And I will summon a sword against Gog on all My mountains, declares the Lord GOD, and every man’s sword will be against his brother.
Parallel translations
- WEB I will call for a sword against him to all my mountains, says the Lord Yahweh: every man’s sword shall be against his brother.
- KJV And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man’s sword shall be against his brother.
- NKJV I will call for a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains,” says the Lord God. “Every man’s sword will be against his brother.
- NASB And I will call for a sword against him on all My mountains,” declares the Lord God. “Every man’s sword will be against his brother.
- NLT I will summon the sword against you on all the hills of Israel, says the Sovereign Lord. Your men will turn their swords against each other.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God summons a sword against Gog, turning the invaders against one another. He needs no human army to win His battles.
Overview
The Lord declares that He will call for a sword against Gog throughout His mountains, so that the confederate forces fall into deadly confusion and slay each other. This motif of God-induced panic among enemies recalls Gideon's victory and Jehoshaphat's deliverance. It teaches that the Lord defends His people by His own initiative, foreshadowing the certain defeat of all who array themselves against Christ and His church.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Hag 2:22I will overturn royal thrones and destroy the power of the kingdoms of the nations. I will overturn chariots and their riders; horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his brother.
- Ezek 14:17Or if I bring a sword against that land and say, ‘Let a sword pass through it,’ so that I cut off from it both man and beast,
- Judg 7:22And when the three hundred rams’ horns sounded, the LORD set all the men in the camp against one another with their swords. The army fled to Beth-shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel-meholah near Tabbath.
- 2 Chr 20:23The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction. And when they had made an end to the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.
- 1 Sam 14:20Then Saul and all his troops assembled and marched to the battle, and they found the Philistines in total confusion, with each man wielding the sword against his neighbor.
- Ps 105:16He called down famine on the land and cut off all their supplies of food.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The promise of one Shepherd-King David, a new heart and new Spirit, and the river of life flowing from the temple all stream toward Christ, the good Shepherd who gives the Spirit.
How Ezekiel 38:21 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.