Ezekiel 39

39:1-10 The Lord will make the most careless and hardened transgressors know his holy name, either by his righteous anger, or by the riches of his mercy and grace. The weapons formed against Zion shall not prosper. Though this prophecy is to be fulfilled in the latter days, it is certain. From the language used, it seems that the army of Gog will be destroyed by miracle.

"\nTherefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,.... As he had been ordered to do before, and must still continue to do it:\n\nbehold, I am against thee, O Gog; which is repeated for the confirmation of it, and to inject terror into him; for terrible it is to have God against any:\n\nthe chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; [See comments on Eze 38:2], the Septuagint version adds "Ros" here as there.\n\n\n\n "

2. leave but the sixth part of thee—Margin, "strike thee with six plagues" (namely, pestilence, blood, overflowing rain, hailstones, fire, brimstone, Eze 38:22); or, "draw thee back with an hook of six teeth" (Eze 38:4), the six teeth being those six plagues. Rather, "lead thee about" [Ludovicus De Dieu and Septuagint]. As Antiochus was led (to his ruin) to leave Egypt for an expedition against Palestine, so shall the last great enemy of God be.north parts—from the extreme north [Fairbairn].

"\nAnd I will turn thee back,.... Not from the land of Israel; for thither it is said in the latter part of the text he would bring him; but the meaning is, that he would "turn him about", as the word {w} signifies, in his own land, and lead him about at his pleasure, and bring him out of it, unto the land of Israel; signifying hereby that the providence of God would be greatly concerned in this affair; and in which much glory would be brought unto him by the destruction of such a potent enemy of his people; which is the design of bringing him out;\n[See comments on Eze 38:4]:\n\nand leave but a sixth part of thee; meaning, not that a sixth part only should escape the vengeance of God, and all but a sixth part be destroyed in the land of Israel; for it looks as if the whole army would be utterly destroyed, and none left; but that, when he should come out of his own country upon this expedition, a sixth part of his subjects only should be left behind; five out of six should accompany him; so numerous should his army be, and so drained his country by this enterprise of his. Some render the words, "will draw thee out with an hook of six teeth" {x}; that is, out of his own land; and this clause stands in the same place and order as the phrase and "put hooks into thy jaws" does in Eze 38:4 and so may be thought to explain one another, and agrees with what follows: for, as for the sense of it given by Joseph Kimchi and others,\n\n"I will judge thee with six judgments {y}, Eze 38:12, pestilence, blood, an overflowing rain, hailstones, fire, and brimstone,''\n\nit must be rejected; seeing as yet the account of his punishment is not come to; only an account is given how and by what means he shall be drawn out of his own land; wherefore much better is the Targum,\n\n"I will persuade thee, and I will seduce thee;''\n\nso Jarchi seems to understand it: and the Septuagint and Arabic versions render it, "I will lead thee", agreeably to what follows:\n\nand will cause thee to come up from the north parts;\n[See comments on Eze 38:15]\n\nand will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel; not to inherit them, but to fall upon them, as in Eze 39:4.\n\n{w} \u05e9\u05d1\u05d1\u05ea\u05d9\u05da "circumducam te", Piscator; "circumagam", Grotius. {x} \u05e9\u05e9\u05d0\u05ea\u05d9\u05da "harpagone sextuplici extraham te", Vinarienses apud Starckius. So Buxtorf. {y} "Sex poenis, [sive] plagis afficiam te", Munster, Tigurine version.\n\n\n\n "

"\nAnd I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand,.... In which it is usually held, to have the arrow fitted to it:\n\nand I will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand; where they are commonly held when put into the bow, and then the bow is drawn with it; signifying hereby, that though he should come into the land of Israel, he should not succeed; he would be stripped of his armour, and it would be useless to him: bows and arrows are put for all kind of warlike instruments; and are particularly mentioned because they were chiefly used in war when this prophecy was delivered.\n\n\n "

"\nThou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel,.... Be slain, and his carcass lie there; so the Targum,\n\n"upon the mountains of the land of Israel thy carcass shall be cast:''\n\nthou and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee; Gog and his army, auxiliaries and allies:\n\nI will give thee to the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured: a great part of his army being slain, should not be buried, but be devoured by birds of prey, and savage beasts; such as eagles and vultures of the former sort, and lions, bears, wolves, c. of the latter. This was always reckoned a very sore judgment and dreadful calamity, not to have a burial, but to be exposed to birds and beasts of prey this was threatened to the Israelites, in case of disobedience to the law of God, De 28:26 and to the wicked Jews in the times of Jeremiah; and to that evil king of Judah, Jehoiakim, Jer 16:4 and is lamented as one of the greatest evils that could befall good men, Ps 79:2, and nothing was more dreadful among the Heathens themselves; hence Homer {z}, among the many calamities Achilles was the cause of to the Grecians, mentions this as one, that he was the means of giving the bodies of a great number of their heroes to the dogs, and to the fowls of the air; so Virgil {a} represents the want of a burial, and being left to be fed upon by birds of prey, as severe a punishment of a wicked man as can be wished for.\n\n{z} Iliad. 1. l. 4, 5.