Ezekiel 38:12
in Ezekiel 38in order to seize the spoil and carry off the plunder, to turn a hand against the desolate places now inhabited and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and possessions and who live at the center of the land.’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
to take the spoil and to take the prey; to turn thy hand against the waste places that are now inhabited, and against the people that are gathered out of the nations, that have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the middle of the earth.
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.
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This verse in Ezekiel 38
Commentary
9 notes on this verseTo 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.
This site's exposition
you will devise an evil plan
on Ezekiel 38:10-13
The Lord names Gog's thought before he acts on it. Sheba, Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish state the motive, naming “silver and gold” and “cattle and goods” as the plunder. Gill notes the irony that the merchants ask the very question the reader is meant to ask.
This site's exposition
live at the center of the land
The Hebrew for center is literally navel, the same word used in Judges 9:37. Adam Clarke recalls how Antiochus gave Jerusalem to his soldiers to plunder and stripped the temple of its riches. The motive is plain greed.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter XXXVIII.) \"And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, set your face against Gog, the land of Magog, the prince of the head (or head of) Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him. And you shall say to him: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, prince of the head (or head of) Meshech and Tubal.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
I will go and disturb those that are at rest, without giving them any notice, not to crush their growing greatness, or chastise their insolence, or make reprisals upon them for any wrong they have done us (they had none of these pretences to make war upon them), but purely to take a spoil and to take a prey " (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
), and withal how weak they were, how unable to make any resistance, how easy it would be to carry off what they had, and how much glory this rapine would add to his victorious sword; these things coming into his mind, and one evil thought drawing on another, he came at last to this resolve (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
These were the thoughts that came into the mind of this wicked prince, and God knew them; nay, he knew them before they came into his mind, for he understands our thoughts afar off, Ps. cxxxix. According to the project thus formed he pours in all his forces upon the land of Israel, and finds those that are ready to come in to his assistance with the same prospects (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
To take a spoil, and to take a prey,....
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
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.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
to return your hand upon the resettled ruins To destroy a second time the cities that were in ruins until now, and now have been settled.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
20 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לִשְׁלֹ֥ל | lishlol | to plunder | H7997 → | 16 times |
| שָׁלָ֖ל | shalal | plunder | H7998 → | 73 times |
| וְלָבֹ֣ז | velavoz | and to take as spoil | H962 → | 43 times |
| בַּ֑ז | baz | spoil | H957 → | 25 times |
| לְהָשִׁ֨יב | lehashiv | to turn | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| יָדְךָ֜ | yadekha | hand your | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| חֳרָב֣וֹת | choravot | waste places | H2723 → | 42 times |
| נוֹשָׁבֹ֗ת | noshavot | inhabited | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| וְאֶל־ | veel- | and against | H413 → | 5510 times |
| עַם֙ | ʾam | a people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| מְאֻסָּ֣ף | meusaf | gathered | H622 → | 200 times |
| מִגּוֹיִ֔ם | migoyim | from nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
| עֹשֶׂה֙ | ʾoseh | [who] have acquired | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| מִקְנֶ֣ה | mikneh | livestock | H4735 → | |
| וְקִנְיָ֔ן | vekinyan | and possession[s] | H7075 → | |
| יֹשְׁבֵ֖י | yoshevei | [who] dwell | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | at | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| טַבּ֥וּר | tabur | [the] center of | H2872 → | |
| הָאָֽרֶץ׃ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
לִשְׁלֹ֥לto plunder
lishlolH7997 →16 times
שָׁלָ֖לplunder
shalalH7998 →73 times
וְלָבֹ֣זand to take as spoil
velavozH962 →43 times
בַּ֑זspoil
bazH957 →25 times
לְהָשִׁ֨יבto turn
lehashivH7725 →1056 times
יָדְךָ֜hand your
yadekhaH3027 →1618 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
חֳרָב֣וֹתwaste places
choravotH2723 →42 times
נוֹשָׁבֹ֗תinhabited
noshavotH3427 →1079 times
וְאֶל־and against
veel-H413 →5510 times
עַם֙a people
ʾamH5971 →1873 times
מְאֻסָּ֣ףgathered
meusafH622 →200 times
מִגּוֹיִ֔םfrom nations
migoyimH1471 →561 times
עֹשֶׂה֙[who] have acquired
ʾosehH6213 →2628 times
מִקְנֶ֣הlivestock
miknehH4735 →
וְקִנְיָ֔ןand possession[s]
vekinyanH7075 →
יֹשְׁבֵ֖י[who] dwell
yosheveiH3427 →1079 times
עַל־at
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
טַבּ֥וּר[the] center of
taburH2872 →
הָאָֽרֶץ׃the earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Zechariah 1:17Proclaim further that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘My cities will again overflow with prosperity; the LORD will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.’”
it leads to
- Isaiah 51:3
For the LORD will comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; He will make her wilderness like Eden and her desert like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness…
- Zechariah 2:12
And the LORD will take possession of Judah as His portion in the Holy Land, and He will once again choose Jerusalem.
- Isaiah 44:26
who confirms the message of His servant and fulfills the counsel of His messengers, who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be inhabited,’ and of the cities of Judah, ‘They will be rebuilt, and I…
- Isaiah 51:3
Through
Ezekiel 38:8After a long time you will be summoned. In the latter years you will enter a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel,…
it leads to
- Isaiah 24:22
They will be gathered together like prisoners in a pit. They will be confined to a dungeon and punished after many days.
- Ezekiel 38:16
You will advance against My people Israel like a cloud covering the land. It will happen in the latter days, O Gog, that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations…
- Isaiah 24:22
Through
Ezekiel 29:19Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will carry off its wealth, seize its spoil, and remove its plunder. This…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 30:24–25
I will strengthen the arms of Babylon’s king and place My sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, who will groan before him like a mortally wounded man.
- Jeremiah 43:10–13
Then tell them that this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will set his throne over these…
- Ezekiel 30:24–25
Through
Isaiah 10:6I will send him against a godless nation; I will dispatch him against a people destined for My rage, to take spoils and seize plunder, and to trample them down like clay in the…
it leads to
- Isaiah 9:17
Therefore the Lord takes no pleasure in their young men; He has no compassion on their fatherless and widows. For every one of them is godless and wicked, and every mouth speaks folly. Despite…
- Isaiah 9:17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Patrick Fairbairn, An Exposition of Ezekiel.