וְאַתָּה בֶן־אָדָם הִנָּבֵא עַל־גּוֹג וְאָמַרְתָּ כֹּה אָמַר ה' אֱלוֹהִים הִנְנִי אֵלֶיךָ גּוֹג נְשִׂיא רֹאשׁ מֶשֶׁךְ וְתֻבָל

The prophet continues to describe the war of Gog: You, Son of man, prophesy concerning Gog, and say: So said the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, Gog the prince, head of the kingdoms of Meshekh and Tuval.

וְשֹׁבַבְתִּיךָ וְשִׁשֵּׁאתִיךָ וְהַעֲלִיתִיךָ מִיַּרְכְּתֵי צָפוֹן והֲבִאוֹתִיךָ עַל־הָרֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל

I will lead you astray, place you under the control of your evil inclination, and I will bewilder you [veshishetikha]. This is the only instance of this term in the Bible and probably indicates confusion, tumult, or temptation, as in I will divert you. And I will take you up at the head of a large group of nations from the ends of the North for widespread conquests, and eventually I will bring you to the mountains of Israel, which you will intend to capture as well.

וְהִכֵּיתִי קַשְׁתְּךָ מִיַּד שְׂמֹאולֶךָ וְחִצֶּיךָ מִיַּד יְמִינְךָ אַפִּיל

There I will strike your bow, which will fall from your left hand, and I will cause your arrows to fall from your stronger, more skilled right hand, which powerfully pulls the bowstring and aims the arrows.

עַל־הָרֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל תִּפּוֹל אַתָּה וְכָל־אֲגַפֶּיךָ וְעַמִּים אֲשֶׁר אִתָּךְ לְעֵיט צִפּוֹר כָל־כָּנָף וְחַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה נְתַתִּיךָ לְאָכְלָה

More concretely: Upon the mountains of Israel, you will fall, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you; I have given you to the birds of prey, to every winged creature, and to the beasts of the field to devour your flesh.

עַל־פְּנֵי הַשָּׂדֶה תִּפּוֹל כִּי אֲנִי דִבַּרְתִּי נְאֻם ה' אֱלוֹהִים

Upon the open field, you will fall, for I have spoken – the utterance of the Lord God.

וְשִׁלַּחְתִּי־אֵשׁ בְּמָגוֹג וּבְיֹשְׁבֵי הָאִיִּים לָבֶטַח וְיָדְעוּ כִּי־אֲנִי ה'

Not only Gog and his armies will fall in the Land of Israel, but I will also send fire against Magog, Gog’s land, and against the inhabitants of the islands in security, the nations that fought together with Gog, and they will know that I am the Lord.

וְאֶת־שֵׁם קָדְשִׁי אוֹדִיעַ בְּתוֹךְ עַמִּי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְלֹא־אַחֵל אֶת־שֵׁם־קָדְשִׁי עוֹד וְיָדְעוּ הַגּוֹיִם כִּי־אֲנִי ה' קָדוֹשׁ בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל

With the halt of Gog’s advance in the Land of Israel, where he will be routed, I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not profane My holy name any longer. To a certain degree, the fall of Israel is a desecration of God’s name, as the people of Israel are associated with God (36:20). And after the downfall of Gog, that situation will be reversed, as the nations will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.

הִנֵּה בָאָה וְנִהְיָתָה נְאֻם ה' אֱלוֹהִים הוּא הַיּוֹם אֲשֶׁר דִּבַּרְתִּי

Behold, it is coming, the prophecy of the downfall of Gog, and it will be – the utterance of the Lord God; it is the day, the era of the End of Days, of which I have spoken.

וְיָצְאוּ יֹשְׁבֵי עָרֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וּבִעֲרוּ וְהִשִּׂיקוּ בְּנֶשֶׁק וּמָגֵן וְצִנָּה בְּקֶשֶׁת וּבְחִצִּים וּבְמַקֵּל יָד וּבְרֹמַח וּבִעֲרוּ בָהֶם אֵשׁ שֶׁבַע שָׁנִים

The inhabitants of the cities of Israel will emerge and kindle and burn with the weapons of Gog and his troops, with the buckler and the shield, typically made of wood and covered with leather or another material, with the bow and with the arrows, with the club and with the spear, a wooden rod with a metal blade at the edge. And they will kindle fires with them seven years. Gog’s enormous stockpile of weaponry will serve as kindling. In many cases in the Bible, the number seven is not employed in a literal sense; rather, it is employed in the sense of many.

ולֹא־יִשְׂאוּ עֵצִים מִן־הַשָּׂדֶה וְלֹא יַחְטְבוּ מִן־הַיְּעָרִים כִּי בַנֶּשֶׁק יְבַעֲרוּ־אֵשׁ וְשָׁלְלוּ אֶת־שֹׁלְלֵיהֶם וּבָזְזוּ אֶת־בֹּזְזֵיהֶם נְאֻם ה' אֱלוֹהִים

At that time, they will not carry wood from the field, and they will not chop from the forests for kindling, for with the weapons of Gog they will kindle fire, and they, Israel, will plunder their would-be plunderers and loot their looters – the utterance of the Lord God.

