Ezekiel 38:4-15

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, ¹  all of them armed with swords. 38:5 Persia, ²  Ethiopia, and Put ³  are with them, all of them with shields and helmets. 38:6 They are joined by ⁴  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. ⁵ 

38:7 “‘Be ready and stay ready, you and all your companies assembled around you, and be a guard for them. ⁶  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, ⁷  with many peoples gathered on the mountains of Israel that had long been in ruins. Its people ⁸  were brought out from the peoples, and all of them will be living securely. 38:9 You will advance; ⁹  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, ¹⁰  and you will devise an evil plan. 38:11 You will say, “I will invade ¹¹  a land of unwalled towns; I will advance against ¹²  those living quietly in security – all of them living without walls and barred gates – 38:12 to loot and plunder, to attack ¹³  the inhabited ruins and the people gathered from the nations, who are acquiring cattle and goods, who live at the center ¹⁴  of the earth.” 38:13 Sheba and Dedan and the traders of Tarshish with all its young warriors ¹⁵  will say to you, “Have you come to loot? Have you assembled your armies to plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to haul away a great amount of spoils?”’

38:14 “Therefore, prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: On that day when my people Israel are living securely, you will take notice ¹⁶  38:15 and come from your place, from the remote parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a vast army.

[38:4]  ¹ sn The Hebrew text mentions two different types of shields here.

[38:5]  ² 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]  ³ sn That is, Lydia.

[38:6]  ³ tn The words “they are joined by” are added in the translation for purposes of English style.

[38:6]  ⁴ 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]  ⁴ tn The second person singular verbal and pronominal forms in the Hebrew text indicate that Gog is addressed here.

[38:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “from the sword.”

[38:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “it.”

[38:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “go up.”

[38:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “words will go up upon your heart.”

[38:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “go up against.”

[38:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “come (to).”

[38:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “to turn your hand against.”

[38:12]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew term occurs elsewhere only in Judg 9:37. Perhaps it means “high point, top.”

[38:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “young lions.”

[38:14]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew text is framed as a rhetorical question: “will you not take notice?”