linguist of this set. Expect Hebrew and Greek word study, oriental custom, and geography — and an Arminian reading of grace and free will where Gill or Henry would read election. Note one real divergence: Clarke denied the eternal sonship of Christ, a position most of the tradition rejects, so read him closely on the person of Christ.

Why this voice is here: Where you want to know what a word actually says, Clarke is the one who will tell you — with the caveat above on Christ’s sonship.

v. 2–3

Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog - This is allowed to be the most difficult prophecy in the Old Testament. It is difficult to us, because we know not the king nor people intended by it: but I am satisfied they were well known by these…

v. 4

I will turn thee back - Thy enterprise shall fail.

v. 5

Persia - That a part of this country was tributary to Antiochus, see 1 Maccabees 3:31. Ethiopia, and Libya - That these were auxiliaries of Antiochus is evident from Dan 11:43 : "The Libyans and Ethiopians shall be at his steps."

Keil & DelitzschGerman Lutheran, conservative-critical · 1861–18753

The technical one, and Old Testament only. Expect Hebrew grammar, textual argument, and direct engagement with nineteenth-century critical scholarship — closer to a scholarly apparatus than a devotional read. Where a modern critic claims a text is late or composite, this is where the conservative counter-argument was made.

Why this voice is here: Old Testament only, and heavy going — but the place to look when someone asserts a passage cannot mean what it appears to.

v. 1–9

Introduction Preparation of Gog and his army for the invasion of the restored land of Israel. - Eze 38:1. And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, Eze 38:2. Son of man, set thy face toward Gog in the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal…

v. 10–16

Account of the motive by which Gog was induced to undertake his warlike expedition, and incurred guilt, notwithstanding the fact that he was led by God, and in consequence of which he brought upon himself the judgment of destruction that was about to fall…

v. 17–23

Announcement of the Wrathful Judgment upon Gog, as a Proof of the Holiness of the Lord Eze 38:17. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Art thou he of whom I spoke in the former days through my servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied for years in those days…

Jamieson, Fausset & BrownScottish Presbyterian / Reformed · 187119

The concise option. Three authors split the canon, so the voice shifts between sections. Expect brief, sober, conservative notes that resolve difficulties rather than dwelling on them — useful for orientation, thinner than Gill or Clarke where a passage is genuinely contested.

Why this voice is here: The quickest way to see what the mainstream Reformed reading of a passage is. Start here, then go to Gill or Clarke when it matters.

v. 3

His high-sounding titles are repeated to imply the haughty self-confidence of the invader as if invincible.

v. 4

turn thee back--as a refractory wild beast, which thinks to take its own way, but is bent by a superior power to turn on a course which must end in its destruction. Satan shall be, by overruling Providence, permitted to deceive them to their ruin (Rev…

v. 5

Persia . . . Libya--expressly specified by APPIAN as supplying the ranks of Antiochus' army.

World English Bible — Public domain