Ezekiel 38:16
in Ezekiel 38You 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 may know Me when I show Myself holy in you before their eyes.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
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This verse in Ezekiel 38
Commentary
7 notes on this verseWhen I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog - By the defeat of his troops under Lysias, his general. 1 Maccabees 3:32, 33, etc., and 6:6.
This site's exposition
My people Israel are dwelling securely
on Ezekiel 38:14-16
The timing clause returns, “On that day when My people Israel are dwelling securely,” binding the invasion to the restoration promised in the chapters before. “It will happen in the latter days” names the horizon without dating it, and the purpose clause makes the invasion a revelation. The book's recognition formula lands on the nations watching Gog fall, “so that the nations may know Me when I show Myself holy in you before their eyes.”
This site's exposition
when I show Myself holy in you
God brings Gog so that His holiness will be seen in Gog's defeat, the holiness profaned by Israel's exile in 36:20 to 23. John Wesley softens I will bring to a permission, while Adam Clarke refers the verse to the defeat of Antiochus's general Lysias in 1 Maccabees 3. The purpose is revelation.
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 Awakening2 voices
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.
And thou shall come up against my people of Israel,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
I shall be sanctified in thee - I shall be shown to be holy and just in avenging Myself of Mine enemy.
The words behind it
21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעָלִ֙יתָ֙ | vealita | and you will go up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| עַמִּ֣י | ʾami | people my | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| כֶּֽעָנָ֖ן | keanan | like <the> cloud | H6051 → | 87 times |
| לְכַסּ֣וֹת | lekhasot | to cover | H3680 → | 152 times |
| הָאָ֑רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| בְּאַחֲרִ֨ית | beacharit | at [the] end of | H319 → | 61 times |
| הַיָּמִ֜ים | haiyamim | the days | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| תִּֽהְיֶ֗ה | tihyeh | it will happen | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| וַהֲבִאוֹתִ֙יךָ֙ | vahaviotikha | and I will bring you | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אַרְצִ֔י | ʾartzi | land my | H776 → | 2504 times |
| לְמַעַן֩ | lemaan | so as | H4616 → | 272 times |
| דַּ֨עַת | daat | to know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| הַגּוֹיִ֜ם | hagoyim | the nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
| אֹתִ֗י | ʾoti | <obj.> me | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּהִקָּדְשִׁ֥י | behikadeshi | when I show holy myself | H6942 → | 171 times |
| בְךָ֛ | vekha | by you | ||
| לְעֵינֵיהֶ֖ם | leeineihem | to eyes their | H5869 → | 887 times |
| גּֽוֹג׃ ס | gog | O Gog | H1463 → | 10 times |
וְעָלִ֙יתָ֙and you will go up
vealitaH5927 →890 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
עַמִּ֣יpeople my
ʾamiH5971 →1873 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
כֶּֽעָנָ֖ןlike <the> cloud
keananH6051 →87 times
לְכַסּ֣וֹתto cover
lekhasotH3680 →152 times
הָאָ֑רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
בְּאַחֲרִ֨יתat [the] end of
beacharitH319 →61 times
הַיָּמִ֜יםthe days
haiyamimH3117 →2304 times
תִּֽהְיֶ֗הit will happen
tihyehH1961 →3559 times
וַהֲבִאוֹתִ֙יךָ֙and I will bring you
vahaviotikhaH935 →2568 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
אַרְצִ֔יland my
ʾartziH776 →2504 times
לְמַעַן֩so as
lemaanH4616 →272 times
דַּ֨עַתto know
daatH3045 →945 times
הַגּוֹיִ֜םthe nations
hagoyimH1471 →561 times
אֹתִ֗י<obj.> me
ʾotiH853 →10935 times
בְּהִקָּדְשִׁ֥יwhen I show holy myself
behikadeshiH6942 →171 times
בְךָ֛by you
vekha
לְעֵינֵיהֶ֖םto eyes their
leeineihemH5869 →887 times
גּֽוֹג׃ סO Gog
gogH1463 →10 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
1 Timothy 4:1Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons,
it leads to
- 2 Timothy 3:1–9
But understand this: In the last days terrible times will come.
- 2 Peter 2:1
Now there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction on…
- 2 Corinthians 11:13–15
For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ.
- Jude 1:18
when they said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow after their own ungodly desires.”
- 2 Thessalonians 2:3–12
Let no one deceive you in any way, for it will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness—the son of destruction—is revealed.
- 2 Timothy 3:1–9
Through
Hosea 3:5Afterward, the people of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to His goodness in the last days.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 30:9
Instead, they will serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.
- Jeremiah 50:4–5
“In those days and at that time, declares the LORD, the children of Israel and the children of Judah will come together, weeping as they come, and will seek the LORD their God.
- Ezekiel 34:23–24
I will appoint over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them. He will feed them and be their shepherd.
- Jeremiah 30:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezekiel

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
