Ezekiel

And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

1The word of the LORD came to me. He said:

2Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,

2"Son of man, turn and face Gog, from the land of Magog. He is the chief ruler of Meshech and Tubal. Speak against him."

Note"Son of man" is how God addresses Ezekiel all through this book. It simply means "human being."

3And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:

3Say this: The Lord GOD says, "Gog, I am against you, chief ruler of Meshech and Tubal."

4And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:

4I will turn you around and put hooks in your jaws. I will drag you out with your whole army. You will bring horses, riders in full armor, and a huge crowd carrying shields large and small, all holding swords.

5Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:

5Persia, Cush, and Put will march with them. All of them carry shields and wear helmets.

6Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.

6Gomer will come with all its troops. So will Beth-togarmah from the far north, with all its troops. Many nations will be with you.

7Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.

7Get ready. Prepare yourself and all the armies gathered around you. You will be their guard.

8After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.

8After a long time you will be called out to fight. In later years you will enter a land that has healed from war. Its people were gathered from many nations onto the mountains of Israel, which had been empty ruins for ages. They were brought out from the nations, and now they all live safely.

NoteThe KJV says "thou shalt be visited." Here it means you will be summoned or called up for action, not that someone comes to see you.

9Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.

9You will come up like a thunderstorm. You and all your troops, and many nations with you, will cover the land like a cloud.

10Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:

10The Lord GOD says: On that day, ideas will come into your mind, and you will plan something evil.

11And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,

11You will say, "I will attack a land of villages that have no walls. I will go after quiet people who feel safe. None of them have walls, bars, or gates."

12To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.

12"I will take their things and carry off everything I can. I will attack ruined places where people live again, and people gathered from the nations. They own cattle and goods, and they live at the center of the land."

13Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?

13Sheba, Dedan, and the traders of Tarshish with all their villages will ask you, "Have you come to rob? Did you gather your army to carry off loot? Do you want silver and gold, cattle and goods, a huge pile of plunder?"

NoteThe KJV says "all the young lions thereof." The Hebrew word most likely means the villages or trading towns that belonged to Tarshish.

14Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?

14So speak, son of man. Tell Gog: The Lord GOD says, "On that day, when my people Israel are living safely, will you not notice it?"

15And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:

15You will come from your place in the far north. Many nations will come with you, all riding horses, a huge crowd and a mighty army.

16And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.

16You will march against my people Israel like a cloud covering the land. This will happen in the last days. Gog, I will bring you against my land. Then the nations will watch me show my holiness through you, and they will know me.

17Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?

17The Lord GOD says: Are you the one I spoke about long ago? My servants the prophets of Israel said for years that I would bring you against them.

18And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face.

18On that day, when Gog attacks the land of Israel, my anger will blaze up, says the Lord GOD.

19For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;

19I speak now out of strong feeling for what is mine, and out of burning anger. On that day a great earthquake will shake the land of Israel.

20So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.

20Fish in the sea, birds in the sky, wild animals, and every creature that crawls on the ground will tremble when I come. So will every person on earth. Mountains will be thrown down, cliffs will collapse, and every wall will fall to the ground.

21And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man’s sword shall be against his brother.

21I will call for a sword against Gog on all my mountains, says the Lord GOD. Every man's sword will turn against his own brother.

22And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.

22I will punish him with disease and bloodshed. I will pour down flooding rain, hailstones, fire, and burning sulfur. It will fall on him, on his troops, and on the many nations with him.

Note"Plead against him" in the KJV does not mean to beg. It means to bring a case against someone and punish him. "Brimstone" is sulfur, which burns.

23Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD.

23This is how I will show how great and holy I am. Many nations will see it with their own eyes. Then they will know that I am the LORD.