Ezekiel 39:3

And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Benson Commentary

Ezekiel 39:3-7. I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand — There shall be no might in thy hand, as Moses threatens the Israelites, Deuteronomy 28:32; thou shalt not be able to use thy weapons to any purpose. I will give thee unto the ravenous birds, &c. — See Ezekiel 39:17; and Ezekiel 33:27. And I will send a fire on Magog — That is, into the country of Gog. This fire seems to signify that the land, after the army of Gog had left it, should be laid waste by the neighbouring people. Fire frequently signifies God’s fierce judgments. And among them that dwell carelessly in the isles —

That is, among the inhabitants of the sea-coast, who dwell securely, and think no harm can come upon them. All countries lying upon the sea-coast are called islands in the Hebrew language. So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people — I will give evident displays of my power and goodness among them; and I will not let them pollute, &c. —

In the Hebrew it is, I will not pollute my holy name any more; that is, I will not suffer it to be polluted: verbs active often signifying only permission. The sense is, I will not suffer my name to be dishonoured any more, nor let it be said among the heathen that I was not able to rescue my people out of the hand of their enemies.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

39:1-10 The Lord will make the most careless and hardened transgressors know his holy name, either by his righteous anger, or by the riches of his mercy and grace. The weapons formed against Zion shall not prosper. Though this prophecy is to be fulfilled in the latter days, it is certain. From the language used, it seems that the army of Gog will be destroyed by miracle.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The chief prince - Or, "prince of Rosh."

And leave but the sixth part of thee - Or, and lead thee along (Septuagint and Vulgate).

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

3. bow—in which the Scythians were most expert.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

I will smite thy bow; make thy hand weak, not able to hold the bow, and thy heart faint, not daring to take it up again. What is said of the bow rendered useless, is to be understood of all other weapons of war. This one kind, the bow, being most in use with these Scythians, is mentioned for all the rest.

Thy left hand; the hand for holding the bow, while the right fits the arrow to the string, and draws to shoot.

Thine arrows to fall; thou shalt throw away thine arrows, that thou mayst the better flee for escape.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand,.... In which it is usually held, to have the arrow fitted to it:

and I will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand; where they are commonly held when put into the bow, and then the bow is drawn with it; signifying hereby, that though he should come into the land of Israel, he should not succeed; he would be stripped of his armour, and it would be useless to him: bows and arrows are put for all kind of warlike instruments; and are particularly mentioned because they were chiefly used in war when this prophecy was delivered.

Geneva Study Bible

And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

3. The northern warriors were bowmen.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 3. - I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand. Bows and arrows were characteristic weapons of the Scythians, whom Herodotus (4:46) styles ἱπποτοξόται (comp. Jeremiah 5:16; Jeremiah 6:23; and see note on Ezekiel 38:15). Ezekiel 39:3

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Further Description of the Judgment to Fall upon Gog and his Hosts

Ezekiel 39:1-8. General announcement of his destruction. - Ezekiel 39:1. And thou, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I will deal with thee, Gog, thou prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. Ezekiel 39:2. I will mislead thee, and conduct thee, and cause thee to come up from the uttermost north, and bring thee to the mountains of Israel; Ezekiel 39:3. And will smite thy bow from thy left hand, and cause thine arrows to fall from thy right hand. Ezekiel 39:4. Upon the mountains of Israel wilt thou fall, thou and all thy hosts, and the peoples which are with thee: I give thee for food to the birds of prey of every plumage, and to the beasts of the field. Ezekiel 39:5. Upon the open field shalt thou fall, for I have spoken it, is the saying of the Lord Jehovah. Ezekiel 39:6. And I will send fire in Magog, and among those who dwell in security upon the islands, that they may know that I am Jehovah. Ezekiel 39:7. I will make known my holy name in the midst of my people Israel, and will not let my holy name be profaned any more, that the nations may know that I am Jehovah, holy in Israel. Ezekiel 39:8. Behold, it comes and happens, is the saying of the Lord Jehovah; this is the day of which I spoke. - The further description of the judgment with which Gog and his hosts are threatened in Ezekiel 38:21-23, commences with a repetition of the command to the prophet to prophesy against Gog (Ezekiel 39:1, cf. Ezekiel 38:2-3). The principal contents of Ezekiel 38:4-15 are then briefly summed up in Ezekiel 39:2. שׁבבתּיך, as in Ezekiel 38:4, is strengthened by שׁשּׁתיך, שׁשׁא, ἁπαχ λεγ.., is not connected with שׁשׁ in the sense of "I leave a sixth part of thee remaining," or afflict thee with six punishments; but in the Ethiopic it signifies to proceed, or to climb, and here, accordingly, it is used in the sense of leading on (lxx καθοδηγήσω σε, or, according to another reading, κατάξω; Vulg. educam). For Ezekiel 39:2, compare Ezekiel 38:15 and Ezekiel 38:8. In the land of Israel, God will strike his weapons out of his hands, i.e., make him incapable of fighting (for the fact itself, compare the similar figures in Psalm 37:15; Psalm 46:10), and give him up with all his army as a prey to death. עיט, a beast of prey, is more precisely defined by צפּור, and still further strengthened by the genitive כּל־כּנף: birds of prey of every kind. The judgment will not be confined to the destruction of the army of Gog, which has invaded the land of Israel, but (Ezekiel 39:6) will also extend to the land of Gog, and to all the heathen nations that are dwelling in security. אשׁ, fire, primarily the fire of war; then, in a further sense, a figure denoting destruction inflicted directly by God, as in Ezekiel 38:22, which is therefore represented in Revelation 20:9 as fire falling from heaven. Magog is the population of the land of Magog (Ezekiel 38:2). With this the inhabitants of the distant coastlands of the west (the איּים) are associated, as representatives of the remotest heathen nations. Ezekiel 39:7, Ezekiel 39:8. By this judgment the Lord will make known His holy name in Israel, and show the heathen that He will not let it be blasphemed by them any more. For the fact itself, compare Ezekiel 36:20. For Ezekiel 39:8, compare Ezekiel 21:12, and for היּום, see Ezekiel 38:18-19.