You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bulls, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
Parallel Translations
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You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bulls, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
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Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
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The flesh of the mighty shall ye eat, and the blood of the princes of the earth shall ye drink; rams, lambs, and goats, bullocks, fatlings of Bashan are they all of them.
Cross-references (13)
Passages linked to Ezekiel 39:18 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 22:12 Many bulls have surrounded me. Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me.
- Jeremiah 51:40 “I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with male goats.
- Revelation 19:17-18 I saw an angel standing in the sun. He cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the sky, “Come! Be gathered together to the great supper of God, that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, small and great.”
- Jeremiah 50:27 Kill all her bulls. Let them go down to the slaughter. Woe to them! For their day has come, the time of their visitation.
- Ezekiel 29:5 I’ll cast you out into the wilderness, you and all the fish of your rivers. You’ll fall on the open field. You won’t be brought together or gathered. I have given you for food to the animals of the earth and to the birds of the sky.
- Amos 4:1 Listen to this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who tell their husbands, “Bring us drinks!”
- Deuteronomy 32:14 butter from the herd, and milk from the flock, with fat of lambs, rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the finest of the wheat. From the blood of the grape, you drank wine.
- Psalms 68:30 Rebuke the wild animal of the reeds, the multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the peoples. Being humbled, may it bring bars of silver. Scatter the nations that delight in war.
- Isaiah 34:7 The wild oxen will come down with them, and the young bulls with the mighty bulls; and their land will be drunken with blood, and their dust made greasy with fat.
- Jeremiah 50:11 “Because you are glad, because you rejoice, O you who plunder my heritage, because you are wanton as a heifer that treads out the grain, and neigh as strong horses;
- Ezekiel 34:8 “As I live,” says the Lord Yahweh, “surely because my sheep became a prey, and my sheep became food to all the animals of the field, because there was no shepherd. My shepherds didn’t search for my sheep, but the shepherds fed themselves, and didn’t feed my sheep.”
- Ezekiel 34:17 “As for you, O my flock, the Lord Yahweh says: ‘Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, the rams and the male goats.
- Revelation 19:21 The rest were killed with the sword of him who sat on the horse, the sword which came out of his mouth. All the birds were filled with their flesh.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (11 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Eze 39:18 Ye shall eat the flesh of the…
Eze 39:18 Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
Ver. 18. Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty.] Whose flesh may he, perhaps, more delicate.
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And drink the blood.] Blood royal, of a noble alloy. Sed nihil inde colligas, quam perpetuam eorum damnationem qui verbum Dei persequuntur, quique populum Israel spiritualem exagitant. {a} It importeth the eternal damnation of atheists and antichrists.
{a} Oecolampadius.
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.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain In these two and the two following verses, God…
In these two and the two following verses, God takes on him the person of one that makes a feast, invites his guests, and promiseth to satisfy them. Of the two former, the first is an enigmatical invitation, or an invitation in a riddle; the latter is the key to this character.
The mighty; who had great authority, great courage and strength, the giant-like ones, commanders of great note in the army.
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The princes: many princes came with their countrymen and subjects to assist in this war, whose blood these fowls should drink; and these compared to rams which lead the flock.
Lambs are the more ordinary in the army. Goats; great goats, as the Hebrew denoteth; and these signify the more lascivious and impetuous among them.
Bullocks; such as, though more slow, were of great strength.
Fatlings; well fed, it was no lean sacrifice made.
Of Bashan, a mountain of most rich and sweet soil, and that fed the best of any.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty,.... Of…
Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty,.... Of the soldiers, men of strength and courage, and fit for war, with which the army of Gog will abound:
and drink the blood of the princes of the earth: both the princes of his own family and court, and those of his allies and auxiliaries that will come along with him:
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of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks; which the Targum Jarchi, and Kimchi, interpret of kings, princes, dukes, rulers, and governors; and so does John, in the Revelation, of kings, captains, and mighty men, Rev 19:18,
all of them fatlings of Baasha; which was a country in Israel, very fruitful, and full of pastures, where much fat cattle were bred; and to which these great personages in Gog's army are compared, for their bulk, strength, and wealth. So the Targum,
"all of them rich in substance.''