וְהָיָה בַיּוֹם הַהוּא אֶתֵּן לְגוֹג מְקוֹם שָׁם קֶבֶר בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל גֵּי הָעֹבְרִים קִדְמַת הַיָּם וְחֹסֶמֶת הִיא אֶת־הָעֹבְרִים וְקָבְרוּ שָׁם אֶת־גּוֹג וְאֶת־כָּל־הֲמוֹנֹה וְקָרְאוּ גֵּיא הֲמוֹן גּוֹג

It will be on that day, after the enemy corpses have been left for the beasts of the field, I will provide the bones of Gog a place of burial there, in Israel, in the valley of the passersby east of the sea, presumably the Mediterranean Sea, although some maintain the reference is to the Sea of Galilee or the Dead Sea, and it will obstruct the passersby, as the massive valley will be rendered impassable by all the corpses, and they will bury Gog and all his horde there, and they will call it, that place, the Valley of the Horde of Gog.

וּקְבָרוּם בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל לְמַעַן טַהֵר אֶת־הָאָרֶץ שִׁבְעָה חֳדָשִׁים

The house of Israel will bury them in order to purify the land from the impurity of the corpses for seven months. Due to the enormous number of corpses, it will take seven months to gather and bury them.

וְקָבְרוּ כָּל־עַם הָאָרֶץ וְהָיָה לָהֶם לְשֵׁם יוֹם הִכָּבְדִי נְאֻם ה' אֱלוֹהִים

All the people, residents, of the land will bury, and it will be for them for renown among the nations that the children of Israel brought their enemies to burial, on the day that I will be glorified – the utterance of the Lord God.

וְאַנְשֵׁי תָמִיד יַבְדִּילוּ עֹבְרִים בָּאָרֶץ מְקַבְּרִים אֶת הָעֹבְרִים אֶת הַנּוֹתָרִים עַל־פְּנֵי הָאָרֶץ לְטַהֲרָהּ מִקְצֵה שִׁבְעָה־חֳדָשִׁים יַחְקֹרוּ

They will designate permanent officials who will be passing through the land searching for the bones of the soldiers of Gog. These additional people will be burying with the help of the passersby those who remain on the surface of the land, the corpses that will remain after the public burial, to purify it. At the conclusion of seven months, they will search the land.

וְעָבְרוּ הָעֹבְרִים בָּאָרֶץ וְרָאָה עֶצֶם אָדָם וּבָנָה אֶצְלוֹ צִיּוּן עַד קָבְרוּ אֹתוֹ הַמְקַבְּרִים אֶל־גֵּיא הֲמוֹן גּוֹג

The appointed men will perform their tasks in this manner: The passersby will pass through the land, and one of them will see the bone of a person and will build a marker by it. The task of those passersby is to find human bones and mark their spot until the buriers find those markers, transfer the bone, and bury it in the Valley of the Horde of Gog where all the soldiers of Gog are buried.

וגַם שֶׁם־עִיר הֲמוֹנָה וְטִהֲרוּ הָאָרֶץ

The prophet notes parenthetically: The Horde, named after the Horde of Gog, will also be the name of a city located near the valley. After all the bones have been buried, they will purify the land.

וְאַתָּה בֶן־אָדָם כֹּה־אָמַר ה' אֱלוֹהִים אֱמֹר לְצִפּוֹר כָּל כָּנָף וּלְכֹל חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה הִקָּבְצוּ וָבֹאוּ הֵאָסְפוּ מִסָּבִיב עַל־זִבְחִי אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי זֹבֵחַ לָכֶם זֶבַח גָּדוֹל עַל הָרֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַאֲכַלְתֶּם בָּשָׂר וּשְׁתִיתֶם דָּם

You, Son of man, so said the Lord God before the burial: Say to the bird, every winged creature, and to every beast of the field: Gather and come, assemble yourselves from all around to My feast that I am slaughtering for you, a great feast upon the mountains of Israel, and you will eat flesh and drink blood.

בְּשַׂר גִּבּוֹרִים תֹּאכֵלוּ וְדַם־נְשִׂיאֵי הָאָרֶץ תִּשְׁתּוּ אֵילִים כָּרִים וְעַתּוּדִים פָּרִים מְרִיאֵי בָשָׁן כֻּלָּם

The flesh of the mighty you will eat, and the blood of the princes of the earth you will drink: rams, lambs, or fat sheep, and goats, bulls, fattened bulls, or buffaloes, of Bashan, all of them. This is imagery of quality meat and a fine meal from which the beasts and birds are invited to participate.

