Ezekiel39
New King James Version
1“And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal;
2and I will turn you around and lead you on, bringing you up from the far north, and bring you against the mountains of Israel.
3Then I will knock the bow out of your left hand, and cause the arrows to fall out of your right hand.
4You shall fall upon the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you; I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5You shall fall on the open field; for I have spoken,” says the Lord God.
6“And I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in security in the coastlands. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.
7So I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let them profane My holy name anymore. Then the nations shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.
8Surely it is coming, and it shall be done,” says the Lord God. “This is the day of which I have spoken.
9“Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and bucklers, the bows and arrows, the javelins and spears; and they will make fires with them for seven years.
10They will not take wood from the field nor cut down any from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons; and they will plunder those who plundered them, and pillage those who pillaged them,” says the Lord God.
11“It will come to pass in that day that I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel, the valley of those who pass by east of the sea; and it will obstruct travelers, because there they will bury Gog and all his multitude. Therefore 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.
13Indeed all the people of the land will be burying, and they will gain renown for it on the day that I am glorified,” says the Lord God.
14“They will set apart men regularly employed, with the help of a search party, to pass through the land and bury those bodies remaining on the ground, in order to cleanse it. At the end of seven months they will make a search.
15The search party will pass through the land; and when anyone sees a man’s bone, he shall set up a marker by it, till the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon Gog.
16The name of the city will also be Hamonah. Thus they shall cleanse the land.” ’
17“And as for you, son of man, thus says the Lord God, ‘Speak to every sort of bird and to every beast of the field: “Assemble yourselves and come; Gather together from all sides to My sacrificial meal Which I am sacrificing for you, A great sacrificial meal on the mountains of Israel, That you may eat flesh and drink blood.
18You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, Drink the blood of the princes of the earth, Of rams and lambs, Of goats and bulls, All of them fatlings of Bashan.
19You shall eat fat till you are full, And drink blood till you are drunk, At My sacrificial meal Which I am sacrificing for you.
20You shall be filled at My table With horses and riders, With mighty men And with all the men of war,” says the Lord God.
21“I will set My glory among the nations; all the nations shall see My judgment which I have executed, and My hand which I have laid on them.
22So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day forward.
23The Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they were unfaithful to Me, therefore I hid My face from them. I gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword.
24According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I have dealt with them, and hidden My face from them.” ’
25“Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Now I will bring back the captives of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name—
26after they have borne their shame, and all their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, when they dwelt safely in their own land and no one made them afraid.
27When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and I am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations,
28then they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their land, and left none of them captive any longer.
29And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says 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