It may be rendered, "all of them the merie of Bashan"; for "meri" is the name of an ox or buffle; and Jarchi says that a fat ox is called in the Arabic language "almari" (h).
(h) Vid. Bochart. de Script. Animal. par. 1. l. 2. c. 28. col. 284.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Ye shall eat - In these two and the…
Ye shall eat - In these two and the following verses, God takes on him the person of one that makes a feast, invites his guests, and promises to satisfy them. Of the two former, the first is an Enigmatical invitation, or an invitation in a riddle; the latter is the key to this character. The mighty - Who had great authority, great courage and strength, the giant-like ones, commanders of great note in the army. Princes - Many princes came with their country men and subjects to assist in this war. Rams - These are compared to rams which lead the flock. Lambs - Lambs are the more ordinary in the army. Goats - Goats signify the more lascivious, and impetuous among them. Bullocks - Bullocks, such as though more slow, were of great strength. Fatlings - Well fed. Bashan - A mountain of most rich, and sweet soil.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 18. Ye shall - drink the blood of…
Verse 18. Ye shall - drink the blood of the princes of the earth] I need not mention the custom of the Scandinavians: they were accustomed to drink the blood of their enemies out of the skulls of the dead. But this is spoken of fowls and beasts here-rams, lambs, and goats. The feast shall be as grateful and as plenteous to the fowls and beasts, as one made of the above animals, the fattest and best of their kind, (because fed in the fertile fields of Bashan,) would be to the guests of him who makes a sacrifice.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain That are. Hebrew, "and of meries, (a species of…
That are. Hebrew, "and of meries, (a species of oxen, in Syria.; Bellon. ii. 50.) all of them from Basan," beyond the Jordan, a most fertile country. Septuagint, "all calves fattened."
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).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain rams . . . lambs . . . goats--By…
rams . . . lambs . . . goats--By these various animal victims used in sacrifices are meant various ranks of men, princes, generals, and soldiers (compare Isa 34:6).
fatlings of Bashan--ungodly men of might (Psa 22:12). Bashan, beyond Jordan, was famed for its fat cattle. Fat implies prosperity which often makes men refractory towards God (Deu 32:14-15).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 18. The actual victims sacrificed were princes and mighty…
18. The actual victims sacrificed were princes and mighty men; here they are described as rams and goats—the usual animals sacrificed. Jer_51:40.
fatlings of Bashan] Bashan was a pastoral country, producing the fattest and greatest beasts. Cf. Deu_32:14; Amo_4:1; Isa_34:6-7; Psa_22:12.
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.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (18) Drink the blood of the princes.—In these verses…
(18) Drink the blood of the princes.—In these verses there is a curious mingling of the figurative and the literal; thus the “princes” are immediately explained by the mention of the various sacrificial animals; and in Eze_39:20 these are again interpreted of “horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war.” And when the figure is so far explained it only leads to a literal sense which must yet be considered as itself but the symbol of something further. (Comp. Rev_19:17-18.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Verse 18 specifies the victims whose flesh and blood…
Verse 18 specifies the victims whose flesh and blood should form their banquet, viz. the mighty, as in Eze_32:12, Eze_32:27, and the princes of the earth, meaning the nobles and other dignitaries in Gog"s army, who, in accordance with the symbol of a feast, are spoken of as "rams," "lambs," "goats," "bullocks," and "fatlings of Bashan". (comp. Psa_22:12) "Per haec animantium, quae in saarificiis usurpari solebant, nomina varii hominum ordines intelliguntur, principum, ducum, militum, quod et Chaldaeus observat". (Grotius. Comp. Rev_19:17, Rev_19:18) in Zep_1:7 the heathen are the guests, and his people the victims, at Jehovah"s banquet.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 39:18-20 In most sacrificial feasts, humans dined on slaughtered…
39:18-20 In most sacrificial feasts, humans dined on slaughtered animals. This feast would allow animals to dine on slaughtered humans as though they were rams, lambs, goats, and bulls. This reversal of the great messianic banquet (Isa 25:6) features the enemies of God as the menu rather than as the invited guests.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.