Page 208 - NOTES ON EZEKIEL

CHAPTER XXXIX.
T his chapter resumes the divine denunciation of the
great northern enemy. There is no concealment of his
formidable numbers and resources; hut, whatever these
may be, they will but enhance the victory Jehovah
gains for His people by his utter destruction.
“ And thou, son of man, prophesy against Gog and
say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I am against
thee, O Gog, prince of Rush, Meshech, and Tubal; and
I will turn thee back and lead thee [? astray*], and
cause thee to come up from the sides of the north, and
bring thee upon the mountains of Israel. And I will
strike thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause
thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. Upon the
mountains of Israel shalt thou fall, thou and all thine
armies, and the people that are with thee : I have given
thee for food to the ravenous bird, the bird of every
wing, and to the beast of the field. Upon the open
field shalt thou fall; for I have spoken it, saith the
Lord Jehovah.” (Yer. 1—5.)
The judgments of God are as usual in keeping with
the sin and the people that come under His displeasure.

* is understood by our English translators to mean
“ leave the sixth part of thee;’7 and no doubt the connection of this
rare word with which is the Hebrew for six is tempting. But
the LXX give KadoBr)yfi<ru <re (or with the Complutensian editors
Kard^u) ere). I have given the sense understood in the Targum,
though with a query. The ancient versions in general express little
more than Jehovah’s leading Gog.