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.
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.
- BSB 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.
- 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 2:22And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother.
- Ezek 14:17Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off man and beast from it:
- Judg 7:22And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man’s sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host: and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath.
- 2 Chr 20:23For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.
- 1 Sam 14:20And Saul and all the people that were with him assembled themselves, and they came to the battle: and, behold, every man’s sword was against his fellow, and there was a very great discomfiture.
- Ps 105:16Moreover he called for a famine upon the land: he brake the whole staff of bread.
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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
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