Ezekiel 38:9
in Ezekiel 38You and all your troops, and many peoples with you will go up, advancing like a thunderstorm; you will be like a cloud covering the land.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And thou shalt ascend, thou shalt come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy hordes, and many peoples with thee.
KJV
Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.
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This verse in Ezekiel 38
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThou shalt ascend and come like a storm - It is observable that Antiochus is thus spoken of by Daniel, Dan 11:40: The king of the north - Antiochus, shall come against him (the king of the south is the king of Egypt) like a whirlwind.
This site's exposition
Get ready; prepare yourself
on Ezekiel 38:7-9
Gog is told to “prepare yourself,” though verse 4 says the Lord turns him around and brings him out, so the march starts from outside. The timing is tied to Israel's restoration, “In the latter years,” against a people who “now dwell securely” on the mountains of Israel.
This site's exposition
advancing like a thunderstorm
The storm and the cloud picture an army large enough to darken the land. Adam Clarke compares Daniel 11:40, where the king of the North comes on like a whirlwind, and he reads both texts of Antiochus Epiphanes. Verse 16 repeats the cloud image.
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
): " Thou shalt ascent and come like a storm, with all the force, and fury, and fierceness imaginable, and thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, to darken it, and to threaten it, thou and not only all thy bands, all the force thou canst bring into the field, but many people with thee " (such as are spoken of
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
Thou shall ascend and come like a storm,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Thus said Hashem Elokim: And it shall come to pass at that time that thoughts shall arise in your heart, and you shall devise evil schemes.
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
13 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 |
| כַּשֹּׁאָ֣ה | kashoah | like <the> storm | H7722 → | |
| תָב֔וֹא | tavo' | you will go | H935 → | 2568 times |
| כֶּעָנָ֛ן | keanan | like <the> cloud | H6051 → | 87 times |
| לְכַסּ֥וֹת | lekhasot | [about] to cover | H3680 → | 152 times |
| הָאָ֖רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| תִּֽהְיֶ֑ה | tihyeh | you are | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| אַתָּה֙ | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| וְכָל־ | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֲגַפֶּ֔יךָ | ʾagapeikha | troops your | H102 → | 7 times |
| וְעַמִּ֥ים | veamim | and peoples | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| רַבִּ֖ים | rabim | many | H7227 → | 454 times |
| אוֹתָֽךְ׃ ס | ʾotakh | with you | H854 → | 929 times |
וְעָלִ֙יתָ֙and you will go up
vealitaH5927 →890 times
כַּשֹּׁאָ֣הlike <the> storm
kashoahH7722 →
תָב֔וֹאyou will go
tavo'H935 →2568 times
כֶּעָנָ֛ןlike <the> cloud
keananH6051 →87 times
לְכַסּ֥וֹת[about] to cover
lekhasotH3680 →152 times
הָאָ֖רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
תִּֽהְיֶ֑הyou are
tihyehH1961 →3559 times
אַתָּה֙you
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
וְכָל־and all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
אֲגַפֶּ֔יךָtroops your
ʾagapeikhaH102 →7 times
וְעַמִּ֥יםand peoples
veamimH5971 →1873 times
רַבִּ֖יםmany
rabimH7227 →454 times
אוֹתָֽךְ׃ סwith you
ʾotakhH854 →929 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
Isaiah 25:4For You have been a refuge for the poor, a stronghold for the needy in distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like…
it leads to
- Zephaniah 3:12
But I will leave within you a meek and humble people, and they will trust in the name of the LORD.
- James 2:5
Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?
- Isaiah 32:2
Each will be like a shelter from the wind, a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in a dry land, like the shadow of a great rock in an arid land.
- Matthew 7:25–27
The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because its foundation was on the rock.
- Zephaniah 3:12
Through
Joel 2:2a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like the dawn overspreading the mountains a great and strong army appears, such as never was of old, nor will ever be…
it leads to
- Joel 1:6
For a nation has invaded My land, powerful and without number; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and its fangs are the fangs of a lioness.
- Zephaniah 1:14–15
The great Day of the LORD is near—near and coming quickly. Listen, the Day of the LORD! Then the cry of the mighty will be bitter.
- Amos 5:18–20
Woe to you who long for the Day of the LORD! What will the Day of the LORD be for you? It will be darkness and not light.
- Joel 1:6
Through
Jeremiah 4:13Behold, he advances like the clouds, his chariots like the whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are ruined!
it leads to
- Isaiah 19:1
This is the burden against Egypt: Behold, the LORD rides on a swift cloud; He is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt will tremble before Him, and the hearts of the Egyptians will…
- Isaiah 19:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.