Ezekiel 38:16

Ezekiel 38:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And 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.
• New International Version (NIV)You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud that covers the land. In days to come, Gog, I will bring you against my land, so that the nations may know me when I am proved holy through you before their eyes.
• English Standard Version (ESV)You will come up against my people Israel, like a cloud covering the land. In the latter days I will bring you against my land, that the nations may know me, when through you, O Gog, I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.
• New King James Version (NKJV)You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be in the latter days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes.”

Context of Ezekiel 38:16

14“Therefore prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog, ‘This is what the Lord God says: On that day when my people Israel are dwelling securely, will you not know this 15and come from your place in the remotest parts of the north — you and many peoples with you, who are all riding horses — a huge assembly, a powerful army? You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud covering the land. It will happen in the last days, Gog, that I will bring you against my land so that the nations may know me, when I demonstrate my holiness through you in their sight. 17“‘This is what the Lord God says: Are you the one I spoke about in former times through my servants, the prophets of Israel, who for years prophesied in those times that I would bring you against them? 18Now on that day, the day when Gog comes against the land of Israel — this is the declaration of the Lord God — my wrath will flare up.

Ezekiel 38:16 word by word

וְעָלִ֙יתָ֙ עַל־עַמִּ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל כֶּֽעָנָ֖ן לְכַסּ֣וֹת הָאָ֑רֶץ בְּאַחֲרִ֨ית הַיָּמִ֜ים תִּֽהְיֶ֗ה וַהֲבִאוֹתִ֙יךָ֙ עַל־אַרְצִ֔י לְמַעַן֩ דַּ֨עַת הַגּוֹיִ֜ם אֹתִ֗י בְּהִקָּדְשִׁ֥י בְךָ֛ לְעֵינֵיהֶ֖ם גּֽוֹג׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And thou shalt come upעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: riseH5927
• against my peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• as a cloudעָנָן‛ânân · cloudH6051
• to coverכָּסָהkâsâh · to coverH3680
• the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• it shall be in the latterאַחֲרִית'achărîyth · endH319
• daysיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• and I will bringבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): bringH935
• that the heathenגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
• may knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• me, when I shall be sanctifiedקָדַשׁqâdash · to consecrate: holinessH6942
• in thee, O Gogגּוֹגgôg · GogH1463
• before their eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869

Cross-references for Ezekiel 38:16

• Ezekiel 38:9You, all of your troops, and many peoples with you will advance, coming like a thunderstorm; you will be like a cloud covering the land.
• Ezekiel 38:8After a long time you will be summoned. In the last years you will enter a land that has been restored from war and regathered from many peoples to the mountains of Israel, which had long been a ruin. They were brought out from the peoples, and all of them now live securely.
• Deuteronomy 31:29For I know that after my death you will become completely corrupt and turn from the path I have commanded you. Disaster will come to you in the future, because you will do what is evil in the Lord’s sight, angering him with what your hands have made.”
• Isaiah 2:2In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s house will be established at the top of the mountains and will be raised above the hills. All nations will stream to it,
• Daniel 2:28But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has let King Nebuchadnezzar know what will happen in the last days. Your dream and the visions that came into your mind as you lay in bed were these:
• Daniel 10:14Now I have come to help you understand what will happen to your people in the last days, for the vision refers to those days.”
• Hosea 3:5Afterward, the people of Israel will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They will come with awe to the Lord and to his goodness in the last days.
• Micah 4:1In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s house will be established at the top of the mountains and will be raised above the hills. Peoples will stream to it,
• 1 Timothy 4:1Now the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will depart from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons,
• 2 Timothy 3:1But know this: Hard times will come in the last days.
• Ezekiel 38:23I will display my greatness and holiness, and I will reveal myself in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’
• Ezekiel 36:23I will honor the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations — the name you have profaned among them. The nations will know that I am the Lord — this is the declaration of the Lord God — when I demonstrate my holiness through you in their sight.
• Ezekiel 39:21“I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the judgment I have executed and the hand I have laid on them.
• Exodus 14:4I will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue them. Then I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So the Israelites did this.
• 1 Samuel 17:45David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with a sword, spear, and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of Armies, the God of the ranks of Israel — you have defied him.
• 2 Kings 19:19Now, Lord our God, please save us from his power so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, Lord, are God — you alone.

Commentaries on Ezekiel 38:16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16When I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog - By the defeat of his troops under Lysias, his general. 1 Maccabees 3:32, 33, etc., and 6:6.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16I shall be sanctified in thee - I shall be shown to be holy and just in avenging Myself of Mine enemy.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-23Verses 14-23 The enemy should make a formidable descent upon the land of Israel. When Israel dwell safely under the Divine protection, shalt not thou be made to know it by finding that endeavours to destroy them are made in vain? Promises of security are treasured up in the word of God, against the troubles and dangers the church may be brought into in the latter days. In the destruction of sinners, God makes it appear that he is a great and holy God. We…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14-16Israel would be prosperous, living in peace and enjoying the benefits of trusting in the Lord. However, such trust does not remove the chance of facing threats (compare John 16:33). The situation might have seemed unfavorable for Israel, but Gog did not consider the Lord's power. The Lord would use Gog and his allies to show his holiness to all nations.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me--So in Ex 9:16, God tells Pharaoh, "For this cause have I raised thee up, for to show in thee My power; and that My name may be declared throughout all the earth."Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Latter Days
• Ezekiel, Book of
• Gog
• Eschatology of the Old Testament
• Ezekiel
• Joel (2)
• Sanctification

Commentaries on Ezekiel 38

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings