Ezekiel 38:20

20 The fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble at my presence. The mountains will be overturned, the cliffs will crumble and every wall will fall to the ground.

Ezekiel 38:20 in Other Translations

20 So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.

20 The fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field and all creeping things that creep on the ground, and all the people who are on the face of the earth, shall quake at my presence. And the mountains shall be thrown down, and the cliffs shall fall, and every wall shall tumble to the ground.

20 All living things—the fish in the sea, the birds of the sky, the animals of the field, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and all the people on earth—will quake in terror at my presence. Mountains will be thrown down; cliffs will crumble; walls will fall to the earth.

20 Fish and birds and wild animals - even ants and beetles! - and every human being will tremble and shake before me. Mountains will disintegrate, terraces will crumble.

20 so that the fishes of the sea, and the birds of the heavens, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.

20 Fish, birds, wild animals, everything that crawls on the ground, and every person on earth will tremble in my presence. The mountains will be torn down, the cliffs will crumble, and every wall will fall to the ground.

20 The fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the animals of the field, every creature that crawls on the ground, and every human being on the face of the earth will tremble before Me. The mountains will be thrown down, the cliffs will collapse, and every wall will fall to the ground.

20 The fish in the sea, the birds of the air and the wild animals will tremble with fear because of what I will do. So will every creature that moves along the ground. And so will all of the people on earth. The mountains will come crashing down. The cliffs will break into pieces. Every wall will fall to the ground.

Ezekiel 38:20 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 38:20

So that the fishes of the sea shall shake at my presence
From whence it appears that this great shaking shall not be on account of the army of Gog, and the devastations that it shall make; but on account of the powerful presence of God, which will be manifest in the destruction of his army: and what is here said of the shaking of the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beast of the field, and all
creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are
upon the earth,
must be understood figuratively and hyperbolically, as Kimchi observes, and in allusion to earthquakes, which both shake and terrify all kind of creatures; the blow given to Gog will be so terrible, that all nature will seem to be thrown into a convulsion and agitation by it; see ( Jeremiah 4:24 Jeremiah 4:25 ) : and the mountains shall be thrown down;
as they are sometimes by earthquakes; and as the mount of Olives will at this time cleave asunder; and perhaps other mountains will, as Kimchi observes, see ( Zechariah 14:2-4 ) ( Isaiah 2:12-15 ) ( 30:25 ) : and the steep places shall fall;
the Targum renders the word "towers"; and so the Syriac version, and Piscator: the word signifies stairs or steps ^F20, such as in a ladder; and is translated "stairs", ( Song of Solomon 2:14 ) it seems to me to design such mounts as are raised by besiegers of a city, by means of which they may be able to scale the walls of it, which Jarchi suggests; though he says he had heard it said that these, are rocks bending over and hanging, and appear as if they were falling; which agrees with our version; and it may be observed, in some of those precipices, there are like stairs or steps to go up them: and every wall shall fall to the ground:
this shows that the words are not to be taken literally, but figuratively; only to express how sensibly the power of God should be felt and perceived by all creatures, and in all parts of the land; since now the Jews will dwell in a land of unwalled villages, and in cities without walls, bars, and gates; see ( Ezekiel 38:11 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F20 (twgrdmh) "gradus", Munster, Pagninus, Montanus.

Ezekiel 38:20 In-Context

18 This is what will happen in that day: When Gog attacks the land of Israel, my hot anger will be aroused, declares the Sovereign LORD.

19 In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel.

20 The fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble at my presence. The mountains will be overturned, the cliffs will crumble and every wall will fall to the ground.

21 I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Sovereign LORD. Every man’s sword will be against his brother.

22 I will execute judgment on him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him.

Cross References

• 1. S Exodus 15:14
• 2. Isaiah 42:15
• 3. Job 14:18
• 4. S Psalms 76:8; Hosea 4:3; Nahum 1:5