וַאֲכַלְתֶּם־חֵלֶב לְשָׂבְעָה וּשְׁתִיתֶם דָּם לְשִׁכָּרוֹן מִזִּבְחִי אֲשֶׁר־זָבַחְתִּי לָכֶם

You will eat fat, the highest-quality cut of meat, to satiation and you will drink blood to intoxication from My feast that I will have slaughtered for you.

וּשְׂבַעְתֶּם עַל־שֻׁלְחָנִי סוּס ורֶכֶב גִּבּוֹר וְכָל־אִישׁ מִלְחָמָה נְאֻם ה' אֱלוֹהִים

You will be satiated at My table, horse and chariot, the mighty and all men of war – the utterance of the Lord God.

וְנָתַתִּי אֶת־כְּבוֹדִי בַּגּוֹיִם וְרָאוּ כָל־הַגּוֹיִם אֶת־מִשְׁפָּטִי אֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתִי וְאֶת־יָדִי אֲשֶׁר־שַׂמְתִּי בָהֶם

I will set My glory among the nations, and all the nations will see My judgment that I have executed and My hand that I have placed upon them, the nations that joined forces with Gog and were defeated together with him.

וְיָדְעוּ בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל כִּי אֲנִי ה' אֱלֹהֵיהֶם מִן־הַיּוֹם הַהוּא וָהָלְאָה

In contrast, the house of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God, and that they are under My aegis, from that day onward.

וְיָדְעוּ הַגּוֹיִם כִּי בַעֲוֹנָם גָּלוּ בֵית־יִשְׂרָאֵל עַל אֲשֶׁר מָעֲלוּ־בִי וָאַסְתִּר פָּנַי מֵהֶם וָאֶתְּנֵם בְּיַד צָרֵיהֶם וַיִּפְּלוּ בַחֶרֶב כֻּלָּם

The nations will know that in their iniquity the house of Israel was exiled, not because those nations were too strong, or because they were superior to Israel, but rather, it is because they, Israel, committed trespass against Me, and I concealed My face from them, and I delivered them into the hand of their foes, and they fell by sword, all of them. Many Israelites were killed in wars or in exile.

כְּטֻמְאָתָם וּכְפִשְׁעֵיהֶם עָשִׂיתִי אֹתָם וָאַסְתִּר פָּנַי מֵהֶם

In accordance with their impurity and in accordance with their transgressions I acted with them, and I concealed My face from them.

לָכֵן כֹּה אָמַר ה' אֱלוֹהִים עַתָּה אָשִׁיב אֶת־שְׁבוּת יַעֲקֹב וְרִחַמְתִּי כָּל־בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל וְקִנֵּאתִי לְשֵׁם קָדְשִׁי

Therefore, so said the Lord God: Now, after they have been exiled, I will restore the returnees of Jacob to their original state, and I will have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and then, when I have saved Israel, I will be zealous for My holy name and protect them from any harm.

וְנָשׂוּ אֶת־כְּלִמָּתָם וְאֶת־כָּל־מַעֲלָם אֲשֶׁר מָעֲלוּ־בִי בְּשִׁבְתָּם עַל־אַדְמָתָם לָבֶטַח וְאֵין מַחֲרִיד

They, Israel, will bear their humiliation and all their trespass that they committed against Me in the past. This will occur when they live in their land in security and there is none to threaten them. Once they have been rescued by God and their lives improve, they will have the opportunity to consider their pasts with feelings of shame,

בְּשׁוֹבְבִי אוֹתָם מִן־הָעַמִּים וְקִבַּצְתִּי אֹתָם מֵאַרְצוֹת אֹיְבֵיהֶם וְנִקְדַּשְׁתִּי בָם לְעֵינֵי הַגּוֹיִם רַבִּים

when I return them from the peoples and gather them from the lands of their enemies. I will be sanctified through them before the eyes of the many nations. When I restore Israel to its land and to its independence and its might, many nations will acknowledge the sanctity of My name.

וְיָדְעוּ כִּי אֲנִי ה' אֱלֹהֵיהֶם בְּהַגְלוֹתִי אֹתָם אֶל־הַגּוֹיִם וְכִנַּסְתִּים אֶל־אַדְמָתָם וְלֹא־אוֹתִיר עוֹד מֵהֶם שָׁם

They, the house of Israel, will know that I am the Lord their God, as I exiled them among the nations and it is I who will gather them to their own land. Both their descent into exile and their return were not chance occurrences but were wrought by the hand of God. And I will not leave any of them there, in exile.

וְלֹא־אַסְתִּיר עוֹד פָּנַי מֵהֶם אֲשֶׁר שָׁפַכְתִּי אֶת־רוּחִי עַל־בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל נְאֻם ה' אֱלוֹהִים

I will no longer conceal My face from them, as I have poured My spirit upon the house of Israel – the utterance of the Lord God.