Ezekiel 38:11

9 You and all your troops, and many peoples with you will go up, advancing like a thunderstorm; you will be like a cloud covering the land.

10 This is what the Lord GOD says: On that day, thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will devise an evil plan.

You will say, ‘I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will come against a tranquil people who dwell securely, all of them living without walls or bars or gates—

12 in order to seize the spoil and carry off the plunder, to turn a hand against the desolate places now inhabited and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and possessions and who live at the center of the land.’

13 Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish with all its villages will ask, ‘Have you come to capture the plunder? Have you assembled your hordes to carry away loot, to make off with silver and gold, to take cattle and goods, to seize great spoil?’

This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB
You will say, ‘I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will come against a tranquil people who dwell securely, all of them living without walls or bars or gates—
KJV
And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
WEB
You will say, ‘I will go up to the land of unwalled villages. I will go to those who are at rest, who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
ASV
and thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates;
DARBY
and thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will come to them that are in quiet, that dwell in safety, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
BLB
And you will say, ‘I will go up against a land of unwalled villages, I will go in to those living quietly, dwelling in security—all of them dwelling with no walls, and bars and gates not unto them—
ÅB
og si: Jeg vil dra opp imot et land med åpne byer, jeg vil komme over fredelige folk, som bor trygt, som alle sammen bor uten murer og hverken har bom eller porter -
OTB
Du skal si: «Jeg vil dra opp mot et land med åpne landsbyer; jeg vil komme over et folk som lever i fred og ro—alle bor uten murer, bommer eller porter.
B1930
og si: Jeg vil dra op imot et land med åpne byer, jeg vil komme over fredelige folk, som bor trygt, som alle sammen bor uten murer og hverken har bom eller porter -

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

  • Zechariah 2:4–5

    and said to him, “Run and tell that young man: ‘Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the multitude of men and livestock within it.

    Read in context
  • Exodus 15:9

    The enemy declared, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword; my hand will destroy them.’

    Read in context
  • Proverbs 1:11–16

    If they say, “Come along, let us lie in wait for blood, let us ambush the innocent without cause,

    Read in context
  • Isaiah 37:24–25

    Through your servants you have taunted the Lord, and you have said: “With my many chariots I have ascended to the heights of the mountains, to the remote peaks of Lebanon. I have cut down its tallest cedars, the finest of its cypresses. I have reached its farthest heights, the densest of its forests.

    Read in context
  • Judges 18:27

    After they had taken Micah’s idols and his priest, they went to Laish, to a tranquil and unsuspecting people, and they struck them with their swords and burned down the city.

    Read in context
  • Jeremiah 49:31–32

    Rise up, advance against a nation at ease, one that dwells securely,” declares the LORD. “They have no gates or bars; they live alone.

    Read in context
  • Ezekiel 38:8

    After a long time you will be summoned. In the latter years you will enter a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and all now dwell securely.

    Read in context
  • Romans 3:15

    “Their feet are swift to shed blood;

    Read in context