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Ezekiel 38:20

in Ezekiel 38

The fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, every creature that crawls upon the ground, and all mankind on the face of the earth will tremble at My presence. The mountains will be thrown down, the cliffs will collapse, and every wall will fall to the ground.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

so that the fishes of the sea, and the birds of the heavens, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.

KJV

So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.

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This verse in Ezekiel 38

Commentary

6 notes on this verse

This site's exposition

My wrath will flare up

on Ezekiel 38:18-20

“My wrath will flare up” and “In My zeal and fiery rage” are the most bodily terms the book uses for the anger. The shaking reaches every order of creature in Genesis's own categories. Henry sets the scene beside Sinai's trembling mountain, a theophany answering an invasion.

This site's exposition

will tremble at My presence

The trembling comes from God's presence. The same list of creatures in Hosea 4:3 described judgment on Israel's own land. Hebrews 12:26 to 27 takes up the prophets' theme of a final shaking for the removal of all that can be shaken.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Ezekiel · Written before 420.

proposed

(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

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

), such as shall affect the fishes and fowls, the beasts and creeping things, and much more the men that are upon the face of the earth, who sooner receive impressions of fear.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens

So that the fishes of the sea shall shake at my presence,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

fishes--disturbed by the fleets which I will bring. fowls, &c.--frightened at the sight of so many men: an ideal picture. mountains--that is, the fortresses on the mountains. steep places--literally, "stairs" (So 2:14); steep terraces for vines on the sides of hills, to prevent the earth being washed down by the rains. every wall--of towns.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

The words behind it

27 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וְרָעֲשׁ֣וּand they will shake

    veraashuH7493 →30 times

  • מִפָּנַ֡יfrom before me

    mipanaiH6440 →2123 times

  • דְּגֵ֣י[the] fish of

    degeiH1709 →

  • הַיָּם֩the sea

    haiyamH3220 →396 times

  • וְע֨וֹףand [the] bird[s] of

    veofH5775 →71 times

  • הַשָּׁמַ֜יִםthe heavens

    hashamayimH8064 →421 times

  • וְחַיַּ֣תand [the] animal[s] of

    vechaiyatH2416 →498 times

  • הַשָּׂדֶ֗הthe field

    hasadehH7704 →334 times

  • וְכָל־and every

    vekholH3605 →5413 times

  • הָרֶ֙מֶשׂ֙<the> creeping thing

    haremesH7431 →

  • הָרֹמֵ֣שׂwhich creeps

    haromesH7430 →

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • הָֽאֲדָמָ֔הthe ground

    haadamahH127 →225 times

  • וְכֹל֙and all

    vekholH3605 →5413 times

  • הָֽאָדָ֔ם<the> humankind

    haadamH120 →551 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֖רwhich

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • עַל־[is] on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • פְּנֵ֣י[the] surface of

    peneiH6440 →2123 times

  • הָאֲדָמָ֑הthe ground

    haadamahH127 →225 times

  • וְנֶהֶרְס֣וּand they will be thrown down

    venehersuH2040 →43 times

  • הֶהָרִ֗יםthe mountains

    heharimH2022 →546 times

  • וְנָֽפְלוּ֙and they will fall

    venafeluH5307 →435 times

  • הַמַּדְרֵג֔וֹתthe steep places

    hamadregotH4095 →

  • וְכָל־and every

    vekholH3605 →5413 times

  • חוֹמָ֖הwall

    chomahH2346 →133 times

  • לָאָ֥רֶץto the ground

    laaretzH776 →2504 times

  • תִּפּֽוֹל׃it will fall

    tipolH5307 →435 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

11 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Revelation 6:14The sky receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place.6 worksHosea 4:3Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it will waste away with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air; even the fish of the sea disappear.5 worksNahum 1:4–6He rebukes the sea and dries it up; He makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither, and the flower of Lebanon wilts.4 worksHaggai 2:6For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.4 worksJeremiah 4:24I looked at the mountains, and behold, they were quaking; all the hills were swaying.4 worksZechariah 14:4–5On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half the mountain moving to the north and half to the south.3 works
The other 5 cross-references, with their words ▾
Revelation 6:12–13And when I saw the Lamb open the sixth seal, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black like sackcloth of goat hair, and the whole moon turned blood red,3 worksJeremiah 4:23–26I looked at the earth, and it was formless and void; I looked to the heavens, and they had no light.2 works2 Corinthians 10:4The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the world. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.2 worksIsaiah 30:25And from every high mountain and every raised hill, streams of water will flow in the day of great slaughter, when the towers fall.2 worksIsaiah 42:15I will lay waste the mountains and hills and dry up all their vegetation. I will turn the rivers into dry land and drain the marshes.2 works

The walk

5 stops

Each 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

    Hosea 4:3

    Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it will waste away with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air; even the fish of the sea disappear.

    it leads to

    • Zephaniah 1:3

      “I will sweep away man and beast; I will sweep away the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, and the idols with their wicked worshipers. I will cut off mankind…

    • Isaiah 24:4–12

      The earth mourns and withers; the world languishes and fades; the exalted of the earth waste away.

    • Nahum 1:4

      He rebukes the sea and dries it up; He makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither, and the flower of Lebanon wilts.

    • Jeremiah 12:4

      How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field be withered? Because of the evil of its residents, the animals and birds have been swept away, for the people have said,…

    • Amos 5:16

      Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Hosts, the Lord, says: “There will be wailing in all the public squares and cries of ‘Alas! Alas!’ in all the streets. The farmer will…

Where this verse is studied

On this page

Studies1

About Ezekiel

Ezekiel’s Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Ezekiel’s Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Ezekiel: the study guide →Read Ezekiel 38 →

This page draws on Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Ezekiel 38 →