Lectionary Calendar
Friday, August 15th, 2025
the Week of Proper 14 / Ordinary 19
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Read the Bible

New Living Translation

Ezekiel 39:9

"Then the people in the towns of Israel will go out and pick up your small and large shields, bows and arrows, javelins and spears, and they will use them for fuel. There will be enough to last them seven years!

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Bow;   Javelin;   Shield;   The Topic Concordance - Israel/jews;   Last Days;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Arms, Military;   Bow, the;   Shields;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Armour;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Shield;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Bosses;   Shield;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Club;   Handstave;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Armour, Arms;   Gog;   Handstaves;   Thessalonians, Second Epistle to the;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Shield;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Gog and Magog;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Armor;   Fires;   Handstaff;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Abba;   Eschatology;   Shield;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“‘Then the inhabitants of Israel’s cities will go out, kindle fires, and burn the weapons—the small and large shields, the bows and arrows, the clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them to make fires.
Hebrew Names Version
Those who dwell in the cities of Yisra'el shall go forth, and shall make fires of the weapons and burn them, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the war clubs, and the spears, and they shall make fires of them seven years;
King James Version
And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years:
English Standard Version
"Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and make fires of the weapons and burn them, shields and bucklers, bow and arrows, clubs and spears; and they will make fires of them for seven years,
New American Standard Bible
"Then those who inhabit the cities of Israel will go out and make fires with the weapons and burn them, both bucklers and shields, bows and arrows, war clubs and spears, and for seven years they will make fires of them.
New Century Version
"‘Then those who live in the cities of Israel will come out and make fires with the enemy's weapons. They will burn them, both large and small shields, bows and arrows, war clubs, and spears. They will use the weapons to burn in their fires for seven years.
Amplified Bible
"And [when you, Gog, no longer exist] those who live in the cities of Israel will go out and make fires with the weapons and burn them, both the [large] shields and the bucklers (small shields), the bows and the arrows, the war clubs and the spears; and for seven years they will burn them.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And they that dwell in the cities of Israel, shall goe forth, and shall burne and set fire vpon the weapons, and on the shieldes, and bucklers, vpon the bowes, and vpon the arrowes, and vpon the staues in their handes, and vpon the speares, and they shall burne them with fire seuen yeeres.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Then those who inhabit the cities of Israel will go out and make fires with the weapons and burn them, both shields and bucklers, bows and arrows, war clubs and spears, and for seven years they will make fires of them.
Legacy Standard Bible
"Then those who inhabit the cities of Israel will go out and make fires with the weapons and burn them, both shields and large shields, bows and arrows, war clubs and spears; and for seven years they will make fires of them.
Berean Standard Bible
Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out, kindle fires, and burn the weapons-the bucklers and shields, the bows and arrows, the clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them for fuel.
Contemporary English Version
When that day comes, the people in the towns of Israel will collect the weapons of their dead enemies. They will use these shields, bows and arrows, spears, and clubs as firewood, and there will be enough to last for seven years.
Complete Jewish Bible
"‘Those living in Isra'el's cities will go out and set fire to the weapons, to use as fuel — the shields, breastplates, bows, arrows, clubs and spears; they will use them for fire seven years;
Darby Translation
And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall kindle fire, and burn weapons, and shields, and targets, bows, and arrows, and hand-staves, and spears: and they shall make fires with them seven years.
Easy-to-Read Version
"At that time people living in the cities of Israel will go out to the fields. They will collect the enemy's weapons and burn them. They will burn all the shields, bows and arrows, clubs and spears. They will use the weapons as firewood for seven years.
George Lamsa Translation
Then the inhabitants of the villages of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the spears, the bows and the arrows and the hand-staves and the lances, and they shall burn them as fuel for seven years;
Good News Translation
The people who live in the cities of Israel will go out and collect the abandoned weapons for firewood. They will build fires with the shields, bows, arrows, spears, and clubs, and have enough to last for seven years.
Lexham English Bible
"ʻ"And the inhabitants of the towns of Israel will go out, and they will set ablaze, and they will kindle a fire with a weapon and a small shield and a shield, with a bow and with arrows, and with hand clubs and with spears, and so they will light a fire with them, a fire lasting seven years.
Literal Translation
And those living in the cities of Israel shall go out and shall set afire and burn the weapons, even the shield and the buckler, the bow and the arrows, and the hand staff, and the spears. And they shall burn them with fire seven years.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
They that dwell in ye cities of Israel, shal go forth and set fyre vpon the weapens, and burne them: shyldes and speres, bowes and arowes, bylles and clubbes: seuen yeares
American Standard Version
And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall make fires of the weapons and burn them, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall make fires of them seven years;
Bible in Basic English
And those who are living in the towns of Israel will go out and make fires of the instruments of war, burning the body-covers and the breastplates, the bows and the arrows and the sticks and the spears, and for seven years they will make fires of them:
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall make fires of the weapons and use them as fuel, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the hand-staves, and the spears, and they shall make fires of them seven years;
King James Version (1611)
And they that dwell in the cities of Israel, shall goe forth, and shall set on fire, and burne the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bowes and the arrowes, and the handstaues and the speares, and they shall burne them with fire seuen yeeres.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
They that dwell in the cities of Israel, shall go foorth and set fire vpon the weapons, and burne them, shieldes and speares, bowes & arowes, hand staues and swordes, and they shal burne them with fire seuen yeres.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And they that inhabit the cities of Israel shall come forth, and make a fire with the arms, the shields and the spears, and bows and arrows, and hand-staves, and lances, and they shall keep fire burning with them for seven years:
English Revised Version
And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall make fires of the weapons and burn them, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall make fires of them seven years.
World English Bible
Those who dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall make fires of the weapons and burn them, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the war clubs, and the spears, and they shall make fires of them seven years;
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
This is the day of which Y spak. And dwelleris schulen go out of the citees of Israel, and thei schulen set a fier, and schulen brenne armuris, scheeld and spere, bouwe and arowis, and stauys of hond, and schaftis with out irun; and thei schulen brenne tho in fier bi seuene yeer.
Update Bible Version
And those that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall make fires of the weapons and burn them, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall make fires of them seven years;
Webster's Bible Translation
And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaffs, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years:
New English Translation
"‘Then those who live in the cities of Israel will go out and use the weapons for kindling—the shields, bows and arrows, war clubs and spears—they will burn them for seven years.
New King James Version
"Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and bucklers, the bows and arrows, the javelins and spears; and they will make fires with them for seven years.
New Life Bible
"Then those who live in the cities of Israel will go out and make fires to burn up the objects of war. They will burn battle-coverings, bows and arrows, heavy sticks, and spears. For seven years they will use them to make fires.
New Revised Standard
Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and make fires of the weapons and burn them—bucklers and shields, bows and arrows, handpikes and spears—and they will make fires of them for seven years.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then shall go forth the dwellers of the cities of Israel and shall make fires of the weapons and burn them, Both buckler and shield, bow and arrows, and handstaff and spear,- And shall make fires of them. seven years;
Douay-Rheims Bible
And the inhabitants shall go forth of the cities of Israel, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, the shields, and the spears, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves and the pikes: and they shall burn them with fire seven years.
Revised Standard Version
"Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go forth and make fires of the weapons and burn them, shields and bucklers, bows and arrows, handpikes and spears, and they will make fires of them for seven years;
Young's Literal Translation
And gone out have the inhabitants of cities of Israel, And they have burned and kindled [a fire], With armour, and shield, and buckler, With bow, and with arrows, And with hand-staves, and with javelins, And they have caused a fire to burn with them seven years,
THE MESSAGE
"People will come out of the cities of Israel and make a huge bonfire of the weapons of war, piling on shields large and small, bows and arrows, clubs and spears, a fire they'll keep going for seven years. They won't need to go into the woods to get fuel for the fire. There'll be plenty of weapons to keep it going. They'll strip those who stripped them. They'll rob those who robbed them. Decree of God , the Master.

