Ezekiel 38:10–13, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Ezekiel 38:10–13
Gog Conceives an Exploitative Plan against Unwalled Settlements
An evil thought against unwalled villages
Thus saith the Lord GOD: It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought. Thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates.
To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
Sheba, Dedan, and Tarshish ask about the spoil
Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?
The invasion is imagined as predatory economics against a people pictured at rest. Unwalled does not describe every security policy, and Sheba, Dedan, and Tarshish are not a warrant to suspect named modern countries or ethnicities. The traders' question exposes the motive: spoil, not a holy cause.
How this should shape us
When a plan against a quiet community is about cattle, goods, silver, and gold, call it spoil. Do not treat open towns as naivete God wants punished, and do not scan the news for Sheba and Tarshish as co-conspirators.
Teach it back
Explain Ezekiel 38:10–13 in your own words. Name its place in Ezekiel, one source-controlled observation, one uncertainty, one enduring truth, and one harmful use the passage does not authorize.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do responsible readings differ?
Best judgment: The unwalled-land image does not describe every security policy or authorize suspicion of named modern countries and ethnicities.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Ezekiel 38:10–13, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a critical apparatus or interpretation.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ezek.xml, OSIS 38:10–13
Supports: Verse-level controls for difficult Hebrew, syntax, older KJV language, dates, place names, textual issues, vision language, and material alternatives.
Official NET Ezekiel PDF, exact translator, study, and textual notes attached to Ezekiel 38:10–13
Supports: Reader-oriented historical, literary, theological, and pastoral synthesis with visible alternatives and ancient-to-modern limits.
Enter the Bible Ezekiel course, Introductory Issues and passage studies: Gog and restoration; applied to Ezekiel 38:10–13
Supports: Current university-level literary-historical synthesis and interpretive questions, including ethical attention to gendered rhetoric and the final vision.
Yale Bible Study, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, Ezekiel Part 3 study guide: dry bones, Gog, land, and temple utopia; applied to Ezekiel 38:10–13
Supports: Literary composition of Gog from earlier names, allies, foes, and invasion imagery, controlling rejection of modern geopolitical identifications.
Lee, 'The enemies within: Gog of Magog in Ezekiel 38-39,' HTS 73.3 (2017), complete article pp. 1-7; applied to Ezekiel 38:10–13
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Ezekiel 38:10–13, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Ezekiel
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a critical apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ezek.xml, OSIS 38:10–13
Open the fixed Hebrew Ezekiel file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Ezekiel
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2016; current official PDF
Supports: Verse-level controls for difficult Hebrew, syntax, older KJV language, dates, place names, textual issues, vision language, and material alternatives.
Exact location: Official NET Ezekiel PDF, exact translator, study, and textual notes attached to Ezekiel 38:10–13
Open the official NET Ezekiel PDF ↗modern scholarly book course
Ezekiel course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, themes, and passage studies
Alan G. Padgett; revised by Tyler Mayfield
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised June 2023
Supports: Reader-oriented historical, literary, theological, and pastoral synthesis with visible alternatives and ancient-to-modern limits.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Ezekiel course, Introductory Issues and passage studies: Gog and restoration; applied to Ezekiel 38:10–13
Open the Enter the Bible Ezekiel course ↗open university study guide series
Jeremiah and Ezekiel: Ezekiel Parts 1-3 Study Guides
Joel S. Baden and Jacqueline Vayntrub
Yale Bible Study, 2024
Supports: Current university-level literary-historical synthesis and interpretive questions, including ethical attention to gendered rhetoric and the final vision.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, Ezekiel Part 3 study guide: dry bones, Gog, land, and temple utopia; applied to Ezekiel 38:10–13
Open the Yale Jeremiah and Ezekiel course ↗peer reviewed open access literary study
The enemies within: Gog of Magog in Ezekiel 38-39
Lydia Lee
HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 73.3, 2017
Supports: Literary composition of Gog from earlier names, allies, foes, and invasion imagery, controlling rejection of modern geopolitical identifications.
Exact location: Lee, 'The enemies within: Gog of Magog in Ezekiel 38-39,' HTS 73.3 (2017), complete article pp. 1-7; applied to Ezekiel 38:10–13
Open Lee on Gog of Magog ↗