Ezekiel 25
New English Translation
A Prophecy Against Ammon
25 The Lord’s message came to me: 2 “Son of man, turn toward[a] the Ammonites[b] and prophesy against them. 3 Say to the Ammonites, ‘Hear the word of the Sovereign Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: You said “Aha!” about my sanctuary when it was desecrated, about the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and about the house of Judah when they went into exile. 4 So take note,[c] I am about to make you slaves of[d] the tribes[e] of the east. They will make camps among you and pitch their tents among you. They will eat your fruit and drink your milk. 5 I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels and Ammon[f] a resting place for sheep. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 6 For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you clapped your hands, stamped your feet, and rejoiced with intense scorn[g] over the land of Israel, 7 take note—I have stretched out my hand against you, and I will hand you over as plunder[h] to the nations. I will cut you off from the peoples and make you perish from the lands. I will destroy you; then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
A Prophecy Against Moab
8 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Moab[i] and Seir say, “Look, the house of Judah is like all the other nations.” 9 So look, I am about to open up Moab’s flank,[j] eliminating the cities,[k] including its frontier cities,[l] the beauty of the land—Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon, and Kiriathaim. 10 I will hand it over,[m] along with the Ammonites,[n] to the tribes[o] of the east, so that the Ammonites will no longer be remembered among the nations. 11 I will execute judgments against Moab. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”
A Prophecy Against Edom
12 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Edom[p] has taken vengeance against the house of Judah; they have made themselves fully culpable[q] by taking vengeance[r] on them.[s] 13 So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will stretch out my hand against Edom, and I will kill the people and animals within her,[t] and I will make her desolate; from Teman to Dedan they will die[u] by the sword. 14 I will exact my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel. They will carry out in Edom my anger and rage; they will experience[v] my vengeance, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”
A Prophecy Against Philistia
15 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘The Philistines[w] have exacted merciless revenge,[x] showing intense scorn[y] in their effort to destroy Judah[z] with unrelenting hostility.[aa] 16 So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Take note, I am about to stretch out my hand against the Philistines. I will kill[ab] the Kerethites[ac] and destroy those who remain on the seacoast. 17 I will exact great vengeance upon them with angry rebukes.[ad] Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I exact my vengeance upon them.’”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 25:2 tn Heb “set your face toward.”
- Ezekiel 25:2 tn Heb “the sons of Ammon.” Ammon was located to the east of Israel.
- Ezekiel 25:4 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates being aware of or taking notice of something and has been translated here with a verb (so also throughout the chapter).
- Ezekiel 25:4 tn Heb “Look, I am about to give you for a possession to.”
- Ezekiel 25:4 tn Heb “sons.”
- Ezekiel 25:5 tn Heb “the sons of Ammon.”
- Ezekiel 25:6 tn Heb “with all your scorn in (the) soul.”
- Ezekiel 25:7 tc The translation here follows the Qere reading: בַּז (baz, “spoil, plunder”). The Kethib reading of the consonantal text, בַּג (bag), is not a word.
- Ezekiel 25:8 sn Moab was located immediately south of Ammon.
- Ezekiel 25:9 tn Heb “shoulder.”
- Ezekiel 25:9 tn Heb “from the cities.” The verb “eliminating” has been added in the translation to reflect the privative use of the preposition (see BDB 583 s.v. מִן 7.b).
- Ezekiel 25:9 tn Heb “from its cities, from its end.”
- Ezekiel 25:10 tn Heb “I will give it for a possession.”
- Ezekiel 25:10 tn Heb “the sons of Ammon” (twice in this verse).
- Ezekiel 25:10 tn Heb “the sons.”
- Ezekiel 25:12 sn Edom was located south of Moab.
- Ezekiel 25:12 tn Heb “and they have become guilty, becoming guilty.” The infinitive absolute following the finite verb makes the statement emphatic and draws attention to the degree of guilt incurred by Edom due to its actions.
- Ezekiel 25:12 tn Heb “and they have taken vengeance.”
- Ezekiel 25:12 sn Edom apparently in some way assisted in the destruction of Jerusalem in 587/6 b.c. (Ps 137:7; Lam 4:21, 22; Joel 3:19; Obadiah).
- Ezekiel 25:13 tn Heb “and I will cut off from her man and beast.”
- Ezekiel 25:13 tn Heb “fall.”
- Ezekiel 25:14 tn Heb “know.”
- Ezekiel 25:15 sn The Philistines inhabited the coastal plain by the Mediterranean Sea, west of Judah.
- Ezekiel 25:15 tn Heb “have acted with vengeance and taken vengeance with vengeance.” The repetition emphasizes the degree of vengeance which they exhibited, presumably toward Judah.
- Ezekiel 25:15 tn Heb “with scorn in (the) soul.”
- Ezekiel 25:15 tn The object is not specified in the Hebrew text, but has been clarified as “Judah” in the translation.
- Ezekiel 25:15 tn Heb “to destroy (with) perpetual hostility.” Joel 3:4-8 also speaks of the Philistines taking advantage of the fall of Judah.
- Ezekiel 25:16 tn In Hebrew the verb “and I will cut off” sounds like its object, “the Kerethites,” and draws attention to the statement.
- Ezekiel 25:16 sn This is a name for the Philistines, many of whom migrated to Palestine from Crete.
- Ezekiel 25:17 tn Heb “with acts of punishment of anger.”
Ezekiel 25
Common English Bible
Against the neighboring nations
25 The Lord’s word came to me: 2 Human one, face the Ammonites and prophesy against them. 3 Say to the Ammonites: Hear the Lord God’s word! The Lord God proclaims: You laughed when my sanctuary was degraded, when Israel’s fertile land was laid waste, and when the house of Judah went into exile; 4 therefore, I’m handing you over to people in the east for them to take possession. They will set up their encampments against you, establish residence, devour your fruit, and drink your milk. 5 I’ll make Rabbah into pastureland for camels and Ammon a resting place for flocks. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
6 The Lord God proclaims: Because you clapped your hands and stamped your feet when you rejoiced with utter contempt for Israel’s fertile land, 7 I’m about to overpower you. Nations will plunder you. I will cut you off from the peoples, remove you from the lands, and utterly destroy you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
8 The Lord God proclaims: Because Moab and Seir say, “Aha! The house of Judah has become like all the nations,” 9 I’ll open up the flank of Moab from the cities at its border, the land’s splendid cities, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim. 10 I’ll hand it over, along with the Ammonites, to people in the east for them to take possession. And so Ammon will no longer be remembered among the nations. 11 I’ll execute judgments in Moab, and they will know that I am the Lord.
12 The Lord God proclaims: Edom acted with excessive force against the house of Judah. The Judeans were guilty, but Edom’s vengeance was excessive. 13 So the Lord God now proclaims: I’ll overpower Edom, eliminate all living creatures, and make it a wasteland from Teman to Dedan. They will fall by the sword. 14 I will execute my vengeance in Edom through my people Israel’s power. They will act in Edom according to my anger and fury, and they will know my vengeance. This is what the Lord God says.
15 The Lord God proclaims: When the Philistines set out to right the wrongs done to them, they enacted revenge with utter contempt and old hatreds. 16 So now the Lord God proclaims: I will overpower the Philistines, eliminate the Cherethites, and obliterate all who are left along the coastline. 17 I will act against them with great vengeance and with wrathful punishments. When I execute my vengeance against them, they will know that I am the Lord.
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