Ezekiel 38:20

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.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — God addresses Ezekiel regarding a future day of judgment in Israel, immediately following a prophesied great earthquake. The text declares that all living creatures and humanity will tremble at His presence while mountains, cliffs, and walls collapse.

The words — The Hebrew רָעֲשׁוּ (ra.'a.Shu) means "they will shake," and מִפָּנַי (mi.pa.Na/i) translates to "from before Me," describing the universal tremor caused by God's direct appearance.

The thread — This cosmic upheaval echoes the land mourning with its beasts in Hosea 4:3, the divine rebuke that withers the earth in Nahum 1:4, and the splitting of the Mount of Olives in Zechariah 14:4.

Why it lands — The passage demands recognition that God's presence overrides all natural and human structures, requiring immediate submission rather than resistance.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וְרָעֲשׁ֣וּve./ra.'a.Shuand/ they will shake מִפָּנַ֡יmi./pa.Na/ifrom/ before/ me דְּגֵ֣יde.Gei[the] fish of הַיָּם֩hai./Yamthe/ sea וְע֨וֹףve./'ofand/ [the] bird[s] of הַשָּׁמַ֜יִםha./sha.Ma.yimthe/ heavens וְחַיַּ֣תve./chai.Yatand/ [the] animal[s] of הַשָּׂדֶ֗הha./sa.Dehthe/ field וְכָל־ve./kholand/ every הָרֶ֙מֶשׂ֙ha./Re.mes<the>/ creeping thing הָרֹמֵ֣שׂha./ro.Meswhich/ creeps עַל־'al-on הָֽאֲדָמָ֔הha./'a.da.Mahthe/ ground וְכֹל֙ve./Kholand/ all הָֽאָדָ֔םha./'a.Dam<the>/ humankind אֲשֶׁ֖ר'a.Sherwhich עַל־'al-[is] on פְּנֵ֣יpe.Nei[the] surface of הָאֲדָמָ֑הha./'a.da.Mahthe/ ground וְנֶהֶרְס֣וּve./ne.her.Suand/ they will be thrown down הֶהָרִ֗יםhe./ha.Rimthe/ mountains וְנָֽפְלוּ֙ve./na.fe.Luand/ they will fall הַמַּדְרֵג֔וֹתha./mad.re.Gotthe/ steep places וְכָל־ve./kholand/ every חוֹמָ֖הcho.Mahwall לָאָ֥רֶץla./'A.retzto the/ ground תִּפּֽוֹל׃ti.Polit will fall

King James Version

So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.

Cross-references

Hosea 4:3 Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it will waste away with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air; even the fish of the sea disappear.
Nahum 1:4 He rebukes the sea and dries it up; He makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither, and the flower of Lebanon wilts.
Zechariah 14:4 On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half the mountain moving to the north and half to the south.
Revelation 6:12 And I watched as the Lamb opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black like sackcloth of goat hair, and the whole moon turned blood red,
Isaiah 30:25 And from every high mountain and every raised hill, streams of water will flow in the day of great slaughter, when the towers fall.
Jeremiah 4:23 I looked at the earth, and it was formless and void; I looked to the heavens, and they had no light.
2 Corinthians 10:4 The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the flesh. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.