· Translation: KJV

Ezekiel 38:13Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions of it, shall tell you, Have you come to take the spoil? have you assembled your company to take the prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great spoil?

The setting

Babylon, ~585 BC. Vision continues as wealthy trading nations question the invader's motives. Modern Iraq.

The emotion here: disgust at human greed during crisis

The original word

sachar (סָחַר) — to go around trading, traveling merchants seeking profit

Why it matters

Tarshish was likely Spain, showing this invasion has global implications

Read with care

What most readers miss in Ezekiel 38:13

The merchants aren't condemning the attack—they're asking if there's profit in it

Common misconceptionMost think these merchants oppose the invasion, but they're actually asking if they can profit from it—showing how evil spreads through greed.

Bible Genome reading

Ezekiel 38:13 — Bible Genome reading

SpeakerGod
EraExile
Primary emotionanxious
Literary typeprophecy
MarkProphecy

Emotional genome

Comfort power20%
Quotability40%
Memorability50%
Crisis relevance70%
Standalone20%
Themes:international relationscommercequestioning

In context

No verse stands alone.

Read the conversation around it.

Open Ezekiel 38

Ezekiel 38:13 comes from the book of Ezekiel, written during the Exile period. These words are attributed to God. The dominant emotion in this verse is anxious, with a comfort power of 20% and a tone that is prophetic. It belongs to the prophecy genre of biblical literature. Key themes include international relations, commerce, questioning. Notable phrases: Sheba and Dedan; merchants of Tarshish. This verse contains prophecy.

Your reflection

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