Ezekiel 38:4
in Ezekiel 38I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws, and bring you out with all your army—your horses, your horsemen in full armor, and a great company armed with shields and bucklers, all brandishing their swords.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and I will turn thee about, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them handling swords:
KJV
And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
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This verse in Ezekiel 38
Commentary
2 notes on this verseon Ezekiel 38:1-4
So begins this classic passage in which Gog and Magog, with their allies, are drawn into an invasion of Israel only to have the God of Israel use the occasion to show Himself strong by intervening on behalf of His people and destroying the invading forces.
This site's exposition
put hooks into thy jaws
on Ezekiel 38:4-6
The image of hooks in the jaws recurs from Pharaoh's own sentence at 29:4, a beast led out against its will rather than a willing march, and the great host follows in full armor, horses, and shields. The coalition drawn in with Gog is ancient geography rather than a modern map: Persia to the east, Ethiopia and Libya to the south and west, Gomer and the house of Togarmah out of the north quarters, the nations that ring Israel's known world in the prophet's own day. Keil reads the list as deliberately complete, gathered from every quarter against the one land, and the exposition leaves the ancient names as the text gives them.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְשׁ֣וֹבַבְתִּ֔יךָ | veshoavtikha | and I will turn around you | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| וְנָתַתִּ֥י | venatati | and I will put | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| חַחִ֖ים | chachim | hooks | H2397 → | 7 times |
| בִּלְחָיֶ֑יךָ | bilchayeikha | in jaws your | H3895 → | |
| וְהוֹצֵאתִי֩ | vehotzeti | and I will bring out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| אוֹתְךָ֨ | ʾotkha | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| חֵילֶ֜ךָ | cheilekha | army your | H2428 → | 246 times |
| סוּסִ֣ים | susim | horses | H5483 → | 140 times |
| וּפָרָשִׁ֗ים | ufarashim | and horsemen | H6571 → | 57 times |
| לְבֻשֵׁ֤י | levushei | clothed of | H3847 → | 110 times |
| מִכְלוֹל֙ | mikhlol | perfection | H4358 → | |
| כֻּלָּ֔ם | kulam | all of them | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| קָהָ֥ל | kahal | a company | H6951 → | 123 times |
| רָב֙ | rav | great | H7227 → | 454 times |
| צִנָּ֣ה | tzinah | body shield | H6793 → | 22 times |
| וּמָגֵ֔ן | umagen | and shield | H4043 → | 63 times |
| תֹּפְשֵׂ֥י | tofesei | wielders of | H8610 → | 65 times |
| חֲרָב֖וֹת | charavot | swords | H2719 → | 413 times |
| כֻּלָּֽם׃ | kulam | all of them | H3605 → | 5413 times |
וְשׁ֣וֹבַבְתִּ֔יךָand I will turn around you
veshoavtikhaH7725 →1056 times
וְנָתַתִּ֥יand I will put
venatatiH5414 →2011 times
חַחִ֖יםhooks
chachimH2397 →7 times
בִּלְחָיֶ֑יךָin jaws your
bilchayeikhaH3895 →
וְהוֹצֵאתִי֩and I will bring out
vehotzetiH3318 →1067 times
אוֹתְךָ֨<obj.> you
ʾotkhaH853 →10935 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
חֵילֶ֜ךָarmy your
cheilekhaH2428 →246 times
סוּסִ֣יםhorses
susimH5483 →140 times
וּפָרָשִׁ֗יםand horsemen
ufarashimH6571 →57 times
לְבֻשֵׁ֤יclothed of
levusheiH3847 →110 times
מִכְלוֹל֙perfection
mikhlolH4358 →
כֻּלָּ֔םall of them
kulamH3605 →5413 times
קָהָ֥לa company
kahalH6951 →123 times
רָב֙great
ravH7227 →454 times
צִנָּ֣הbody shield
tzinahH6793 →22 times
וּמָגֵ֔ןand shield
umagenH4043 →63 times
תֹּפְשֵׂ֥יwielders of
tofeseiH8610 →65 times
חֲרָב֖וֹתswords
charavotH2719 →413 times
כֻּלָּֽם׃all of them
kulamH3605 →5413 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
2 Kings 19:28Because your rage and arrogance against Me have reached My ears, I will put My hook in your nose and My bit in your mouth; I will send you back the way you came.’
it leads to
- Amos 4:2
The Lord GOD has sworn by His holiness: “Behold, the days are coming when you will be taken away with hooks, and your posterity with fishhooks.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 29:4
But I will put hooks in your jaws and cause the fish of your streams to cling to your scales. I will haul you up out of your rivers, and all the fish of…
- 2 Kings 19:33
He will go back the way he came, and he will not enter this city,’ declares the LORD.
- Amos 4:2
Through
Ezekiel 39:2I will turn you around, drive you along, bring you up from the far north, and send you against the mountains of Israel.
it leads to
- Isaiah 37:29
Because your rage and arrogance against Me have reached My ears, I will put My hook in your nose and My bit in your mouth; I will send you back the way you came.’
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 37:29
Through
Ezekiel 38:15And you will come from your place out of the far north—you and many peoples with you, all riding horses—a mighty horde, a huge army.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 39:2
I will turn you around, drive you along, bring you up from the far north, and send you against the mountains of Israel.
- Ezekiel 38:6
as well as Gomer with all its troops, and Beth-togarmah from the far north with all its troops—the many nations with you.
- Daniel 11:40
At the time of the end, the king of the South will engage him in battle, but the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots, horsemen, and many ships, invading…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 39:2
Through
Ezekiel 29:4But I will put hooks in your jaws and cause the fish of your streams to cling to your scales. I will haul you up out of your rivers, and all the fish of…
it leads to
- 2 Kings 19:28
Because your rage and arrogance against Me have reached My ears, I will put My hook in your nose and My bit in your mouth; I will send you back the way you came.’
- 2 Kings 19:28
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Chuck Missler, The Magog Identity (article) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.