Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Ezekiel 38:13 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 13. 13Sheba, 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?
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
The prophetic word through Ezekiel presses the question “Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee…” at Ezekiel 38:13 within “Gog Conceives an Exploitative Plan against Unwalled Settlements.”
Read It With
- Ezekiel 38:10–13
Read Ezekiel 38:13 with 38:10–13. By itself, “Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee…” can be detached from the speaker, addressee, date, exilic horizon, visionary movement, or outcome that gives it force. The complete unit establishes: An evil plan targets a people imagined at rest without walls in order to seize spoil, while Sheba, Dedan, and Tarshish question the invasion's commercial aim.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within the same chapter, this unit advances from “Gog and a Vast Coalition Are Summoned against Restored Israel” into “Gog Conceives an Exploitative Plan against Unwalled Settlements.” Its non-interchangeable contribution is: An evil plan targets a people imagined at rest without walls in order to seize spoil, while Sheba, Dedan, and Tarshish question the invasion's commercial aim. This verse's placement is specific: The prophetic word through Ezekiel presses the question “Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee…” at Ezekiel 38:13 within “Gog Conceives an Exploitative Plan against Unwalled Settlements.”
What Remains True
No coalition, however terrifying, escapes moral limit; hope does not require manufacturing a contemporary enemy or knowing a timetable. In Ezekiel 38:13, that bounded truth is carried through this verse's role: The prophetic word through Ezekiel presses the question “Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee…” at Ezekiel 38:13 within “Gog Conceives an Exploitative Plan against Unwalled Settlements.”
How It Can Shape Life
- Reject date-setting and conspiracy maps, refuse ethnic and religious demonization, compare major readings fairly, and work for civilian protection rather than holy-war excitement. This response follows Ezekiel 38:10–13's specific concern, “Gog Conceives an Exploitative Plan against Unwalled Settlements.” This verse directs that response through its exact role: The prophetic word through Ezekiel presses the question “Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee…” at Ezekiel 38:13 within “Gog Conceives an Exploitative Plan against Unwalled Settlements.”
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Ezekiel 38:10–13 — Gog Conceives an Exploitative Plan against Unwalled SettlementsSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
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 ↗