For Son of man (International Children’s Bible “Human being”),

Set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog …: For set your face toward, see 6.2. Here this phrase may be rendered “look toward” (New Century Version), “turn toward” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch), or “face in the direction of.” It probably includes the idea of an aggressive stance or stare. We know very little about the man named Gog because, apart from these chapters, he is not mentioned in the Old Testament (the Gog of 1 Chr 5.4 is a different person). Some suggest that he may have been the king of Lydia, a powerful state in what is now western Turkey. This uncertainty makes him an even more mysterious and threatening figure. He came from the land of Magog. Magog is mentioned in Gen 10.2 and 1 Chr 1.5 as a grandson of Noah. This name can also refer to the tribe, or family clan, descended from him. Some people believe that their territory was to the north of the Caspian Sea, which is far distant from Lydia. Others suggest that Magog means “land of Gog.” In Rev 20.8 Magog seems to be an individual who was a colleague of Gog. Since so little is known of Magog, we recommend that translators render this phrase as “the land of the people/tribe/clan of Magog” or “the land called Magog.”

The chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: New Century Version renders chief prince as “chief ruler.” Some languages may use “paramount chief.” The Hebrew word for chief is rosh. There was a place east of Babylonia with a name that sounds similar to this, and some translations think this phrase refers to the ruler of that place, so they say “prince of Rosh” (New King James Version , New American Standard Bible, Revised English Bible, Jerusalem Bible, Moffatt). However, since this place was so far away from the other places mentioned in this verse, it is unlikely that this interpretation is correct. For Meshech and Tubal, see 27.13. These were two nations in what is now Turkey. A model for this whole phrase is “He is the chief leader of the nations of Meshech and Tubal.”

And prophesy against him means Ezekiel must give God’s message of warning to Gog (see 4.7). Some translations put together the ideas of set your face toward and prophesy against (so Good News Translation with “Denounce” and Contemporary English Version with “condemn”). However, if it is not unnatural, translators should retain the two expressions. A model that does this is “look toward Gog … and announce what I am saying against him.”

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 .