After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.

EZEKIEL 38:8KJV
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Ezekiel 38:8 (KJV)

What does Ezekiel 38:8 mean?

Ezekiel 38:8 describes a future attack on a people who have returned to Israel after war and displacement. God tells Gog, the leader addressed in the passage, that he will come against the mountains of Israel when their inhabitants are living securely.

The picture is striking because the land had long been devastated, yet its people have been brought back from other nations. God’s words to Gog present the coming attack as part of a summons: “thou shalt be visited.”

The Hebrew behind Ezekiel 38:8

  • “visited” — פָּקַד (paqad): This word can mean to attend to, summon, or deal with someone. Here it is often understood as God calling Gog into action, rather than making a friendly visit.
  • “safely” — בֶּטַח (betaḥ): This word carries the sense of security or confidence. It describes how the inhabitants are living when Gog comes against their land.

Why Ezekiel 38:8 matters

  • The attack is directed against a people who have already experienced recovery. “Brought back from the sword” places their earlier suffering before Gog’s arrival.
  • The verse connects the people’s return with the renewal of a ruined place. The “mountains of Israel” had been “always waste,” but people now live there again.
  • Gog’s arrival is presented as a future event, not an immediate march. The phrases “after many days” and “in the latter years” place it at a later time.

Where else these words appear

“safely” Hebrew H983 · used in 41 verses

  • Genesis 34:25 And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males.
  • Psalms 4:8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.
  • Jeremiah 49:31 Arise, get you up unto the wealthy nation, that dwelleth without care, saith the LORD, which have neither gates nor bars, which dwell alone.

“waste” Hebrew H2723 · used in 42 verses

  • Leviticus 26:31 And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours.
  • Isaiah 58:12 And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
  • Ezekiel 13:4 O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts.

“latter” Hebrew H319 · used in 60 verses

  • Genesis 49:1 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.
  • Proverbs 14:12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
  • Jeremiah 23:20 The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.

“always” Hebrew H8548 · used in 103 verses

  • Exodus 25:30 And thou shalt set upon the table shewbread before me alway.
  • Deuteronomy 11:12 A land which the LORD thy God careth for: the eyes of the LORD thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.
  • Psalms 74:23 Forget not the voice of thine enemies: the tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually.