Bible Strands
Ezekiel 39:17
And as for you, son of man, this is what the Lord GOD says: Call out to every kind of bird and to every beast of the field: ‘Assemble and come together from all around to the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you, a great feast on the mountains of Israel. There you will eat flesh and drink blood.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Lord God addresses Ezekiel as "son of man" and commands him to summon every bird and field beast to a sacrificial feast on the mountains of Israel. This announcement follows the cleansing of the land and the naming of a city Hamonah.
The words — The Hebrew כֹּה (koh) "thus" and אֱמֹר ('e.Mor) "say" form the prophetic declaration formula that authorizes the summons. The command directly initiates the gathering of creation for the feast God is preparing.
The thread — The summons to birds and beasts appears in Revelation 19:17, where an angel calls flying birds to gather for God's great supper. It parallels Zephaniah 1:7, which states the Lord has prepared a sacrifice on His day, and aligns with Isaiah 34:6, which describes the sword of the Lord dripping with blood and fat.
Why it lands — The text describes God using creation as instruments to consume the flesh and blood of the defeated. It requires the reader to acknowledge divine judgment as a completed, sovereign act rather than a metaphorical warning.
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
King James Version
And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.
Cross-references
- Zephaniah 1:7 Be silent in the presence of the Lord GOD, for the Day of the LORD is near. Indeed, the LORD has prepared a sacrifice; He has consecrated His guests.
- Revelation 19:17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out in a loud voice to all the birds flying overhead, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God,
- Isaiah 34:6 The sword of the LORD is bathed in blood. It drips with fat—with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
- Ezekiel 39:4 On the mountains of Israel you will fall—you and all your troops and the nations with you. I will give you as food to every kind of ravenous bird and wild beast.
- Jeremiah 12:9 Is not My inheritance to Me like a speckled bird of prey with other birds of prey circling against her? Go, gather all the beasts of the field; bring them to devour her.
- Isaiah 56:9 Come, all you beasts of the field; eat greedily, all you beasts of the forest.
- Isaiah 18:6 They will all be left to the mountain birds of prey, and to the beasts of the land. The birds will feed on them in summer, and all the wild animals in winter.
- Jeremiah 46:10 For that day belongs to the Lord GOD of Hosts, a day of vengeance against His foes. The sword will devour until it is satisfied, until it is quenched with their blood. For the Lord GOD of Hosts will hold a sacrifice in the land of the north by the River Euphrates.
- Genesis 31:54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain and invited his relatives to eat a meal. And after they had eaten, they spent the night on the mountain.
- 1 Samuel 9:13 As soon as you enter the city, you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. The people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; after that, the guests will eat. Go up at once; you will find him.”