Ezekiel 39 · Verse 9

Ezekiel 39:9

And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years:

Ezekiel 39:9, King James Version

Ezekiel 39:9 in other translations

BSB	Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out, kindle fires, and burn up the weapons—the bucklers and shields, the bows and arrows, the clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them for fuel.
WEB	“‘“Those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and will make fires of the weapons and burn them, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the war clubs and the spears, and they will make fires with them for seven years;
ASV	And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall make fires of the weapons and burn them, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall make fires of them seven years;
YLT	And gone out have the inhabitants of cities of Israel, And they have burned and kindled a fire, With armour, and shield, and buckler, With bow, and with arrows, And with hand-staves, and with javelins, And they have caused a fire to burn with them seven years,
DARBY	And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall kindle fire, and burn weapons, and shields, and targets, bows, and arrows, and hand-staves, and spears: and they shall make fires with them seven years.
BBE	And those who are living in the towns of Israel will go out and make fires of the instruments of war, burning the body-covers and the breastplates, the bows and the arrows and the sticks and the spears, and for seven years they will make fires of them:
Webster	And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaffs, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years:

What does Ezekiel 39:9 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Ezekiel 39:9-10

9-10. The burning of the foe's weapons implies that nothing belonging to them should be left to pollute the land. The seven years (seven being the sacred number) spent on this work, implies the completeness of the cleansing, and the people's zeal for purity. How different from the ancient Israelites, who left not merely the arms, but the heathen themselves, to remain among them [Fairbairn], (Jud 1:27, 28; 2:2, 3; Psa 106:34-36). The desolation by Antiochus began in the one hundred and forty-first year of the Seleucidæ. From this date to 148, a period of six years and four months ("2300 days," Da 8:14), when the temple-worship was restored (1 Maccabees 4:52), God vouchsafed many triumphs to His people; from this time to the death of Antiochus, early in 149, a period of seven months, the Jews had rest from Antiochus, and purified their land, and on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month celebrated the Encænia, or feast of dedication (Joh 10:22) and purification of the temple. The whole period, in round numbers, was seven years. Mattathias was the patriotic Jewish leader, and his third son, Judas, the military commander under whom the Syrian generals were defeated. He retook Jerusalem and purified the temple. Simon and Jonathan, his brothers, succeeded him: the independence of the Jews was secured, and the crown vested in the Asmonean family, in which it continued till Herod the Great.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 9 And shall set on fire - the weapons - The Israelites shall make bonfires and fuel of the weapons, tents, etc., which the defeated Syrians shall leave behind them, as expressive of the joy which they shall feel for the destruction of their enemies; and to keep up, in their culinary consumption, the memory of this great event. They shall burn them with fire seven years - These may be figurative expressions, after the manner of the Asiatics, whose language abounds with such descriptions. They occur every where in the prophets. As to the number seven it is only a certain for an indeterminate number. But as the slaughter was great, and the bows, arrows, quivers, shields, bucklers, handstaves, and spears were in vast multitudes, it must have taken a long time to gather them up in the different parts of the fields of battle, and the roads in which the Syrians had retreated, throwing away their arms as they proceeded; so there might have been a long time employed in collecting and burning them. And as all seem to have been doomed to the fire, there might have been some found at different intervals and burned, during the seven years here mentioned. Mariana, in his History of Spain, lib. xi., c. 24, says, that after the Spaniards had given that signal overthrow to the Saracens, a.d. 1212 they found such a vast quantity of lances, javelins, and such like, that they served them for four years for fuel. And probably these instruments obtained by the Israelites were used in general for culinary firewood, and might literally have served them for seven years; so that during that time they should take no wood out of the fields, nor out of the forests for the purpose of fuel, Eze 39:10.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Ezekiel 39:1-10

The destruction of Gog. (Ezek 39:1-10) Its extent. (Ezek 39:11-22) Israel again favoured. (Ezek 39:23-29) Verses 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…

Read the full comment on Ezekiel 39:1-10 →

Ezekiel 39:9 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְֽיָצְא֞וּve.ya.tze.'Uand they will go outH3318

יֹשְׁבֵ֣י\׀yo.she.Vei[the] inhabitants ofH3427

עָרֵ֣י'a.Rei[the] cities ofH5892

יִשְׂרָאֵ֗לYis.ra.'ElIsraelH3478

וּבִעֲר֡וּu.vi.'a.Ruand they will kindleH1197

וְ֠הִשִּׂיקוּVe.hi.si.kuand they will kindle a fireH5400

בְּנֶ֨שֶׁקbe.Ne.shekwith weaponH5402

וּמָגֵ֤ןu.ma.Genand shieldH4043

וְצִנָּה֙ve.tzi.Nahand body shieldH6793

בְּקֶ֣שֶׁתbe.Ke.shetwith bowH7198

וּבְחִצִּ֔יםu.ve.chi.Tzimand with arrowsH2671

וּבְמַקֵּ֥לu.ve.ma.Keland with staff ofH4731

יָ֖דyadhandH3027

וּבְרֹ֑מַחu.ve.Ro.machand with spearH7420

וּבִעֲר֥וּu.vi.'a.Ruand they will kindleH1197

בָהֶ֛םva.Hemwith them

אֵ֖שׁ'eshfireH784

שֶׁ֥בַעShe.va'sevenH7651

שָׁנִֽים\׃sha.NimyearsH8141

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Ezekiel 39:9

Psalms 46:9
He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.
Isaiah 66:24
And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.
Malachi 1:5
And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The Lord will be magnified from the border of Israel.
Ezekiel 39:10
So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord God.
Zechariah 9:10
And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.
Joshua 11:6
And the Lord said unto Joshua, Be not afraid because of them: for to morrow about this time will I deliver them up all slain before Israel: thou shalt hough their horses, and burn their chariots with fire.
Psalms 111:2-3
The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein. His work is honourable and glorious: and his righteousness endureth for ever.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

shall go.
Ps 111:2,3; Isa 66:24; Mal 1:5
and shall.
10; Jos 11:6; Ps 46:9; Zec 9:10
set on fire.The language here employed seems to intimate that the army of Gog will be cut off by miracle, as that of Sennacherib; for the people are described as going forth, not to fight and conquer, but merely to gather the spoil, and to destroy the weapons of war, as no longer of use.
hand staves. or, javelins. and they.When the immense number and destruction of the invaders are considered, and also the little fuel comparatively which is necessary in warm climates, we may easily conceive of this being literally fulfilled.
burn them with fire. or, make a fire of them.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Ezekiel 39:8
Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord God; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
Ezekiel 39:9
And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years:
Ezekiel 39:10
So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord God.

Read all of Ezekiel 39

Ezekiel 39:9 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Y los moradores de las ciudades de Israel saldrán, y encenderán y quemarán armas, y escudos, y paveses, arcos y saetas, y bastones de mano, y lanzas: y las quemarán en fuego por siete años.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Et les habitants des villes d’Israël sortiront et allumeront du feu, et brûleront les armes, et les écus, et les boucliers avec les arcs, et les flèches, et les épieux, et les piques; et ils en feront du feu pendant sept ans.
German Elberfelder 1871	Und die Bewohner der Städte Israels werden hinausgehen, und werden Feuer machen und heizen mit Waffen und Tartschen und Schilden, mit Bogen und Pfeilen und mit Handstäben und Lanzen; und sie werden Feuer damit machen sieben Jahre lang.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Et egredientur habitatores de civitatibus Israël, et succendent et comburent arma, clypeum et hastas, arcum et sagittas, et baculos manuum et contos: et succendent ea igni septem annis.