Ezequiel 38

ARC · Chapter 38/48

1Veiu mais a mim a palavra do Senhor, dizendo:

2Filho do homem, dirige o teu rosto contra Gog, terra de Magog, principe e chefe de Mesech e Tubal, e prophetiza contra elle,

3E dize: Assim diz o Senhor Jehovah: Eis que eu estou contra ti, ó Gog, principe e chefe de Mesech e de Tubal;

4E te farei voltar, e porei anzoes nos teus queixos, e te levarei a ti, com todo o teu exercito, cavallos e cavalleiros, todos vestidos bizarramente, congregação grande, com escudo e rodela, manejando todos a espada:

5Persas, ethiopes, e puteos com elles, todos elles com escudo e capacete;

6Gomer e todas as suas tropas, a casa de Togarma, da banda do norte, e todas as suas tropas, muitos povos comtigo.

7Prepara-te, e dispõe-te, tu e todas as tuas congregações que se ajuntaram ao pé de ti, e serve-lhes tu de guarda.

8Depois de muitos dias serás visitado: no fim dos annos virás á terra que se retirou da espada, e que foi congregada d'entre muitos povos aos montes de Israel, que sempre serviram de assolação; mas aquella terra foi tirada d'entre os povos, e todos elles habitarão seguramente.

9Então subirás, virás como uma tempestade, far-te-has como uma nuvem para cobrir a terra, tu e todas as tuas tropas, e muitos povos comtigo.

10Assim diz o Senhor Jehovah: E será n'aquelle dia que subirão conselhos sobre o teu coração, e maquinarás um mau designio,

11E dirás: Subirei contra a terra das aldeias, virei contra os que estão em repouso, que habitam seguros; todos elles habitam sem muro, e não teem ferrolho nem portas;

12Para despojar o despojo, e para roubar o roubo, para tornar a tua mão contra as terras desertas que agora se habitam, e contra o povo que se ajuntou d'entre as nações, e já tem gado e possessões, que habita no meio da terra.

13Sheba, e Dedan, e os mercadores de Tarsis, e todos os seus leõesinhos te dirão: Porventura tu vens a despojar o despojo? ou ajuntaste o teu ajuntamento para roubar o roubo? para levar a prata e o oiro, para tomar o gado e possessões, para despojar o grande despojo?

14Portanto, prophetiza, ó filho do homem, e dize a Gog: Assim diz o Senhor Jehovah: Porventura não o experimentarás n'aquelle dia, quando o meu povo Israel habitar com segurança?

15Virás pois do teu logar, das* bandas do norte, tu e muitos povos comtigo, montados todos a cavallo, grande ajuntamento, e exercito numeroso,

16E subirás contra o meu povo Israel, como uma nuvem, para cobrir a terra: no fim dos dias succederá; então te trarei contra a minha terra, para que as nações me conheçam a mim, quando eu me houver sanctificado em ti aos seus olhos, ó Gog

17Assim diz o Senhor Jehovah: Porventura não és tu aquelle de quem eu disse nos dias antigos, pelo ministerio de meus servos, os prophetas de Israel, que n'aquelles dias prophetizaram largos annos, que te traria contra elles?

18Succederá, porém, n'aquelle dia, no dia em que vier Gog contra a terra de Israel, diz o Senhor Jehovah, que a minha indignação subirá a meus narizes.

19Porque fallei no meu zelo, no fogo do meu furor, que n'aquelle dia haverá grande tremor sobre a terra de Israel;

20De tal maneira que tremerão diante da minha face os peixes do mar, e as aves do céu, e os animaes do campo, e todos os reptis que se arrastam sobre a terra, e todos os homens que estão sobre a face da terra; e os montes serão deitados abaixo, e os precipicios cairão, e todos os muros cairão á terra.

21Porque chamarei sobre elle a espada por todos os meus montes, diz o Senhor Jehovah: a espada de cada um se voltará contra seu irmão.

22E contenderei com elle pela peste e pelo sangue; e uma chuva inundante, e grandes pedras de saraiva, fogo, e enxofre choverei sobre elle, e sobre as suas tropas, e sobre os muitos povos que estiverem com elle.

23Assim eu me engrandecerei e me sanctificarei, e me farei conhecer aos olhos de muitas nações; e saberão que eu sou o Senhor.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

God announces that, in future days, Gog, leader of the land of Magog, will lead a great coalition of nations in an attack against restored Israel, but will be supernaturally defeated by God.

