Ezekiel 38

1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

A message from the Lord came to me, saying,

2 Son of man, let your face be turned against Gog, of the land of Magog, the ruler of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and be a prophet against him,

“Son of man, face towards Gog of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. Prophesy against him

3 And say, This is what the Lord has said: See, I am against you, O Gog, ruler of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal:

and declare that this is what the Lord God says: Watch out, I am condemning you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.

4 And turning you round, I will put hooks in your mouth and make you come out with all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them in full war-dress, a great force with breastplate and body-cover, all of them armed with swords:

I will send you in a different direction, put hooks in your jaws, and drag you out with your whole army, including your horses, your horsemen in uniform, and a host of men with large and small shields and bucklers, all waving their swords.

5 Persia, Cush, and Put with them; all of them with body-cover and metal head-dress:

Soldiers from Persia, Cush, and Put will join them, all equipped with shields and helmets,

6 Gomer and all her forces; the people of Togarmah in the inmost parts of the north, with all his forces: a great number of peoples with you.

together with Gomer and all its armies, as well as Beth-togarmah from the distant places of the north with all its armies—and many other nations that join with you.

7 Be ready, make yourself ready, you and all the forces who are with you, and be ready for my orders.

Get ready! Make sure you and your whole army with you is prepared. You're the one in charge of them.

8 After a long time you will get your orders: in the last years you will come into the land which has been given back from the sword, which has been got together out of a great number of peoples, on the mountains of Israel which have ever been a waste: but it has been taken out from the peoples and they will be living, all of them, without fear of danger.

A long time later you will be called to battle. In the final years you will invade a country that has recovered from war. Its people will have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had been abandoned for a long time. They had been brought back from the nations, and were all living in safety.

9 And you will go up, you will come like a storm, you will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your forces, and a great number of peoples with you.

You and your whole army, and the armies of many nations with you, will advance like an incoming storm, like a cloud that covers the land.

10 This is what the Lord has said: In that day it will come about that things will come into your mind, and you will have thoughts of an evil design:

This is what the Lord God says: On that day you will start thinking about things in your mind, and you will come up with an evil plan.

11 And you will say, I will go up to the land of small unwalled towns; I will go to those who are quiet, living, all of them, without fear of danger, without walls or locks or doors:

You tell yourself, ‘I'm going to attack a country of undefended villages, a peaceful people who don't suspect an attack. They all live in towns without defensive walls or barred gates.

12 To take their property by force and go off with their goods; turning your hand against the waste places which now are peopled, and against the people who have been got together out of the nations, who have got cattle and goods for themselves, who are living in the middle of the earth.

I'll be able to loot them—I'll rob them of their possessions. I'll attack those places that were once ruined but now are inhabited again. I'll attack a people brought back from the other nations, who now own livestock and possessions, living in the center of the country.’

13 Sheba, and Dedan and her traders, Tarshish with all her traders, will say to you, Have you come to take our goods? have you got your armies together to take away our property by force? to take away silver and gold, cattle and goods, to go off with great wealth?

Sheba and Dedan and the traders from Tarshish with all its strong leaders will ask, ‘Are you going to loot the place? Have you gathered your armies to rob them, to carry away silver and gold, to take cattle and possessions—to grab a great deal of plunder?’

14 For this cause, son of man, be a prophet and say to Gog, These are the words of the Lord: In that day, when my people Israel are living without fear of danger, will you not be moved against them?

So prophesy, son of man, and tell Gog that this is what the Lord God says: On the day you attack aren't you going to notice that my people Israel are unsuspecting?

15 And you will come from your place in the inmost parts of the north, you and a great number of peoples with you, all of them on horseback, a great force and a strong army:

You'll advance from your place in the distant north, you and your many allies, everyone riding horses, a huge number of men, a massive army.

16 And you will come up against my people Israel, like a cloud covering the land; and it will come about, in the last days, that I will make you come against my land, so that the nations may have knowledge of me when I make myself holy in you, O Gog, before their eyes.

You will attack my people Israel like a cloud that covers the land. Gog, in the last days I will send you to attack my land, so that the nations may acknowledge me as holy when I reveal myself to them by what I do through you.

17 This is what the Lord has said: You are he of whom I gave them word in earlier times by my servants, the prophets of Israel, who in those days went on saying, year after year, that I would make you come up against them.

This is what the Lord God says: Aren't you the one of whom I spoke about long ago through my servants, the prophets of Israel? During that time didn't they prophesy for years that I would have you come and attack them?

18 And it will come about in that day, when Gog comes up against the land of Israel, says the Lord, that my wrath will come up, and my passion and my bitter feeling.

Now on that day, the day when Gog comes to attack the country of Israel, I will become very angry, declares the Lord God.

19 For in the fire of my wrath I have said, Truly, in that day there will be a great shaking in the land of Israel;

In my passionate, furious anger I announce that at that time a violent earthquake will hit of the country of Israel.

20 So that the fish of the sea and the birds of heaven and the beasts of the field and everything moving on the earth, and all the men who are on the face of the earth, will be shaking before me, and the mountains will be overturned and the high places will come down, and every wall will come falling down to the earth.

Everything that lives on the earth will tremble at my presence—the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the wild animals, every creature that runs upon the ground, and every human being. The mountains will be torn down, the cliffs will collapse, and every wall will be knocked to the ground.

21 And I will send to all my mountains for a sword against him, says the Lord: every man's sword will be against his brother.

I will call for an attack on Gog from all my mountains, declares the Lord God. Everyone will attack his brother with sword.

22 And I will take up my cause against him with disease and with blood; and I will send down on him and on his forces and on the peoples who are with him, an overflowing shower and great ice-drops, fire, and burning.

I will punish him with disease and bloodshed. I will send rainstorms, hailstones, fire, and sulfur down on him and his army, and on the armies of his many allies.

23 And I will make my name great and make myself holy, and I will make myself clear to a number of nations; and they will be certain that I am the Lord.

I will demonstrate my true power and holiness, revealing myself to many nations. Then they will acknowledge that I am the Lord.”