Text -- Ezekiel 39:7-29 (NET)

39:7 “‘I will make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; I will not let my holy name be profaned anymore. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 39:8 Realize that it is coming and it will be done, declares the sovereign Lord. It is the day I have spoken about. 39:9 “‘Then those who live in the cities of Israel will go out and use the weapons for kindling– the shields, bows and arrows, war clubs and spears– they will burn them for seven years. 39:10 They will not need to take 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, declares the sovereign Lord. 39:11 “‘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. 39:12 For seven months Israel will bury them, in order to cleanse the land. 39:13 All the people of the land will bury them, and it will be a memorial for them on the day I magnify myself, declares the sovereign Lord. 39:14 They will designate men to scout continually through the land, burying those who remain on the surface of the ground, in order to cleanse it. They will search for seven full months. 39:15 When the scouts survey the land and see a human bone, they will place a sign by it, until those assigned to burial duty have buried it in the valley of Hamon-Gog. 39:16 (A city by the name of Hamonah will also be there.) They will cleanse the land.’ 39:17 “As for you, son of man, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Tell every kind of bird and every wild beast: ‘Assemble and come! Gather from all around to my slaughter which I am going to make for you, a great slaughter on the mountains of Israel! You will eat flesh and drink blood. 39:18 You will eat the flesh of warriors and drink the blood of the princes of the earth– the rams, lambs, goats, and bulls, all of them fattened animals of Bashan. 39:19 You will eat fat until you are full, and drink blood until you are drunk, at my slaughter which I have made for you. 39:20 You will fill up at my table with horses and charioteers, with warriors and all the soldiers,’ declares the sovereign Lord. 39:21 “I will display my majesty among the nations. All the nations will witness the judgment I have executed, and the power I have exhibited among them. 39:22 Then the house of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God, from that day forward. 39:23 The nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile due to their iniquity, for they were unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies; all of them died by the sword. 39:24 According to their uncleanness and rebellion I have dealt with them, and I hid my face from them. 39:25 “Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob, and I will have mercy on the entire house of Israel. I will be zealous for my holy name. 39:26 They will bear their shame for all their unfaithful acts against me, when they live securely on their land with no one to make them afraid. 39:27 When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will magnify myself among them in the sight of many nations. 39:28 Then they will know that I am the Lord their God, because I sent them into exile among the nations, and then gathered them into their own land. I will not leave any of them in exile any longer. 39:29 I will no longer hide my face from them, when I pour out my Spirit on the house of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord.”

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Eze 39:7

¹ sn The basic sense of the word “holy” is “set apart from that which is commonplace, special, unique.” The Lord’s holiness is first and foremost his transcendent sovereignty as the ruler of the world. He is “set apart” from the world over which he rules. At the same time his holiness encompasses his moral authority, which derives from his royal position. As king he has the right to dictate to his subjects how they are to live; indeed his very own character sets the standard for proper behavior. This expression is a common title for the Lord in the book of Isaiah.

NET Notes: Eze 39:9

¹ tn Heb “burn and kindle the weapons.”

² tn Two different types of shields are specified in the Hebrew text.

NET Notes: Eze 39:10

¹ tn Heb “they will not carry.”

² tn Heb “loot their looters and plunder their plunderers.”

NET Notes: Eze 39:11

¹ tn The name means “horde of Gog.”

NET Notes: Eze 39:12

¹ tn Heb “the house of Israel.”

NET Notes: Eze 39:13

¹ tn Heb “name.”

NET Notes: Eze 39:14

¹ tn Heb “men of perpetuity.”

² 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).

NET Notes: Eze 39:15

¹ tn Heb “as the scouts scout.”

² tn That is, the aforementioned bone.

NET Notes: Eze 39:16

¹ tn This name appears to be a feminine form of the word “horde,” used in the name Hamon-Gog.

NET Notes: Eze 39:17

¹ tn Or “sacrifice” (so also in the rest of this verse).

NET Notes: Eze 39:18

¹ sn See Rev 19:17-18.

NET Notes: Eze 39:19

¹ sn Eating the fat and drinking blood were God’s exclusive rights in Israelite sacrifices (Lev 3:17).

² tn Or “sacrifice” (so also in the rest of this verse).

NET Notes: Eze 39:20

¹ tn Heb “chariots.”

NET Notes: Eze 39:21

¹ tn Or “my glory.”

² tn Heb “my hand which I have placed.”

NET Notes: Eze 39:23

¹ tn Or “in their punishment.” The phrase “in/for [a person’s] iniquity/punishment” occurs fourteen times in Ezekiel: here; 3:18, 19; 4:17; 7:13, 16; 18: 17, 18, 19, 20; 24:23; 33:6, 8, 9. The Hebrew word for “iniquity” may also mean the “punishment” for iniquity or “guilt” of iniquity.

NET Notes: Eze 39:25

¹ tn Heb “cause to return.”

NET Notes: Eze 39:28

¹ tn Heb “there,” referring to the foreign nations to which they were exiled. The translation makes the referent clear.

NET Notes: Eze 39:29

¹ sn See Ezek 11:19; 37:14.