Explanation

This chapter opens one of the most discussed and debated prophetic sections of the Old Testament, generally interpreted as referring to a final confrontation between organized forces of evil and God's people living in peace and security. The mention of nations from the far north and distant regions gathering against Israel, driven by greed for wealth and land, illustrates how the prosperity and peace of God's people can attract envy and hostility. Regardless of the various interpretations of the exact identity of Gog and Magog throughout history, the central principle is clear: no coalition of human power, however great, can prevail against God's ultimate protection over his people.

Fun facts

  • 'Gog and Magog' are taken up directly in the book of Revelation (20:8), showing how this prophecy became a central reference point in later biblical apocalyptic literature.
  • Scholars have historically linked 'Meshech and Tubal' to peoples who inhabited regions of present-day Turkey and the Caucasus in antiquity, though the exact geographic identification remains debated among specialists.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Ezequiel 38:1The formula that opens a new oracle, but this time not against a known historical nation, rather against a composite adversary coming from the far north.
  2. Ezequiel 38:2Gog and Magog are names used only here and in a few other places in the Bible for an enemy coming from the north in an apocalyptic vision — the text does not give enough detail to identify a specific historical people, and the task here is not to guess who that would be today, only to record what the text says about this symbolic figure.
  3. Ezequiel 38:3It repeats the formula ‘I am against thee,’ used in the earlier oracles against real nations, now applied to this figure that scholars still debate how to identify historically.
  4. Ezequiel 38:4‘Hooks into thy jaws,’ already used for Pharaoh in chapters 29 and 32, reappears here: it is God who leads Gog into battle — even the villain of the story acts under divine control.
  5. Ezequiel 38:5A list of Gog’s allied peoples — Persia, Cush, Put — forming a coalition of distant nations, which reinforces the scale of the threat described.
  6. Ezequiel 38:6More allies join the list: Gomer and Togarmah, peoples of the far north, in what is now Turkey and the Caucasus — the coalition comes from several directions at once.
  7. Ezequiel 38:7An ironic order: ‘prepare for thyself’ for the attack, as though Gog were in control — but the text has already made clear that it is God who directs the whole scene.
  8. Ezequiel 38:8‘In the latter years’ is a common expression in apocalyptic language for an indefinite future within the vision, not a date on a calendar — the apocalyptic genre uses this kind of open horizon to describe a final confrontation between God’s people and hostile forces.
  9. Ezequiel 38:9The invasion is described as a storm or a cloud covering the land, the image of an army so large it darkens the whole horizon.
  10. Ezequiel 38:10The ‘evil thought’ arises in Gog’s own heart, yet it remains part of a larger plan that he himself does not realize he is merely following.
  11. Ezequiel 38:11Gog’s motivation is to attack a people living in peace, without walls or gates — a detail showing that this attack comes right in the middle of the safety promised in the earlier chapters.
  12. Ezequiel 38:12The stated goal is plunder: seizing the wealth and livestock of a people who had just reorganized themselves after returning from exile.
  13. Ezequiel 38:13Even other trading peoples — Sheba, Dedan, Tarshish — question Gog’s intentions, recognizing that this is clearly a raid for plunder.
  14. Ezequiel 38:14A rhetorical question that introduces God’s answer: Gog would discover firsthand what it means to attack a people under divine protection.
  15. Ezequiel 38:15It repeats the description of the army coming from the far north, mounted on horses, in enormous numbers, reinforcing the scale of the announced threat.
  16. Ezequiel 38:16It reinforces that this confrontation serves a greater purpose: showing the nations who God is through the defeat of so great a threat.
  17. Ezequiel 38:17A question linking this figure to old prophecies already made by other prophets of Israel — suggesting that this threat represents a recurring type of danger.
  18. Ezequiel 38:18It marks the moment of the divine reaction: Gog’s arrival against Israel stirs up God’s indignation, setting up the chapter’s climax.
  19. Ezequiel 38:19Earthquake, famine, pestilence, hailstones: the pattern of destruction described against Gog repeats the same elements already used in other judgments in the book, against Jerusalem and against Egypt — it is the standard vocabulary of prophetic judgment poetry, reused on a larger scale.
  20. Ezequiel 38:20An exaggerated description of the shaking caused by the divine intervention: fish, birds, and reptiles react, and even mountains and walls collapse — all creation feels the impact.
  21. Ezequiel 38:21Gog’s defeat comes in an unexpected way: the confusion makes the invading army turn against itself.
  22. Ezequiel 38:22Besides the internal confusion, come plagues, hailstones, and fire — images recalling other judgments already told in the Bible, reinforcing the extraordinary nature of the defeat.
  23. Ezequiel 38:23The chapter’s conclusion: the purpose of this whole confrontation is for the nations to recognize God through what happened.

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