Ezekiel 38

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

1God spoke to me. This is what 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"Ezekiel, son of man, turn and face Gog of the land of Magog. He is the chief ruler of Meshech and Tubal. Speak against him for me." "Son of man" is what God calls Ezekiel, a prophet, someone who tells people what God says.

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. You are the 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:

4"I will turn you around. I will put hooks in your jaws and pull you out. Your whole army will come too. There will be horses and riders in armor. There will be crowds of soldiers with big shields, small shields, and swords."

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

5"Soldiers from Persia, Cush, and Put will come with them. All of them carry shields and wear helmets."

NoteThe KJV says "Ethiopia" and "Libya." The old names are Cush and Put, lands in Africa. They are not the same as the countries with those names today.

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

6"Gomer and all its soldiers will come. So will Beth-togarmah from the far north, with all its soldiers. 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.

7"Get ready. Get your whole army ready, all those 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.

8"After a long time, you will be called to fight. In later years you will come to a certain land. That land has healed from war. Its people were gathered from many nations back to the mountains of Israel. Those mountains were empty for a long time. Now the people live there safely."

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.

9"You will come up like a storm. You will cover the land like a cloud. Your armies and many nations will come with you."

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, thoughts will come into your mind. You will make an evil plan."

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,

11"You will say, 'I will attack a land whose villages have no walls. The people there are calm and safe. They have no walls, no gates, and no bars on their doors.'"

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. I will carry away all I can. I will attack places that were empty and now have people. Those people were gathered from many nations. They have animals and goods. They live in the middle 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?

13"Sheba and Dedan and the traders of Tarshish and their towns will ask you: 'Did you come to steal? Did you gather your army to carry things off? Do you want silver and gold, animals and goods? Do you want to take everything?'"

NoteThe KJV says "young lions." The word most likely means the small 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?

14"So, son of man, speak to Gog. Say that the Lord God says: 'On that day my people Israel will be 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:

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

16"You will come against my people Israel like a cloud covering the land. This will happen in the last days. I will bring you against my land, Gog. Then the nations will watch. They will see that I am holy, 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 spoke for years. They said I would bring you against my people."

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.

18The Lord God says: "On the day Gog comes against the land of Israel, my anger will burn hot."

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;

19"I speak now in my strong love for my people and in my burning anger. On that day the land of Israel will shake hard."

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.

20"The fish in the sea will shake. So will the birds in the sky and the animals in the fields. Every creature that crawls on the ground will shake. Every person on earth will shake when I come near. Mountains will fall down. Cliffs will crumble. 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.

21"I will call for a sword against Gog on all my mountains, says the Lord God. Each 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.

22"I will punish him with sickness and killing. I will pour down heavy rain, hailstones, fire, and burning sulfur. It will fall on him, on his armies, and on the nations with him."

Note"Plead against him" in the KJV means to punish him. "Brimstone" is the old word for sulfur, a yellow rock that 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.

23"I will show how great I am and how holy I am. Many nations will see me. Then they will know that I am the LORD."