The Aramaic Bible

The Aramaic Bible · the Prophets

Targum Jonathan on the Prophets Ezekiel · chapter 38

Aramaic public domain · English where it exists, else the Bible (BSB)
What is the Aramaic Bible?

After the exile, most Jews spoke Aramaic, not Hebrew, so in the synagogue each Scripture reading was followed by an Aramaic translation read aloud, so ordinary people could follow. Those translations are the Aramaic Bible. Scholars call them the Targums.

Why it’s worth reading: a Targum doesn’t just translate, it quietly explains as it goes. So it’s a window into how the first Jewish readers actually understood a passage. Famously, the Aramaic of Isaiah 53 names the servant “the Messiah” outright.

Hebrew, Greek & the Aramaic Bible, when to use each →

Tap any Aramaic word to trace it to its Jastrow dictionary entry.

  1. :

    And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

  2. :

    “Son of man, set your face against Gog of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. Prophesy against him

  3. :

    and declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.

  4. :

    I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws, and bring you out with all your army — your horses, your horsemen in full armor, and a great company armed with shields and bucklers, all brandishing their swords.

  5. :

    Persia, Cush, and Put will accompany them, all with shields and helmets,

  6. :

    as well as Gomer with all its troops, and Beth-togarmah from the far north with all its troops— the many nations with you.

  7. :

    Get ready; prepare yourself, you and all your company gathered around you; you will be their guard.

  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.

  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.

  11. :

    You will say, ‘I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will come against a quiet 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?’

  14. :

    Therefore prophesy, son of man, and tell Gog that this is what the Lord GOD says: On that day when My people Israel are dwelling securely, will you not take notice of this?

  15. :

    And you will come from your place out of the far north— you and many peoples with you, all riding horses— a mighty horde, a huge army.

  16. :

    You will advance against My people Israel like a cloud covering the land. It will happen in the latter days, O Gog, that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me when I show Myself holy in you before their eyes.

  17. :

    This is what the Lord GOD says: Are you the one of whom I have spoken in former days through My servants, the prophets of Israel, who in those times prophesied for years that I would bring you against them?

  18. :

    Now on that day when Gog comes against the land of Israel, declares the Lord GOD, My wrath will flare up.

  19. :

    In My zeal and fiery rage I proclaim that on that day there will be a great earthquake in the land of Israel.

  20. :

    The fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, every creature that crawls upon the ground, and all mankind on the face of the earth will tremble at My presence. The mountains will be thrown down, the cliffs will collapse, and every wall will fall to the ground.

  21. :

    And I will summon a sword against Gog on all My mountains, declares the Lord GOD, and every man’s sword will be against his brother.

  22. :

    I will execute judgment upon him with plague and bloodshed. I will pour out torrents of rain, hailstones, fire, and sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him.

  23. :

    I will magnify and sanctify Myself, and I will reveal Myself in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.[’’]

Aramaic. Targum Jonathan to the Prophets, Aramaic: 'Mikraot Gedolot' (public domain), served by the Sefaria v3 API (sefaria.org)

English. The Masoretic verse (Berean Standard Bible, public domain), shown for reference, Targum Jonathan is the ancient Aramaic rendering of this verse.

We show the license-cleared original Aramaic and an established English translation, each Aramaic word traceable to a public-domain lexicon. We never machine-translate a primary text.

Targum Jonathan Ezekiel 38: word by word · Bubble Bible