38 The Lord gave this message to me: ² ‘Son of man, turn and look towards Gog, in the land of Magog. He is the most important prince of Meshech and Tubal. Speak my message to warn him. ³ Say, “This is what the Almighty Lord says: I am your enemy, Gog, prince of Meshech and Tubal. ⁴ I will turn you around. I will put hooks into your mouth and catch you. I will take hold of you and your great army, with its horses and their riders. I will take hold of all your soldiers, who are ready to fight with their swords and their shields. I will pull them all away. ⁵ Soldiers from Persia, Ethiopia and Libya will be there with your army. They all have shields and helmets. ⁶ All the soldiers from Gomer will join you. An army from Beth Togarmah will also come with all its soldiers from far away in the north. So armies from many nations will be with you.”

⁷ Say to Gog, “Prepare to fight! You must be ready to command all the armies that are with you. ⁸ After many days you will have to bring your soldiers together to fight a battle. In the years at the end of time, you will go to attack the land of Israel. It will be a land that has become strong again after war. The people there will have returned from other nations. They will all be living safely in that land that had become heaps of stones. They will all be together on Israel's mountains. ⁹ Then you will attack them. You, with your armies and all the people with you, will attack them like a great storm. You will be like a dark cloud that covers the land.

¹⁰ This is what the Almighty Lord says: On that day you will have evil thoughts. You will decide to do a wicked thing. ¹¹ You will say: ‘We will attack a land where the villages have no walls around them. The people are living quietly in peace and we will attack them. They have no walls or strong gates to keep them safe. ¹² We will fight them and take their things for ourselves. The people there have come back from other nations where they lived. They are living in their homes which had become heaps of stones. Now they have got many animals and valuable things. Their land has become an important place in the middle of everywhere.’

¹³ The people of Sheba and Dedan, and the traders and leaders of Tarshish will ask you questions. They will say, ‘Why have you brought all your armies together? Have you come to attack Israel and take away their valuable things for yourselves? Will you take away their silver and their gold? Will you take their animals and all their things? Will you carry away such a great load of things for yourselves? ’ ”

¹⁴ So, son of man, you must prophesy to Gog. Say to him, “This is what the Almighty Lord says: That is what you will decide to do at that time. You will do it when you see that my people, the Israelites, are living safely. ¹⁵ You will come from your country far away in the north. You will bring many soldiers with you. All of them will be riding on horses. They will be a great army of many soldiers. ¹⁶ Your army will be like a cloud that covers the land when you attack my people, the Israelites. In the days at the end of time I will bring you to attack my land. Yes, Gog, I will use you to show the nations that I am holy. Then they will know who I am.

¹⁷ This is what the Almighty Lord says: In years long ago, I gave my servants, the prophets of Israel, messages about you. At that time they prophesied that I would bring you to attack my people. ¹⁸ I, the Almighty Lord, say this: On the day that Gog attacks the land of Israel, I will become more and more angry. ¹⁹ I promise you this, because I am so very angry. On that day, there will be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. ²⁰ Everything that lives will shake with fear when they see what I am doing. The fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the wild animals, the small animals that move along the ground and all the people on earth will be very afraid. I will make the mountains and hills break into pieces. All the walls in the cities will fall down.

²¹ I will command the soldiers on all the mountains of my land to attack Gog. That is what I, the Almighty Lord, say. Gog's soldiers will fight against each other with their swords. ²² I will judge Gog. I will punish his men with disease and death. I will send storms of rain, hail, fire and sulphur. They will pour down from the sky on him and on his armies. ²³ I will show all the nations that I am great and I am holy. Then they will know that I am the Lord.” ’