Ezekiel 38:21

Eze 38:21 And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man’s sword shall be against his brother.

Ver. 21. And I will call for a sword.] Against Antiochus by the Maccabees; against the Turk and Pope by the Christian princes, Hunniades, Scanderbeg, Queen Elizabeth, the late and present kings of Sweden, the English and French forces in Flanders now before Gravelin, after Dunkirk and Bergen taken from the Spaniard. Certain it is, that ere long the beast and the false prophet shall be taken, and all the fowls of the heaven filled with the flesh of those kings and captains that fight against the gospel. {Rev 19:19-21}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Eze 38:21-22. And I will call — Rather, But I will call, for a sword against him — That is, when he has carried all before him for some time, I will at length raise up those who shall withstand him. God’s doing a thing is often expressed in Scripture by his speaking the word, and giving out his command. Thus he is said Psalm (Psa 105:16) to call for a dearth upon the land of Canaan. Throughout all my mountains — Throughout all the land of Judea; for, as has been observed before, Judea being very mountainous, it is often in Scripture denominated the mountains of Israel, or, the mountains of the Lord. Every man’s sword shall be against his brother — God often destroys his enemies by intestine quarrels among themselves, and making them executioners of his judgments upon each other: see the margin. And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood — Or, I will plead with him. God pleads with men by his judgments, which are a manifest token of the vengeance due to their sins. And I will rain upon him, &c., an overflowing rain, &c. — I will as plainly show myself in the destruction of these my enemies, as when I discomfited the armies of the Canaanites and Philistines by tempests of thunder and hail, or when I consumed Sodom and Gomorrah by fire and brimstone from heaven. “It is plain that the extraordinary circumstances mentioned in these verses remain to be accomplished on the future enemies of the Jews, when God’s people are reinstated in his favour.” — Bishop Newcome.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

38:21-23 The sword . . . disease and bloodshed . . . torrential rain, hailstones, fire, and burning sulfur! Israel had experienced similar punishments before (see 13:13); now they were executed on Israel’s enemies. The Divine Warrior was once again defending his people.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Against the people of Gog and Magog.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

every man's sword . . . against his brother--I will destroy them partly by My people's sword, partly by their swords being turned against one another (compare Ch2 20:23).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 21. I will call for a sword against him] Meaning Judas Maccabeus, who defeated his army under Lysias, making a horrible carnage. - Martin. Cambyses had no wars in the mountains of Israel.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

21. every man’s sword] sign of a supernatural panic caused by Jehovah, Jdg_7:22; 1Sa_14:20. LXX. has read first clause: I will summon against him all terrors (i.e. a panic).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood,.... Not only the sword of the Jews and the sword of Christian princes shall be drawn against him, and the sword of Gog's soldiers against one another; but the Lord himself would plead with him by his judgments, or take vengeance on him, as the Targum; and send a pestilence in his army, which should destroy vast numbers of it; as the army of Sennacherib was destroyed by one when before Jerusalem; and make a great slaughter among them by that and other judgments:

and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain; a horrible tempest of divine wrath, Psa 11:6 as he came into the land of Israel like a storm, so he shall be destroyed by one much more terrible:

and great hailstones; such as were cast upon the Canaanites, Jos 10:11 and as there will be on men, the enemies of the church of God, at the pouring out of the seventh vial, Rev 16:21,

fire and brimstone; as God rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah, Gen 19:24, signifying that in like manner will God deal with those enemies of his people; so at the battle of Armageddon, which seems to be the same with this here, the beast and the false prophet will be taken alive, and cast into a lake of fire burning with brimstone, Rev 19:20, and to this rain or tempest of fire and brimstone upon Gog there is an allusion in Rev 20:9.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Sword. The Jews were not in a condition to make resistance. (Calmet) --- Cambyses had his brother Smerdis slain. But another was set on the throne; whereupon, mounting his horse in a fury, he wounded himself with his sword in the thigh, which mortifying, caused his death after twenty days. (Herodotus iii. 21., &c.) --- The historian does not mention what became of his army; but it seems to have perished by discord, as was very common among such a collection of nations. See Judges vii. 22., and Judith xv. 1., and 1 Kings xiv. 20., and 4 Kings ii. 21. (Calmet) --- They were now without a head. (Haydock) --- In the whole universe, God will at last destroy Antichrist and all his adherents. (Worthington)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Call; summon and awaken.

A sword; my army, the people of Israel. Against him; Gog and his powers.

Throughout all my mountains; from all parts of the land, called here mountains, because it was full of mountains.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Every man"s sword shall be against his brother. (comp. Zec_14:13) The consternation produced by Jehovah"s interposition should be such that the ranks of Gog should fall into utter confusion, and his warriors exterminate each other, as did the Midianites in the days of Gideon, (Jud_1:7:22) and the Moabites, Ammonites, and Seiritea, who invaded Judah in the reign of Jehoshaphat. (2Ch_20:23)

Mutual antagonism.

