Jezekiel 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, set thy face against Gog, and the land of Magog, Rhos, prince of Mesoch and Thobel, and prophesy 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 to him, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, Rhos prince of Mesoch and Thobel:

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 I will gather thee, and all thine host, horses and horsemen, all wearing breast-plates, with a great multitude, shields and helmets and 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 Persians, and Ethiopians, and Libyans; all with helmets and shields.

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

6 Gomer, and all belonging to him; the house of Thorgama, from the end of the north, and all belonging to him; and many nations with thee.

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 thou prepared, prepare thyself, thou, and all thy multitude that is assembled with thee, and thou shalt be to me for a guard.

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

8 He shall be prepared after many days, and he shall come at the end of years, and shall come to a land that is brought back from the sword, when [the people] are gathered from many nations against the land of Israel, which was entirely desolate: and he is come forth out of the nations, and they shall all dwell securely.

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 thou shalt go up as rain, and shalt arrive as a cloud to cover the land, and there shall be thou, and all that are about thee, and many nations with thee.

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 Thus saith the Lord God; It shall also come to pass in that day, that thoughts shall come up into thine heart, and thou shalt devise evil devices.

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 thou shalt say, I will go up to the rejected land; I will come upon them that are at ease in tranquility, and dwelling in peace, all inhabiting a land in which there is no wall, nor bars, nor have they 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 seize plunder, and to take their spoil; to turn my hands against the desolate land that is [now] inhabited, and against a nation that is gathered from many nations, that have acquired property, dwelling in the midst of the land.

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 Sabba, and Daedan, and Carthaginian merchants, and all their villages shall say to thee, Thou art come for plunder to take a prey, and to get spoils: thou hast gathered thy multitude to take silver and gold, to carry off property, to take spoils.

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 Therefore prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog, Thus saith the Lord; Wilt thou not arise in that day, when my people Israel are dwelling securely,

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 come out of thy place from the farthest north, and many nations with thee? all of them mounted on horses, a great gathering, and a large force?

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 thou shalt come up upon my people Israel as a cloud to cover the land; it shall come to pass in the last days, that I will bring thee up upon my land, that all the nations may know me, when I am sanctified in thee before them.

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 Thus saith the Lord God, to Gog; Thou art [he] concerning whom I spoke in former times, by the hand of my servants the prophets of Israel, in those days and years, that I would bring thee 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 shall come to pass in that day, in the day when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God,

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 [that] my wrath and my jealousy shall arise, I have spoken in the fire of mine anger, verily in that day there shall 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 and the fish of the sea shall quake at the presence of the Lord, and the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the field, and all the reptiles that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are on the face of the earth; and the mountains shall be rent, and the valleys shall fall, and every wall on the land shall fall.

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 summon against it even every fear, saith the Lord: the sword of [every] man shall 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 judge him with pestilence, and blood, and sweeping rain, and hailstones; and I will rain upon him fire and brimstone, and upon all that are with him, and upon many nations with him.

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 be magnified, and sanctified, and glorified; and I will be known in the presence of many nations, and they shall know 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.”