Contextual Overview

8 That day of judgment will come, says the Sovereign Lord . Everything will happen just as I have declared it. 9 "Then the people in the towns of Israel will go out and pick up your small and large shields, bows and arrows, javelins and spears, and they will use them for fuel. There will be enough to last them seven years! 10 They won't need to cut wood from the fields or forests, for these weapons will give them all the fuel they need. They will plunder those who planned to plunder them, and they will rob those who planned to rob them, says the Sovereign Lord . 11 "And I will make a vast graveyard for Gog and his hordes in the Valley of the Travelers, east of the Dead Sea. It will block the way of those who travel there, and they will change the name of the place to the Valley of Gog's Hordes. 12 It will take seven months for the people of Israel to bury the bodies and cleanse the land. 13 Everyone in Israel will help, for it will be a glorious victory for Israel when I demonstrate my glory on that day, says the Sovereign Lord . 14 "After seven months, teams of men will be appointed to search the land for skeletons to bury, so the land will be made clean again. 15 Whenever bones are found, a marker will be set up so the burial crews will take them to be buried in the Valley of Gog's Hordes. 16 (There will be a town there named Hamonah, which means ‘horde.') And so the land will finally be cleansed. 17 "And now, son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Call all the birds and wild animals. Say to them: Gather together for my great sacrificial feast. Come from far and near to the mountains of Israel, and there eat flesh and drink blood!

