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Ezekiel 38:16

Old Testament Major Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Ezekiel 38:16 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “and thou shalt come up against my people Israel, as a cloud to cover the land: it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring thee against my land, that the nations may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

and thou shalt come up against my people Israel, as a cloud to cover the land: it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring thee against my land, that the nations may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
Ezekiel 38:16 — American Standard Version

Context — Ezekiel 38

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
13Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take the spoil? hast thou assembled thy company to take the prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take great spoil?
14Therefore, son of man, prophesy, and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: In that day when my people Israel dwelleth securely, shalt thou not know it?
15And thou shalt come from thy place out of the uttermost parts of the north, thou, and many peoples with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company and a mighty army;
16and thou shalt come up against my people Israel, as a cloud to cover the land: it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring thee against my land, that the nations may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
17Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Art thou he of whom I spake in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, that prophesied in those days for [many] years that I would bring thee against them?
18And it shall come to pass in that day, when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord Jehovah, that my wrath shall come up into my nostrils.
19For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;
← Ezekiel 38:15Ezekiel 38:17 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And thou shall come up against my people of Israel, &c.] Which is repeated for the certainty of it; and not for his comfort, but his ruin; not to the terror of Israel, but for the glory of God: as a cloud to cover the land; the land of Israel, so great should be his army; (see Gill on “<263809>Ezekiel 38:9”), it shall be in the latter days; of the Gospel state, or kingdom of the Messiah, when the Jews shall be converted, and are returned to their own land, (<280305>Hosea 3:5): and I will bring thee against my land; not to possess it, nor to hurt it, or to any injury to the people of it: but that the Heathen may know me; the Pagan kingdoms of China, and others; who by God’s judgments on the…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me--So in Exo 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."”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“I shall be sanctified in thee - I shall be shown to be holy and just in avenging Myself of Mine enemy. return to 'Top of Page'”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“I will bring - I will permit thee to come. Sanctified - Confessed to be a great God over all, a gracious and faithful God to his people, and a dreadful enemy and avenger against the wicked. Before - ln the sight of all the heathen that are with Gog, and much more in the sight of God's own people. Ezekiel 38:17”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“as a cloud: Eze 38:9 it shall be: Though it is not generally agreed what people or transactions are here predicted, yet it seems evident that the prophecy is not yet accomplished. Nothing occurred in the wars of Cambyses, or Antiochus Epiphanes with the Jews, that answers to it; and the expression here used, in the latter days, plainly implies that there should be a succession of many ages between the publication of the prediction and its accomplishment. It is therefore supposed, with much probability, that its fulfilment will be posterior to the conversion of the Jews and their restoration to their own land; and that the Turks, Tarters, or Scythians, from the northern parts of Asia, perhaps…”
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Related study paths

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Sources and verification