Study Desk

"The people of Israel ruined my holy name wherever they went, and I felt sorry for my name.

So tell the family of Israel that this is what the Lord God says: ‘Family of Israel, you ruined my holy name in the places where you went. I am going to do something to stop this. I will not do it for your sake, Israel. I will do it for my holy name.

The Lord God says, "I want you to remember this: I am not doing these things for your good! I am doing them for my good name. Family of Israel, you should be ashamed and embarrassed about the way you lived!"

This is what the Lord God says: "I will also let the family of Israel come to me and ask me to do these things for them. I will make them grow and become many people. They will be like flocks of sheep.

Then he said to me, "Speak to these bones for me. Tell them, ‘Dry bones, listen to the word of the Lord !

So I spoke to the bones for the Lord , as he said. I was still speaking, when I heard the loud noise. The bones began to rattle, and bone joined together with bone!

Then the Lord said to me, "Speak to the wind for me. Son of man, speak to the wind for me. Tell the wind that this is what the Lord God says: ‘Wind, come from every direction and breathe air into these dead bodies! Breathe into them and they will come to life again!'"

So I spoke to the wind for the Lord , as he said, and the breath came into the dead bodies. They came to life and stood up. There were many men—a very large army!

So speak to them for me. Tell them this is what the Lord God says: ‘My people, I will open your graves and bring you up out of them! Then I will bring you to the land of Israel.

"Son of man, look toward Gog in the land of Magog. He is the most important leader of the nations of Meshech and Tubal. Speak for me against Gog.

After a long time you will be called for duty. In the later years you will come into the land that has been healed from war. The people in that land were gathered from many nations and brought back to the mountains of Israel. In the past, the mountains of Israel had been destroyed again and again. But these people will have come back from those other nations. They all will have lived in safety.

"Son of man, speak to Gog for me. Tell him that this is what the Lord God says: ‘You will come to attack my people while they are living in peace and safety.

This is what the Lord God says: "At that time people will remember that I spoke about you in the past. They will remember that I used my servants, the prophets of Israel. They will remember that the prophets of Israel spoke for me in the past and said that I would bring you to fight against them."

The Lord God says, "On the mountains of Israel, I will call for every kind of terror against Gog. His soldiers will be so afraid that they will attack each other and kill each other with their swords.

"Son of man, speak against Gog for me. Tell him that this is what the Lord God says: ‘Gog, you are the most important leader of the countries Meshech and Tubal, but I am against you.

"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.

"At that time I will choose a place in Israel to bury Gog. He will be buried in the Valley of the Travelers, east of the Dead Sea. It will block the road for travelers, because Gog and all his army will be buried in that place. People will call it ‘The Valley of Gog's Army.'

It will take seven months for the family of Israel to bury them. They must do this to make the land pure.

"Workers will be given a full-time job burying the dead soldiers to make the land pure. The workers will work for seven months. They will go around looking for dead bodies.

This is what the Lord God said: "Son of man, speak to all the birds and wild animals for me. Tell them, ‘Come here! Come here! Gather around. Come eat this sacrifice I am preparing for you. There will be a very big sacrifice on the mountains of Israel. Come, eat the meat and drink the blood.