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

shall go: Psalms 111:2, Psalms 111:3, Isaiah 66:24, Malachi 1:5

and shall: Ezekiel 39:10, Joshua 11:6, Psalms 46:9, Zechariah 9:10

set on fire: The language here employed seems to intimate that the army of Gog will be cut off by miracle, as that of Sennacherib; for the people are described as going forth, not to fight and conquer, but merely to gather the spoil, and to destroy the weapons of war, as no longer of use., hand staves, or, javelins

and they: When the immense number and destruction of the invaders are considered, and also the little fuel comparatively which is necessary in warm climates, we may easily conceive of this being literally fulfilled.

burn them with fire: or, make a fire of them

Reciprocal: Joshua 11:9 - General 2 Samuel 1:27 - weapons 2 Samuel 22:35 - a bow 2 Chronicles 20:25 - it was so much Psalms 76:3 - There Jeremiah 51:56 - every Hosea 2:18 - I will break Zechariah 14:14 - and the

Cross-References

Genesis 20:3
But that night God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, "You are a dead man, for that woman you have taken is already married!"
Genesis 20:6
In the dream God responded, "Yes, I know you are innocent. That's why I kept you from sinning against me, and why I did not let you touch her.
Genesis 24:2
One day Abraham said to his oldest servant, the man in charge of his household, "Take an oath by putting your hand under my thigh.
Genesis 39:8
But Joseph refused. "Look," he told her, "my master trusts me with everything in his entire household.
Genesis 39:9
No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God."
Genesis 39:10
She kept putting pressure on Joseph day after day, but he refused to sleep with her, and he kept out of her way as much as possible.
Genesis 39:12
She came and grabbed him by his cloak, demanding, "Come on, sleep with me!" Joseph tore himself away, but he left his cloak in her hand as he ran from the house.
Genesis 39:19
Potiphar was furious when he heard his wife's story about how Joseph had treated her.
Genesis 39:21
But the Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love. And the Lord made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden.
Genesis 41:40
You will be in charge of my court, and all my people will take orders from you. Only I, sitting on my throne, will have a rank higher than yours."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth,.... Out of their houses into the streets, where Gog's soldiers will lie dead, and their armour by them; or rather out of their cities, where they dwelt safely, and where they kept themselves, and were secure from the enemy: these seem to be distinct from the militia of Israel, engaged in battle with Gog; these were the inhabitants that will stay at home, and yet share in the spoil and plunder; see

Psalms 68:12, these, after the battle is over, and the victory obtained, of which they will have information, will then march out without fear into the open fields and mountains, where the army of Gog will fall,

Ezekiel 39:4:

and shall set on fire and burn the weapons; the armour of Gog's army, which they shall find lie by the dead, or upon them; or which they that flee will cast away; these they shall gather together, and lay on a heap, and burn, as sometimes has been the practice of conquerors; or rather they shall take them to their own houses, and make fuel of them, and burn them, instead of wood out of the fields and forests, as the following verse shows:

both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows; which were the weapons that Gog and his associates used; see Ezekiel 38:4,

and the handstaves, and the spears; the "handstaves" were either half pikes or truncheons, as some think; or javelins, as others:

and they shall burn them with fire seven years; which some take to be a certain number for an uncertain, and others an hyperbolical expression; but when it is considered what a vast army this of Gog's will be, and what prodigious numbers of weapons of all sorts must be carried by them, and the little use of fire in those hot countries: it may be very well taken in a literal sense, and the meaning be, that so great will be the quantity of warlike weapons that will be found and gathered, that they will serve for fuel for the space of seven years.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Burn them with fire - Or, “kindle fire with them;” or, as in the margin. The weapons of the army left on the field of battle shall be so numerous as to supply fuel for the people of the land for seven years. Seven was a number connected with cleansing after contact with the dead (Numbers 19:11 ff), and this purification of the land by the clearance of paganish spoils was a holy work (compare Ezekiel 39:12).

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Ezekiel 39:9. And shall set on fire - the weapons — The Israelites shall make bonfires and fuel of the weapons, tents, c., which the defeated Syrians shall leave behind them, as expressive of the joy which they shall feel for the destruction of their enemies and to keep up, in their culinary consumption, the memory of this great event.

They shall burn them with fire seven years — These may be figurative expressions, after the manner of the Asiatics, whose language abounds with such descriptions. They occur every where in the prophets. As to the number seven, it is only a certain for an indeterminate number. But as the slaughter was great, and the bows, arrows, quivers, shields, bucklers, handstaves, and spears were in vast multitudes, it must have taken a long time to gather them up in the different parts of the fields of battle, and the roads in which the Syrians had retreated, throwing away their arms as they proceeded; so there might have been a long time employed in collecting and burning them. And as all seem to have been doomed to the fire, there might have been some found at different intervals and burned, during the seven years here mentioned. Mariana, in his History of Spain, lib. xi., c. 24, says, that after the Spaniards had given that signal overthrow to the Saracens, A.D. 1212, they found such a vast quantity of lances, javelins, and such like, that they served them for four years for fuel. And probably these instruments obtained by the Israelites were used in general for culinary firewood, and might literally have served them for seven years; so that during that time they should take no wood out of the fields, nor out of the forests for the purpose of fuel, Ezekiel 39:10.


 
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