Ezekiel 38:8-18

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, ¹  with many peoples gathered on the mountains of Israel that had long been in ruins. Its people ²  were brought out from the peoples, and all of them will be living securely. 38:9 You will advance; ³  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, ⁴  and you will devise an evil plan. 38:11 You will say, “I will invade ⁵  a land of unwalled towns; I will advance against ⁶  those living quietly in security – all of them living without walls and barred gates – 38:12 to loot and plunder, to attack ⁷  the inhabited ruins and the people gathered from the nations, who are acquiring cattle and goods, who live at the center ⁸  of the earth.” 38:13 Sheba and Dedan and the traders of Tarshish with all its young warriors ⁹  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 ¹⁰  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. 38:16 You will advance ¹¹  against my people Israel like a cloud covering the earth. In the latter days I will bring you against my land so that the nations may acknowledge me, when before their eyes I magnify myself ¹²  through you, O Gog.

38:17 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Are you the one of whom I spoke in former days by my servants ¹³  the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days ¹⁴  that I would bring you against them? 38:18 On that day, when Gog invades ¹⁵  the land of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord, my rage will mount up in my anger.

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¹ tn Heb “from the sword.”

² tn Heb “it.”

³ tn Heb “go up.”

⁴ tn Heb “words will go up upon your heart.”

⁵ tn Heb “go up against.”

⁶ tn Heb “come (to).”

⁷ tn Heb “to turn your hand against.”

⁸ tn The Hebrew term occurs elsewhere only in Judg 9:37. Perhaps it means “high point, top.”

⁹ tn Heb “young lions.”

¹⁰ tn The Hebrew text is framed as a rhetorical question: “will you not take notice?”

¹¹ tn Heb “come up.”

¹² tn Or “reveal my holiness.”

¹³ tn Heb “by the hand of my servants.”

¹⁴ tn The Hebrew text adds “years” here, but this is probably a scribal gloss on the preceding phrase. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:201.

¹⁵ tn Heb “goes up against.”