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And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
Ezekiel 39:3 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB and I will strike your bow out of your left hand, and will cause your arrows to fall out of your right hand.
  • BSB Then I will strike the bow from your left hand and dash down the arrows from your right hand.
  • NKJV Then I will knock the bow out of your left hand, and cause the arrows to fall out of your right hand.
  • NASB Then I will strike your bow from your left hand and make your arrows fall from your right hand.
  • NLT I will knock the bow from your left hand and the arrows from your right hand, and I will leave you helpless.

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 disarms Gog, striking bow and arrows from his hands. The mightiest weapons are useless before the Lord.

Overview

In vivid terms the Lord renders Gog defenseless, knocking his bow and arrows away before the battle is even joined. The imagery stresses that victory belongs entirely to God, not to Israel's military strength. It illustrates the consistent biblical theme that the Lord breaks the weapons of war and that no armament can prevail against His will.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 5

  • Ps 76:3There brake he the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the battle. Selah.
  • Hos 1:5And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.
  • Jer 21:4–5Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city.
  • Ezek 20:21–24Notwithstanding the children rebelled against me: they walked not in my statutes, neither kept my judgments to do them, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; they polluted my sabbaths: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness.
  • Ps 46:9He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Ezekiel videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Ezekiel 39:3YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on EzekielMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 39:3 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.