English Standard Version
Ezekiel 38:12
12to seize spoil and carry off plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places that are now inhabited, and the people who were gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell at the center of the earth.
Ezekiel 38:12 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)To 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.
- New International Version (NIV)I will plunder and loot and turn my hand against the resettled ruins and the people gathered from the nations, rich in livestock and goods, living at the center of the land.”
- New King James Version (NKJV)to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again inhabited, and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell in the midst of the land.
- New Living Translation (NLT)I will go to those formerly desolate cities that are now filled with people who have returned from exile in many nations. I will capture vast amounts of plunder, for the people are rich with livestock and other possessions now. They think the whole world revolves around them!’
Context of Ezekiel 38:12
10"Thus says the Lord God: On that day, thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil scheme 11and say, 'I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will fall upon the quiet people who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having no bars or gates,' to seize spoil and carry off plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places that are now inhabited, and the people who were gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell at the center of the earth. 13Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all its leaders will say to you, 'Have you come to seize spoil? Have you assembled your hosts to carry off plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to seize great spoil?' 14"Therefore, son of man, prophesy, and say to Gog, Thus says the Lord God: On that day when my people Israel are dwelling securely, will you not know it?
Read all of Ezekiel 38Ezekiel 38:12 word by word
לִשְׁלֹ֥ל שָׁלָ֖ל וְלָבֹ֣ז בַּ֑ז לְהָשִׁ֨יב יָדְךָ֜ עַל־חֳרָב֣וֹת נוֹשָׁבֹ֗ת וְאֶל־עַם֙ מְאֻסָּ֣ף מִגּוֹיִ֔ם עֹשֶׂה֙ מִקְנֶ֣ה וְקִנְיָ֔ן יֹשְׁבֵ֖י עַל־טַבּ֥וּר הָאָֽרֶץ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- To takeשָׁלַלshâlal · to lootH7997
- a spoilשָׁלָלshâlâl · spoilH7998
- and to takeבָּזַזbâzaz · to plunderH962
- a preyבַּזbaz · plunderH957
- to turnשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
- thine handיָדyâd · hand: powerH3027
- upon the desolate placesחׇרְבָּהchorbâh · desolationH2723
- inhabitedיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
- and upon the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
- gatheredאָסַף'âsaph · to gatherH622
- out of the nationsגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
- which have gottenעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: offerH6213
- cattleמִקְנֶהmiqneh · livestockH4735
- and goodsקִנְיָןqinyân · acquisitionH7075
- in the midstטַבּוּרţabbûr · highestH2872
- of the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
Cross-references for Ezekiel 38:12
- Ezekiel 29:19Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall carry off its wealth and despoil it and plunder it; and it shall be the wages for his army.
- Isaiah 10:6Against a godless nation I send him, and against the people of my wrath I command him, to take spoil and seize plunder, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
- Jeremiah 30:16Therefore all who devour you shall be devoured, and all your foes, every one of them, shall go into captivity; those who plunder you shall be plundered, and all who prey on you I will make a prey.
- Isaiah 1:24Therefore the Lord declares, the Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel: "Ah, I will get relief from my enemies and avenge myself on my foes.
- Amos 1:8I will cut off the inhabitants from Ashdod, and him who holds the scepter from Ashkelon; I will turn my hand against Ekron, and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish," says the Lord God.
- Zechariah 13:7"Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me," declares the Lord of hosts. "Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones.
- Ezekiel 36:33"Thus says the Lord God: On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt.
- Jeremiah 32:43Fields shall be bought in this land of which you are saying, 'It is a desolation, without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.'
- Jeremiah 33:12"Thus says the Lord of hosts: In this place that is waste, without man or beast, and in all of its cities, there shall again be habitations of shepherds resting their flocks.
- Zechariah 1:12Then the angel of the Lord said, 'O Lord of hosts, how long will you have no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which you have been angry these seventy years?'
- Ezekiel 38:8After many days you will be mustered. In the latter years you will go against the land that is restored from war, the land whose people were gathered from many peoples upon the mountains of Israel, which had been a continual waste. Its people were brought out from the peoples and now dwell securely, all of them.
- Zechariah 10:8"I will whistle for them and gather them in, for I have redeemed them, and they shall be as many as they were before.
- Judges 9:37Gaal spoke again and said, "Look, people are coming down from the center of the land, and one company is coming from the direction of the Diviners' Oak."
Commentaries on Ezekiel 38:12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12To take a spoil - and a prey - When Antiochus took Jerusalem he gave the pillage of it to his soldiers, and spoiled the temple of its riches, which were immense. See Josephus War, B. 1. C. 1.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-23In Ezekiel 37, the nation is reunited and lives in peace in its own land. In Ezekiel 38–39, this peaceful picture changes. A new danger appears. These chapters describe the attack, defeat, and removal of the final enemy, called Gog. Many readers have tried to identify Gog. Some have connected him with Gyges, king of Lydia, who ruled about 680 to 644 BC. However, the Gog described in the Bible goes beyond any one historical ruler. The text focuses less on…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. midst of the land--literally, "the navel" of the land (Jud 9:37, Margin). So, in Eze 5:5, Israel is said to be set "in the midst of the nations"; not physically, but morally, a central position for being a blessing to the world: so (as the favored or "beloved city," Re 20:9) an object of envy. Grotius translates, "In the height of the land" (so Eze 38:8), "the mountains of Israel," Israel being morally elevated above the rest of the world.Read the comment
In the dictionaries
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries