Ezekiel 38

Common English Bible

Attack of Gog

38 The Lord’s word came to me: ² Human one, face Gog in the land of Magog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. Prophesy concerning him ³ and say, The Lord God proclaims: I challenge you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal! ⁴ I will turn you about, set hooks in your jaws, and lead you out, you and all your army, horses and riders, handsomely dressed, all of them, a great assembly, with buckler and shield, all of them wielding swords. ⁵ Persia, Cush, and Put are with you,^[a] all of them equipped with shield and helmet. ⁶ Gomer and all his troops, Beth-togarmah from the far north and all his troops; many peoples are with you. ⁷ Stand ready and be prepared, you and all your assembly. You will watch out for those who gather against you.

⁸ After many days you will be called out. In future years you will enter a country that has been freed from the sword, a gathering from many peoples on the mountains of Israel, which had become a perpetual ruin. This country was brought out from the peoples, and all of them live securely. ⁹ You will invade like a sudden storm. You and all your troops, and the many peoples with you, will be like clouds covering the earth.

¹⁰ The Lord God proclaims: On that day, thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil plan. ¹¹ You will say, “I will go up against the open country and come against a quiet people who all live securely without walls, bars, or doors ¹² to take plunder and seize loot, to use my^[b] power against the resettled waste places, against a people gathered from the nations, who are acquiring goods and cattle, and who live at the center^[c] of the earth.” ¹³ Sheba and Dedan and the merchants and officials of Tarshish will say to you, “Have you come to take plunder and seize loot? Have you assembled your army to take silver and gold, to take goods and cattle, to engage in great looting?”

¹⁴ So now, prophesy, human one, and say to Gog, The Lord God proclaims: Isn’t that what you will decide to do^[d] on that day, when my people Israel live securely? ¹⁵ You will come up from your place from the far north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding horses, a great assembly, a mighty army. ¹⁶ You will go up against my people Israel like a cloud covering the earth. But when this happens in future days, I will be the one who brings you up against my land, so that the nations may know me, Gog, when through you I show my holiness in their sight!

¹⁷ The Lord God proclaims: Are you the one about whom I spoke in former times through my servants, Israel’s prophets, the ones who prophesied for years in those days to bring you against them? ¹⁸ On that day, the day when Gog comes against Israel’s fertile land, my wrath will be aroused. This is what the Lord God says. ¹⁹ In my jealousy and blazing anger I declare: On that day, a great quaking will come over Israel’s fertile land. ²⁰ The fish of the sea, the birds in the sky, the beasts of the field, all the creatures crawling on the ground, and every living human being will quake in my presence. Mountains will be thrown down and cliffs will crumble; every wall will fall to the ground. ²¹ I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains. This is what the Lord God says! The swords of the warriors will be against each other, ²² and I will enter into judgment with him, with plague and blood. I will pour out flooding rain, hailstones, fire, and sulfur on him, on all his troops, and on the many peoples with him. ²³ So I will display my greatness, show my holiness, and make myself known in the sight of many nations. And they will know that I am the Lord.