Eze 38 | EE | STEP | The LORD spoke to me.

Ezekiel 38

1 The LORD spoke to me.

2 ‘Gog rules the country of Magog. Son of man, turn your face against him’, he said. ‘Gog is the most important prince of Meshech and Tubal. Prophesy against him 3 and say: This is what the LORD God says. I am against you, Gog, important prince of Meshech and Tubal. 4 And I will turn you round. I will catch your mouth with a sharp piece of metal like a fish. I will catch you and your great army with its men on horses. I will take you and all your soldiers. They have small shields. They hold their swords high. 5 Persia, Cush (Sudan) and Put (Libya) will be there with their metal hats and their shields. 6 Gomer will be there with its armies. And Beth Togarmah and its armies from the north will be with them. I will catch all these many nations with you.

7 Prepare to fight. Make all the armies round you ready. You must tell them what they should do. 8 After many days you will fight. In a future year, you will attack a country. That country’s people will not have fought for a long time. The people there came back to Israel’s mountains from many nations. I had brought them out from the nations and they were safe there. 9 You, your armies and all the nations with you will go to attack them. You will be like a storm cloud that is moving over the country.’

10 This is what the LORD God says, ‘On that day you will have bad thoughts. You will decide to do an evil thing. 11 You will say: “We will attack a country whose villages have no walls. The people have peace. So they do not think that anyone will attack them. They have no walls or gates to keep them safe. 12 I will turn against the people who have returned to build up their broken cities. I will take their good things and their many animals. Now they are in the middle of the land.” 13 The men in Sheba and Dedan will ask you questions. So will those from Tarshish and its villages. Their people buy and sell things. They will say, “Have you come to take away their good things? Have you and your armies come to carry away their silver and gold? Will you take their animals and other things?”’

14 So, son of man, you must prophesy to Gog. Say, ‘This is what the LORD God says: Now you see my people Israel. They are living in peace. 15 So you will come from your country far in the north. You will come with your great armies. All the soldiers will ride on horses. They will be very many men. 16 Your armies will be like a cloud that covers the land. I will make you, Gog, attack my country on a future day. I will use you to show the nations that I am holy. Then they will know me.’

17 This is what the LORD God says: ‘I spoke to you in days long ago. I spoke by my servants, the prophets of Israel. For many years they have said that I would bring you against my people. 18 When that day comes, I will become very angry. Gog will attack Israel’, says the LORD God. 19 ‘Then I will make the whole country of Israel shake because I am so angry. 20 The fish in the sea, and the birds in the air will be very afraid. And all the animals on the land will be afraid. Everything that moves and all the people on the earth will be afraid. They will all shake when they see that I am so angry. I will make the mountains fall and break into pieces. All the walls will fall down. 21 I will call the men on the mountains to show their swords’, the LORD God says. ‘Every man of yours will fight his brothers. 22 I will judge Gog. I will make his men ill and they will die. I will send rain and fire and stones from the sky on him and his armies. 23 I will show the nations how great and holy I am. Then they will all know that I am the LORD.’