Ezekiel39
New American Standard
1“And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal;
2and I will turn you around, lead you on a rope, take you up from the remotest parts of the north, and bring you against the mountains of Israel.
3Then I will strike your bow from your left hand and make your arrows fall from your right hand.
4You will fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops, and the peoples who are with you; I will give you as food to every kind of predatory bird and animal of the field.
5You will fall on the open field; for it is I who have spoken,” declares the Lord God.
6“And I will send fire upon Magog and those who inhabit the coastlands in safety; and they will know that I am the Lord.
7“And I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel; and I will not allow My holy name to be profaned anymore. But the nations will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.
8Behold, it is coming and it shall be done,” declares the Lord God. “That is the day of which I have spoken.
9“Then those who inhabit the cities of Israel will go out and make fires with the weapons and burn them, both bucklers and shields, bows and arrows, war clubs and spears, and for seven years they will make fires of them.
10They will not take wood from the field or gather firewood from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons; and they will take the spoils of those who plundered them and seize the plunder of those who plundered them,” declares the Lord God.
11“On that day I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel, the valley of those who pass by east of the sea, and it will block the way of those who would pass by. So they will bury Gog there with all his horde, and they will call it the Valley of Hamon-gog.
12For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them in order to cleanse the land.
13And all the people of the land will bury them; and it will be to their renown on the day that I appear in My glory,” declares the Lord God.
14“They will also select men who will constantly pass through the land, burying those who were passing through, those left on the surface of the ground, in order to cleanse it. At the end of seven months they will conduct a search.
15As those who pass through the land pass through and anyone sees a human bone, then he will set up a marker by it until the burial detail has buried it in the Valley of Hamon-gog.
16And even the name of the city will be Hamonah. So they will cleanse the land.”’
17“Now as for you, son of man, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Say to every kind of bird and to every animal of the field: “Assemble and come, gather from every direction to My sacrifice, which I am going to sacrifice for you as a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel; and you will eat flesh and drink blood.
18You will eat the flesh of warriors and drink the blood of the leaders of the earth, as though they were rams, lambs, goats, and bulls, all of them fattened livestock of Bashan.
19So you will eat fat until you are full, and drink blood until you are drunk, from My sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.
20You will eat your fill at My table with horses and charioteers, with warriors and all the men of war,” declares the Lord God.
21“And I will place My glory among the nations; and all the nations will see My judgment which I have executed, and My hand which I have laid on them.
22And the house of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God, from that day onward.
23The nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile for their wrongdoing, because they were disloyal to Me, and I hid My face from them; so I handed them over to their adversaries, and all of them fell by the sword.
24In accordance with their uncleanness and their offenses I dealt with them, and I hid My face from them.”’”
25Therefore this is what the Lord God says: “Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on all the house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name.
26They will forget their disgrace and all their treachery which they perpetrated against Me, when they live securely on their own land with no one to make them afraid.
27When I bring them back from the peoples and gather them from the lands of their enemies, then I shall show Myself holy through them in the sight of the many nations.
28Then they will know that I am the Lord their God because I made them go into exile among the nations, and then I gathered them again to their own land; and I will leave none of them there any longer.
29I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,” declares the Lord God.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Ezekiel 39.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The destruction of Gog. (1-10). Its extent. (11-22). Israel again favoured. (23-29).
vv1-10
The Lord will make the most careless and hardened transgressors know his holy name, either by his righteous anger, or by the riches of his mercy and grace. The weapons formed against Zion shall not prosper. Though this prophecy is to be fulfilled in the latter days, it is certain. From the language used, it seems that the army of Gog will be destroyed by miracle.
vv11-22
How numerous the enemies which God destroyed for the defence of his people Israel! Times of great deliverances should be times of reformation. Every one should help the utmost he can, toward cleansing the land from reproach. Sin is an enemy every man should strive against. Those engaged in public work, especially of cleansing and reforming a land, ought to be men who will go through with what they undertake, who will be always employed. When good work is to be done, every one should further it. Having received special favours from God, let us cleanse ourselves from all evil. It is a work which will require persevering diligence, that search may be made into the secret recesses of sin. The judgments of the Lord, brought upon sin and sinners, are a sacrifice to the justice of God, and a feast to the faith and hope of God's people. See how evil pursues sinners, even after death. After all that ambitious and covetous men do and look for, "a place of graves" is all the Lord gives them on earth, while their guilty souls are doomed to misery in another world.
vv23-29
When the Lord shall have mercy on the whole house of Israel, by converting them to Christianity, and when they shall have borne the shame of being cast off for their sins, then the nations shall learn to know, worship, and serve him. Then Israel also shall know the Lord, as revealed in and by Christ. Past events do not answer to these predictions. The pouring out of the Spirit is a pledge that God's favour will continue. He will hide his face no more from those on whom he has poured out his Spirit. When we pray that God would never cast us from his presence, we must as earnestly pray that, in order thereto, he would never take his Holy Spirit from us.
Key Words
אַתָּה: thou and thee, or (plural) ye and you
בֵּן: a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)
אָדָם: ruddy i.e. a human being (an individual or the species, mankind, etc.)
נָבָא: to prophesy, i.e. speak (or sing) by inspiration (in prediction or simple discourse)
עַל: above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications
גּוֹג: Gog, the name of an Israelite, also of some nothern nation
אָמַר: to say (used with great latitude)
כֹּה: properly, like this, i.e. by implication, (of manner) thus (or so); also (of place) here (or hither); or (of time) now
אֲדֹנָי: the Lord (used as a proper name of God only)
הִנֵּה: lo!
Cross References
Ezekiel 39John's invitation to birds of prey to consume kings and captains directly echoes Ezekiel's sacrificial feast.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Direct reiteration of the divine indictment and titles of Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Parallel theme of God making wars to cease by breaking and burning the weapons of war.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Identifies the divine plagues of destruction sent against Gog's hosts.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Similar judgment of being cast onto the open fields and given to ravenous beasts.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Confirms this judgment is the great day of recompense spoken of by former prophets.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The solemn declaration 'it is done' matches the seventh bowl judgment in Revelation.
Supported by JFB
Eschatological development of the ultimate gathering of Gog and Magog for final defeat.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The sovereign pouring out of God's Spirit as the guarantee of covenant restoration.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Parallels God's turning back of the northern invader as with hooks in jaws.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Verifies that Gog's armies originate from the extreme recesses of the north parts.
Supported by Matthew Poole
God acts to preserve His holy name from being polluted among the heathen.
Supported by Matthew Poole
God's holy jealousy to vindicate His name, which had been profaned by His people's exile.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Mosaic requirement to bury the dead promptly so that the land is not defiled.
Supported by JFB
The legal ritual context for cleansing the land from defilement caused by human bones.
Supported by JFB
Prophetic parallel of a great slaughter framed as a sacrificial feast for wild creatures.
Supported by JFB
The Lord has prepared a sacrifice and invited his guests to consume the wicked.
Supported by JFB
Textual cross-connection within the chapter locating the massive burial site at Hamon-gog.
Supported by JFB
The stouthearted are spoiled and the men of might cannot find their hands.
Supported by Matthew Poole
God walking contrary to Israel and hiding His face due to their persistent uncleanness.
Supported by Matthew Poole