I MUTUAL ANTAGONISM IS COMMON. In primitive times it was well-nigh universal. Pre-historic man seems to have lived in a state of perpetual warfare; and in the present day savages are often at war one with another; they maintain continuous feuds tribe against tribe, clan against clan, family against family. In these later times, even in enlightened Christendom, Europe appears as an armed comp. Every nation is suspicious of its neighbor, which it regards as a possible enemy. The same miserable attitude of antagonism is held in the political world, though here it is generally found possible to avoid overt violence. Government by party means government in face of antagonism, for there is always "her Majesty"s Opposition." Business life is maintained on the principle of mutual antagonism. The market is ruled by competition. Each house of business fiercely contends with its rivals for popular patronage. The relations between capital and labor have fallen into the same evil condition, and each side just fights for what it can seize at the expense of the other. Unhappily, the same spirit is observed in religion. When the Church should be engaged in conquering the world for Christ, she is consumed with internal discord and the contention of mutually excommunicating parties.

II MUTUAL ANTAGONISM IS WRONG. It springs from an evil root selfishness. War is the awful fruit of national selfishness. In public lifethe good of the people is too often sacrificed to the ambition of the Politician or the interest of the party. Business is degraded into a horrible scramble of selfishness, in which each clutches at whatever he can lay hands on without actually transgressing the law. Religious selfishness is the worst form of selfishness, for it belies the faith it professes. In sheer bigotry the antagonism may be honest; but bigotry is largely inspired by a subtle, unsuspected self-regarding spirit.

III MUTUAL ANTAGONISM MAY BE OVERRULED FOR GOOD. We see it in nature where no moral ideas have dawned, and where, therefore, no blame can be ascribed. The evolution of higher types of life is brought about by the struggle for existence, in which the strong kill out the weak, so that they only survive who are fittest for their habitat. No doubt national jealousy necessitates the maintenance of national vigor. Political partisanship keeps a watch on the government, and checks wrong-doing by a perpetual shower of criticisms. Competitive business cheapens produce for the consumer; it also stimulates invention and enterprise, and therefore encourages progress which monopoly paralyzes. Perhaps even in religious rivalry we may provoke one another to good works. These results cannot excuse selfishness, but they may show how God overrules it for a measure of good.

IV MUTUAL ANTAGONISM CAN ONLY BE CAST OUT BY CHRISTIAN LOVE. Reasoning will not destroy selfishness. The only cure for war is the reign of Christ, the Prince of Peace. Internal peace can only be brought about by the influence of love in the hearts of men. Christ came to set up the kingdom of heaven on earth. One of the essential characteristics of this kingdom, as opposed to all earthly kingdoms, is that it does not appeal chiefly to self-regarding motives. It demands love of God and of one"s neighbor, and it inspires that love by the influence of the constraining love of Christ.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Sword - Israel. Throughout - From all parts of the land, which was full of mountains. Every man's sword - As it was in Jehoshaphat's time; and these swords may be meant by the sword God will call for through all, for they ranged all over his mountains.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

General Information:

Yahweh continues giving Ezekiel his message about Gog. He speaks of the people of Gog as if they were one man. (See: Metaphor)

I will summon a sword against him

The word "sword" here is a metonym for soldiers who use swords to kill people. AT: "I will cause soldiers to attack him" (See: Metonymy)

on all my mountains

This refers to the land of Israel. AT: "on all the mountains of Israel" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

each man's sword will be against his brother

Here "sword" is a metonym for the person who uses the sword to fight. AT: "all of his soldiers will fight each other" (See: Metonymy)

his brother

"his fellow soldier"

I will judge him by plague and blood

Here "blood" is a metonym for injury and death. AT: "I will judge him by causing him to be sick and by sending soldiers to kill him" (See: Metonymy)

overflowing rain and hailstones and burning sulfur I will rain down upon him

It may be helpful to change the order of this sentence. AT: "I will rain down overflowing rain and hailstones and burning sulfur upon him"

hailstones

ice that falls out of the sky

show my greatness and my holiness

The abstract nouns "greatness" and "holiness" can be stated as adjectives. AT: "show that I am great and holy" (See: Abstract Nouns)

I will make myself known in the eyes of the many nations

Here "eyes" refers to sight, which is a metonym for understanding. AT: "I will cause many nations to understand who I am" (See: Metonymy)

know that I am Yahweh

When Yahweh says that people will know that he is Yahweh, he is implying that they will know that he is the one true God who has supreme authority and power. See how you translated this in Ezekiel 6:7. AT: "understand that I am Yahweh, the one true God" or "realize that I, Yahweh, have supreme power and authority" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

translationWords

sword

Lord Yahweh

brother

judge

plague

blood

sulfur

holy

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

And I will call the sword against him upon all My mountains for the sword to come upon them, against him. “And I will call” means, I will prepare. And what is the sword that I will call against him? Their own sword: “every man’s sword shall be against his brother.”

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.