Ezekiel 39:9
in Ezekiel 39Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out, kindle fires, and burn up the weapons—the bucklers and shields, the bows and arrows, the clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them for fuel.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall make fires of the weapons and burn them, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall make fires of them seven years;
KJV
And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years:
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This verse in Ezekiel 39
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Burn them with fire - Or, “kindle fire with them;” or, as in the margin. The weapons of the army left on the field of battle shall be so numerous as to supply fuel for the people of the land for seven years. Seven was a number connected with cleansing after contact with the dead (Num 19:11 ff), and this purification of the land by the clearance of paganish spoils was a holy work (compare Eze 39:12).
This site's exposition
Yes, it is coming
on Ezekiel 39:8-10
The Hebrew states the event as done, the prophetic perfect the book uses for what the Lord has determined: “it is coming, and it will surely happen”. For seven years Israel burns the invader's weapons for fuel and cuts no wood from the forests. “They will loot those who looted them and plunder those who plundered them” turns the coalition's purpose in the previous chapter, to seize spoil and plunder, back on the takers.
This site's exposition
For seven years they will use them for fuel
Albert Barnes links the seven years to the seven days of cleansing required after contact with the dead in Numbers 19:11. He calls the clearing of pagan spoils from the land a holy work. The seven months of verse 12 follow the same pattern.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 39, Verse 1 onwards) \"But you, son of man, prophesy against Gog and say: 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshek and Tubal. I will turn you around and drag you along. I will bring you from the far north and send you against the mountains of Israel. Then I will strike your bow from your left hand and make your arrows drop from your right hand. On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the nations with you.'
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
And shall set on fire - the weapons - The Israelites shall make bonfires and fuel of the weapons, tents, etc., which the defeated Syrians shall leave behind them, as expressive of the joy which they shall feel for the destruction of their enemies; and to keep up, in their culinary consumption, the memory of this great event. They shall burn them with fire seven years - These may be figurative expressions, after the manner of the Asiatics, whose language abounds with such descriptions. They occur every where in the prophets. As to the number seven it is only a certain for an indeterminate number. But as the slaughter was great, and the bows, arrows, quivers, shields, bucklers, handstaves, and spears were in vast multitudes, it must have taken a long time to gather them up in the different parts of the fields of battle, and the roads in which the Syrians had retreated, throwing away their arms as they proceeded; so there might have been a long time employed in collecting and burning them. And as all seem to have been doomed to the fire, there might have been some found at different intervals and burned, during the seven years here mentioned. Mariana, in his History of Spain, lib. xi., c. 24, says, that after the Spaniards had given that signal overthrow to the Saracens, a.d. 1212 they found such a vast quantity of lances, javelins, and such like, that they served them for four years for fuel. And probably these instruments obtained by the Israelites were used in general for culinary firewood, and might literally have served them for seven years; so that during that time they should take no wood out of the fields, nor out of the forests for the purpose of fuel, Eze 39:10.
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְֽיָצְא֞וּ | veyatzeu | and they will go out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| יֹשְׁבֵ֣י׀ | yoshevei | [the] inhabitants of | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| עָרֵ֣י | ʾarei | [the] cities of | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וּבִעֲר֡וּ | uviaru | and they will kindle | H1197 → | 94 times |
| וְ֠הִשִּׂיקוּ | vehisiku | and they will kindle a fire | H5400 → | |
| בְּנֶ֨שֶׁק | beneshek | with weapon | H5402 → | |
| וּמָגֵ֤ן | umagen | and shield | H4043 → | 63 times |
| וְצִנָּה֙ | vetzinah | and body shield | H6793 → | 22 times |
| בְּקֶ֣שֶׁת | bekeshet | with bow | H7198 → | 76 times |
| וּבְחִצִּ֔ים | uvechitzim | and with arrows | H2671 → | 53 times |
| וּבְמַקֵּ֥ל | uvemakel | and with staff of | H4731 → | |
| יָ֖ד | yad | hand | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| וּבְרֹ֑מַח | uveromach | and with spear | H7420 → | |
| וּבִעֲר֥וּ | uviaru | and they will kindle | H1197 → | 94 times |
| בָהֶ֛ם | vahem | with them | ||
| אֵ֖שׁ | ʾesh | fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| שֶׁ֥בַע | sheva' | seven | H7651 → | 394 times |
| שָׁנִֽים׃ | shanim | years | H8141 → | 877 times |
וְֽיָצְא֞וּand they will go out
veyatzeuH3318 →1067 times
יֹשְׁבֵ֣י׀[the] inhabitants of
yosheveiH3427 →1079 times
עָרֵ֣י[the] cities of
ʾareiH5892 →1090 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֗לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וּבִעֲר֡וּand they will kindle
uviaruH1197 →94 times
וְ֠הִשִּׂיקוּand they will kindle a fire
vehisikuH5400 →
בְּנֶ֨שֶׁקwith weapon
beneshekH5402 →
וּמָגֵ֤ןand shield
umagenH4043 →63 times
וְצִנָּה֙and body shield
vetzinahH6793 →22 times
בְּקֶ֣שֶׁתwith bow
bekeshetH7198 →76 times
וּבְחִצִּ֔יםand with arrows
uvechitzimH2671 →53 times
וּבְמַקֵּ֥לand with staff of
uvemakelH4731 →
יָ֖דhand
yadH3027 →1618 times
וּבְרֹ֑מַחand with spear
uveromachH7420 →
וּבִעֲר֥וּand they will kindle
uviaruH1197 →94 times
בָהֶ֛םwith them
vahem
אֵ֖שׁfire
ʾeshH784 →378 times
שֶׁ֥בַעseven
sheva'H7651 →394 times
שָׁנִֽים׃years
shanimH8141 →877 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
Psalms 46:9He makes wars to cease throughout the earth; He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; He burns the shields in the fire.
it leads to
- Isaiah 2:4
Then He will judge between the nations and arbitrate for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer take up the sword against…
- Micah 4:3–4
Then He will judge between many peoples and arbitrate for strong nations far and wide. Then they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer take…
- Micah 5:10
“In that day,” declares the LORD, “I will remove your horses from among you and wreck your chariots.
- Isaiah 60:18
No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders. But you will name your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.
- Isaiah 2:4
Through
Isaiah 66:24“As they go forth, they will see the corpses of the men who have rebelled against Me; for their worm will never die, their fire will never be quenched, and they will be a…
it leads to
- Revelation 14:10–11
he too will drink the wine of God’s anger, poured undiluted into the cup of His wrath. And he will be tormented in fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and…
- Isaiah 14:11
Your pomp has been brought down to Sheol, along with the music of your harps. Maggots are your bed and worms your blanket.
- 1 Thessalonians 2:15–16
who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and drove us out as well. They are displeasing to God and hostile to all men,
- Daniel 12:2
And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, but others to shame and everlasting contempt.
- Revelation 14:10–11
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); Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.