Ezekiel 38

1 The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

Yahweh gave me another message. He said to me,

2 “Son of man, set your face toward Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; and prophesy against him.

“You human, turn and face Magog, the country where Gog [is the king]. He is [also] the ruler of [the nations of] Meshech and Tubal. Prophesy about [the terrible things that will happen to] him,

3 Say, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: Behold! I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.

and say, ‘This is what Yahweh the Lord says: Gog, you who rule Meshech and Tubal, I am opposed to you.

4 So I will turn you around and set hooks in your jaw; I will send you out with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all of them dressed in full armor, a great company with large shields and small shields, all of them holding swords!

[It will be as though] I will turn you around and put hooks in your jaws and bring you [to Israel]—you and all of your army, [including your] horses and men carrying weapons who ride the horses, and many other soldiers carrying large shields and small shields, all of them carrying swords.

5 Persia, Cush, and Libya are with them, all of them with shields and helmets!

[Armies from] Persia, Ethiopia, and Put/Libya will also come, all of them with shields and helmets.

6 Gomer and all her troops, and Beth Togarmah, from the far parts of the north, and all its troops! Many peoples are with you!

An army from Gomer [north of Israel] will come, and an army from Togarmah far north [of Israel] will come. Armies of many nations will accompany you.’

7 Get ready! Yes, prepare yourself and your troops assembled with you, and be their commander.

[Tell Gog, ] ‘Get ready and be prepared to be the commander of all those groups of soldiers.

8 You will be called after many days, and after some years you will go to a land that has recovered from the sword and that has been gathered from many peoples, gathered back to the mountains of Israel that had been a continuous ruin. But the land's people will be brought out of the peoples, and they will live in safety, all of them!

At some future time, I will command you to lead those armies to attack [Israel], a country whose [buildings] have been rebuilt after [they were destroyed in] wars. Their people will have been brought back from many nations [to live again] on the hills of Israel, which had been deserted for a long time. They had been brought back from [other] nations and will be living peacefully.

9 So you will go up as a storm goes; you will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your troops, all the many soldiers with you.

You and all those armies from many nations will go up to Israel, advancing like [SIM] a big storm. Your army will be like a huge cloud that covers the land.

10 The Lord Yahweh says this: It will happen on that day that plans will form in your heart, and you will devise wicked schemes.'

But this is what [I], Yahweh the Lord, say: On that day, you will have an idea about [DOU] doing an evil thing.

11 Then you will say, 'I will go up to the open land; I will go to the quiet people living in safety, all of them living where there are no walls or bars, and where there are no city gates.

You will say [to yourself], “My [army] will invade a country where the villages do not have walls around them. We will attack people who are peaceful and do not suspect/think [that they will be attacked]. Their towns and villages do not have walls with gates and bars.

12 I will capture booty and steal plunder, in order to bring my hand against the ruins that are newly inhabited, and against the people gathered from the nations, people who are gaining livestock and property, and who are living at the center of the earth.'

So [it will be easy for] us to attack the people who are living again in those towns that were previously destroyed. They are people who have been gathered from many countries [where they had lived for many years], people who now live safely in their land with all their livestock and other possessions. They are living in the country that is in the middle of the most important countries (OR, [that they think is] [IRO] the most important country) in the world. Our soldiers will take away [DOU] all their valuable possessions.”

13 Sheba and Dedan, and the traders of Tarshish along with all its young warriors will say to you, 'Have you come to plunder? Have you assembled your armies to take away spoil, to carry off silver and gold, to take their livestock and property and to haul away much plunder?'

[Then people of] Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and nearby villages will come and say to you, “Are you gathering all your soldiers in order to [attack Israel and] take away all their silver and gold? [Do you plan] to take away their livestock and all their other valuable possessions [DOU]?”’

14 Therefore prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: On that day, when my people Israel are living securely, will you not learn about them?

Therefore, you human, prophesy about Gog and say to him, ‘This is what Yahweh the Lord says: At that time, when my people of Israel are living safely, you will certainly think about that.

15 You will come from your place far away in the north with a great army, all of them riding on horses, a great company, a large army.

So you will come from your place far north [of Israel], with the armies of many [other] nations, all riding horses, a huge army.

16 You will attack my people Israel like a cloud that covers the land. In the latter days I will bring you against my land, so the nations might know me when I show myself through you, Gog, to be holy before their eyes.

You will march toward my Israeli people, and [your soldiers] will cover the land like a huge cloud. Gog, I will bring your army to attack the country that belongs to me, but [what I do] for you will show the people of other nations that I am holy.

17 The Lord Yahweh says this: Are you not the one of whom I spoke in former days by the hand of my servants, the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in their own time for years that I would bring you against them?

This is what [I], Yahweh the Lord, say to Gog: In past years, when I gave messages to my servants, the prophets [in Israel], there were messages [RHQ] about you. At that time, they prophesied for [many] years that I would bring your [armies] to attack my people.

18 So it will come to be in that day when Gog attacks the land of Israel—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration—my wrath will mount up in my anger.

[So] this is what I, Yahweh the Lord, say will happen: When your [army] attacks Israel, I will be very angry with you.

19 In my zeal and in the fire of my anger, I declare that on that day there will be a great earthquake in the land of Israel.

I will be very furious, and to show that I am angry, there will be a great earthquake in Israel, [where your armies will be].

20 They will shake before me—the fish of the sea and the birds of the skies, the beasts of the fields, and all the creatures that crawl on the earth, and every person who is on the surface of the land. The mountains will be thrown down and the cliffs will fall, until every wall falls to the earth.

The fish in the sea, the birds, the wild animals, and the animals/creatures that crawl on the ground, and all the people on the earth will tremble because of what I [am doing]. Mountains will fall down, cliffs will crumble, and walls everywhere will fall to the ground.

21 I will summon a sword against him on all my mountains—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration—each man's sword will be against his brother.

Gog, on all the mountains in the country that belongs to me I will cause your soldiers to fight against each other with their swords.

22 Then I will judge him by plague and blood; and overflowing rain and hailstones and burning sulfur I will rain down upon him and his troops and the many nations that are with him.

I will punish [MTY] you [and your soldiers] with plagues and murders [MTY]. And I will send down [from the sky], on you and your troops that have come from many nations, huge amounts of rain and hail and burning sulfur.

23 For I will show my greatness and my holiness and I will make myself known in the eyes of the many nations, and they will know that I am Yahweh.'”

By doing that, I will cause [the people of] many nations to know that I am very great and holy, and they will know that I, Yahweh, [have the power to do the things that I say that I will do].’”