God’s Word Translation
Ezekiel 38:15
15You will come from your place in the far north and many armies will be with you. All of you will ride on horses. You will be a large crowd and a mighty army.
Ezekiel 38:15 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And 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:
- New International Version (NIV)You will come from your place in the far north, you and many nations with you, all of them riding on horses, a great horde, a mighty army.
- English Standard Version (ESV)You will come from your place out of the uttermost parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great host, a mighty army.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then you will come from your place out of the far north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army.
Context of Ezekiel 38:15
13“ ‘Sheba, Dedan, the merchants from Tarshish, and all their villages will ask you, “Did you come to rob these people of their possessions? Did you assemble all these soldiers to carry away large amounts of silver and gold and to take cattle and property?” ’ 14“So prophesy, son of man. Tell Gog, ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says: At that time my people Israel will live safely, and you will know it. You will come from your place in the far north and many armies will be with you. All of you will ride on horses. You will be a large crowd and a mighty army. 16You will attack my people Israel like a cloud that covers the land. In the days to come, I will let you attack my land so that nations will know me. I will use you for my holy purpose as they watch. 17“ ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says: You are the one I spoke about long ago through my servants the prophets of Israel. They prophesied in those days that I would bring you to attack them.
Read all of Ezekiel 38Ezekiel 38:15 word by word
וּבָ֤אתָ מִמְּקֽוֹמְךָ֙ מִיַּרְכְּתֵ֣י צָפ֔וֹן אַתָּ֕ה וְעַמִּ֥ים רַבִּ֖ים אִתָּ֑ךְ רֹכְבֵ֤י סוּסִים֙ כֻּלָּ֔ם קָהָ֥ל גָּד֖וֹל וְחַ֥יִל רָֽב׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And thou shalt comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- from thy placeמָקוֹםmâqôm mâqôm meqômâh meqômâh · placeH4725
- out of the northצָפוֹןtsâphôn tsâphôn · northH6828
- partsיַרְכָהyerêkâh · flankH3411
- thou, and manyרַבrab · manyH7227
- peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
- with thee, all of them ridingרָכַבrâkab · to rideH7392
- upon horsesסוּסsûs sûs · horseH5483
- a greatגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
- companyקָהָלqâhâl · assemblyH6951
- armyחַ֫יִלchayil · armyH2428
Cross-references for Ezekiel 38:15
- Ezekiel 39:2I will turn you around and lead you. I will bring you from the far north and have you attack the mountains of Israel.
- Daniel 11:40“In the end times the southern king will attack him. The northern king will rush at him like a storm with chariots, horses, and many ships. He will invade countries, overwhelm them, and pass through their land.
- Ezekiel 38:4I will turn you around and put hooks in your jaws. I will lead you out with all your military forces, with horses and riders. Your soldiers will be fully armed. They will carry large and small shields and be able to use swords.
- Joel 3:2I will gather all the nations. I will bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. I will judge them there. They scattered the Israelites, the people who belong to me, among the nations. They divided my land.
- Zephaniah 3:8The Lord declares, “Just wait! One day I will stand up as a witness. I have decided to gather nations, to bring kingdoms together, and to pour my rage, my burning anger, on them. The whole land will be consumed by my fiery fury.
- Zechariah 12:2“I’m going to make Jerusalem like a cup ⌞of wine⌟ that makes all the surrounding people stagger. They will attack Judah along with Jerusalem.
- Zechariah 14:2I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem for battle. The city will be captured, the houses looted, and the women raped. Half of the people in the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people won’t be taken from the city.
- Revelation 16:14They are spirits of demons that do miracles. These spirits go to the kings of the whole world and gather them for the war on the frightening day of God Almighty.
- Revelation 20:8He will go out to deceive Gog and Magog, the nations in the four corners of the earth, and gather them for war. They will be as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore.
Commentaries on Ezekiel 38:15
- 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. 1-23The objections to a literal interpretation of the prophecy are--(1) The ideal nature of the name Gog, which is the root of Magog, the only kindred name found in Scripture or history. (2) The nations congregated are selected from places most distant from Israel, and from one another, and therefore most unlikely to act in concert (Persians and Libyans, &c.). (3) The whole spoil of Israel could not have given a handful to a tithe of their number, or…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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries