Go to Related Reading
About this book

Ezekiel

About this book
Chapter 38

1 The Lord’s message came to me: 2 “Son of man, turn toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. Prophesy against him 3 and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look, I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. 4 I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and bring you out with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all of them fully armed, a great company with shields of different types, all of them armed with swords. 5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Put are with them, all of them with shields and helmets. 6 They are joined by Gomer with all its troops and by Beth Togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops—many peoples are with you. 7 “‘Be ready and stay ready, you and all your companies assembled around you, and be a guard for them. 8 After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come to a land restored from the ravages of war, from many peoples gathered on the mountains of Israel that had long been in ruins. Its people were brought out from the peoples, and all of them will be living securely. 9 You will advance; you will come like a storm. You will be like a cloud covering the earth, you, all your troops, and the many other peoples with you. 10 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil plan. 11 You will say, “I will invade a land of unwalled towns; I will advance against those living quietly in security—all of them living without walls and barred gates— 12 to loot and plunder, to attack the inhabited ruins and the people gathered from the nations, who are acquiring cattle and goods, who live at the navel of the earth.”⁠ 13 Sheba and Dedan and the traders of Tarshish with all its young warriors will say to you, “Have you come to loot? Have you assembled your armies to plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to haul away a great amount of spoils?”’ 14 “Therefore, prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On that day when my people Israel are living securely, you will take notice 15 and come from your place, from the remote parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a vast army. 16 You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud covering the earth. In future days I will bring you against my land so that the nations may acknowledge me, when before their eyes I magnify myself through you, O Gog. 17 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Are you the one of whom I spoke in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days that I would bring you against them? 18 On that day, when Gog invades the land of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord, my rage will mount up in my anger. 19 In my zeal, in the fire of my fury, I declare that on that day there will be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. 20 The fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the wild beasts, all the things that creep on the ground, and all people who live on the face of the earth will shake at my presence.⁠ The mountains will topple, the cliffs will fall, and every wall will fall to the ground. 21 I will call for a sword to attack Gog on all my mountains, declares the Sovereign Lord; every man’s sword will be against his brother.⁠ 22 I will judge him with plague and bloodshed. I will rain down on him, his troops, and the many peoples who are with him a torrential downpour, hailstones,⁠ fire, and brimstone.⁠ 23 I will exalt and magnify myself; I will reveal myself before many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’

Texts in conversation

Compare Ezekiel 38:21 and Haggai 2:22

Hebrew Bible

Share:

Summary

Ezekiel 38 describes God turning Gog’s invading army on itself, so every man’s sword is against his brother. Haggai echoes this image, predicting that the horses and riders of the nations will fall as people kill one another.

Passages

Ezekiel 38:21

Hebrew Bible
20 The fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the wild beasts, all the things that creep on the ground, and all people who live on the face of the earth will shake at my presence. The mountains will topple, the cliffs will fall, and every wall will fall to the ground. 21 I will call for a sword to attack Gog on all my mountains, declares the Sovereign Lord; every man’s sword will be against his brother. 22 I will judge him with plague and bloodshed. I will rain down on him, his troops, and the many peoples who are with him a torrential downpour, hailstones, fire, and brimstone.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Ezekiel

Haggai 2:22

Hebrew Bible
21 “Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah: ‘I am ready to shake the sky and the earth. 22 I will overthrow royal thrones and shatter the might of earthly kingdoms. I will overthrow chariots and those who ride them, and horses and their riders will fall as people kill one another. 23 On that day,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, my servant,’ says the Lord, ‘and I will make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”
500–401 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Haggai

References

“... Even the most potent military resources available to ancient rulers will ‘fall.’ This last word is a euphemism for death, the cause of which is identified in the final phrase (‘each by the sword of his brother’). While many have seen here an allusion to Gideon’s defeat of Midian in Judges 7:22, the vocabulary is closer to Ezekiel’s description of the defeat of Gog in Ezekiel 38:21, a defeat that also speaks of the subjugation of the nations for the sake of Israel. In the end God causes such confusion in his enemies that ironically they are the ones who enact judgment on themselves, confirming the ineptitude of human political power and military prowess. Such ineptitude has been demonstrated to this Jewish community in the recent Persian upheaval at the accession of Darius. There are surprising connections between this section and the end of Ezekiel, which envisions the return of God’s people after exile (Ezekiel 36–37) in a scenario where ‘my servant David’ (37:24) plays a key role and is intimately linked to ‘my sanctuary’ (37:26–28). The defeat of the nations in chapters 38–39 is followed then by a vision of a new temple (chapters 40–48) ...”
Mark J. Boda, Haggai, Zechariah (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004), 162.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Your feedback

Ezekiel 38:21 and Haggai 2:22

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library