It is uncertain where the quote of Gog’s thoughts ends. Some translations close it at the end of verse 11 (so Revised Standard Version/New Revised Standard Version, New King James Version , Revised English Bible, Moffatt). Others follow the Septuagint and continue the quote to end of verse 12 (so New International Version, New International Reader’s Version, New Living Translation, New Century Version, New American Standard Bible, New American Bible, Christian Community Bible), but this involves changing the Hebrew text from “your hand” to “my hand” (see the comments below). In others it is impossible to tell, either because they do not include quotation marks at all (so King James Version), or because they use indirect speech throughout verses 11-12 (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version). In our view the best place to close the quote of Gog’s thoughts is after the first sentence of this verse (so New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), but at the end of verse 11 is also acceptable.

To seize spoil and carry off plunder refers to the way victorious soldiers take everything of value from the people who have lost the war (see the comments on 29.19). Some translations use terms such as “rob” (Contemporary English Version, New International Reader’s Version) and “steal” (New International Reader’s Version) for the actions here, but these terms can be misleading since they refer to the illegal actions of thieves in a community setting, instead of the plundering and looting that used to be seen as a normal and necessary part of war. It was necessary because it was one way in which soldiers were “paid” by the army commander for their service—they were allowed to keep whatever things of value they could grab. Translators may need to make this clear by saying “I will attack them and take away all their valuable things as my reward.”

To assail the waste places which are now inhabited is literally “to turn your hand against the waste places…” (New American Standard Bible). “Turn your hand against” is another way of saying “attack.” As in verse 8, the Hebrew word for waste places probably refers to the empty, deserted towns where no one lived, but many translations take it to refer the state of the towns themselves by saying “ruins” (New International Version, New Century Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible), “cities that were once in ruins” (Good News Translation; similarly Revised English Bible), or “towns that were once a pile of rubble” (Contemporary English Version). Of course, the two ideas are closely related, and although either interpretation is possible, the first one is preferable. These places are now inhabited, that is, people are living there again.

And the people who were gathered from the nations: See Ezek 38.8. Gog and his army will attack the Israelites who returned from exile and were living in the rebuilt towns.

Who have gotten cattle and goods describes further the Israelites. The Hebrew word for cattle refers to all sorts of domestic animals, not just cows. The Hebrew word for goods refers to anything that someone can buy and sell (compare New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh “possessions”). For this whole clause New Century Version has “who have become rich with farm animals and property.”

Who dwell at the center of the earth also describes the Israelites. They thought that the land of Israel, and Jerusalem in particular, was the center of the world (compare 5.5). Following the Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate, New American Bible says “the navel of the earth” (similarly Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch) instead of the center of the earth. Some translations have tried to capture the significance of the Hebrew expression here by saying “the crossroads of the world” (Good News Translation) or “the most important place in the world” (Contemporary English Version). Such renderings go a bit too far, because the Hebrew word for center, which is used only here and in Jdg 9.37, seems to have the sense of an elevated area, the highest part of something. Its meaning may then be similar to the “mountainous area” of Israel. So an appropriate rendering for this clause is “They live in the high country of the land of Israel.” This takes the earth (literally “the land”) as the land of Israel, not the whole world. However, in line with so many translations in the past, the rendering “the center of the world” (New Century Version), both geographically and in significance, is also acceptable.

A model for the last sentence of this verse is:

• You will attack those cities that used to be uninhabited [or, used to be in ruins]. You will attack those people who came back together from the different countries where they were. Now they are rich with farm animals and property. They live in the high country of the land of Israel [or, They live right in the center of the world].

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .