Ezekiel 35
Good News Translation
God's Punishment of Edom
35 (A)The Lord spoke to me. 2 “Mortal man,” he said, “denounce the country of Edom. 3 Tell the people what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying:
“I am your enemy, mountains of Edom!
I will make you a desolate wasteland.
4 I will leave your cities in ruins
And your land desolate;
Then you will know that I am the Lord.
5 “You were Israel's constant enemy and let her people be slaughtered in the time of her disaster, the time of final punishment for her sins. 6 So then—as surely as I, the Sovereign Lord, am the living God—death is your fate, and you cannot escape it. You are guilty of[a] murder, and murder will follow you. 7 I will make the hill country of Edom a wasteland and kill everyone who travels through it. 8 I will cover the mountains with corpses, and the bodies of those who are killed in battle will cover the hills and valleys. 9 I will make you desolate forever, and no one will live in your cities again. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
10 “You said that the two nations, Judah and Israel, together with their lands, belonged to you and that you would possess them, even though I, the Lord, was their God. 11 So then, as surely as I, the Sovereign Lord, am the living God, I will pay you back for your anger, your jealousy, and your hate toward my people. They will know that I am punishing you for what you did to them. 12 Then you will know that I, the Lord, heard you say with contempt that the mountains of Israel were desolate and that they were yours to devour. 13 I have heard the wild, boastful way you have talked against me.”
14 The Sovereign Lord says, “I will make you so desolate that the whole world will rejoice at your downfall, 15 just as you rejoiced at the devastation of Israel, my own possession. The mountains of Seir, yes, all the land of Edom, will be desolate. Then everyone will know that I am the Lord.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 35:6 One ancient translation are guilty of; Hebrew hate.
Ezekiel 35
New American Standard Bible
Prophecy against Mount Seir
35 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, set your face against (A)Mount Seir, and prophesy against it 3 and say to it, ‘This is what the Lord [a]God says:
“Behold, I am against you, Mount Seir,
And I will (B)reach out with My hand against you
And make you a (C)desolation and a waste.
4 I will (D)turn your cities to ruins,
And you will become a desolation.
Then you will know that I am the Lord.
5 Since you have had everlasting (E)hostility and have turned over the sons of Israel to the power of the sword at the time of their disaster, at the time of the [b](F)punishment of the end, 6 therefore as I live,” declares the Lord God, “I will certainly [c]doom you to (G)bloodshed, and bloodshed will pursue you; since you have not hated bloodshed, therefore bloodshed will pursue you. 7 I will make Mount Seir a waste and a desolation and I will eliminate from it one who passes through and returns. 8 I will (H)fill its mountains with its slain; those killed by the sword will fall on your hills, in your valleys, and in all your ravines. 9 I will make you a permanent (I)desolation, and your cities will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
10 “Since you have (J)said, ‘These two nations and these two lands will be mine, and we will possess [d]them,’ although the (K)Lord was there, 11 therefore as I live,” declares the Lord God, “I will deal with you (L)according to your anger and according to your envy which you displayed because of your hatred for them; so I will (M)make Myself known among them when I judge you. 12 Then you will know [e]that I, the Lord, have heard all your insults which you have spoken against the mountains of Israel saying, ‘They are desolate; they have been (N)given to us as food.’ 13 And you have [f](O)spoken arrogantly against Me and have multiplied your words against Me; (P)I Myself have heard it.” 14 This is what the Lord God says: “As all the (Q)earth rejoices, I will make you a desolation. 15 As you (R)rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel because it was desolate, (S)so I will do to you. You will be a (T)desolation, Mount Seir, and all Edom, all of it. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”’
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 35:3 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
- Ezekiel 35:5 Or injustice
- Ezekiel 35:6 Lit make bloodshed of you
- Ezekiel 35:10 Lit it
- Ezekiel 35:12 Or that I am the Lord: I have heard
- Ezekiel 35:13 Lit magnified yourselves with your mouth
Ezekiel 35
The Message
A Pile of Rubble
35 1-4 God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, confront Mount Seir. Prophesy against it! Tell them, ‘God, the Master, says:
“‘I’m coming down hard on you, Mount Seir.
I’m stepping in and turning you to a pile of rubble.
I’ll reduce your towns to piles of rocks.
There’ll be nothing left of you.
Then you’ll realize that I am God.
5-9 “‘I’m doing this because you’ve kept this age-old grudge going against Israel: You viciously attacked them when they were already down, looking their final punishment in the face. Therefore, as sure as I am the living God, I’m lining you up for a real bloodbath. Since you loved blood so much, you’ll be chased by rivers of blood. I’ll reduce Mount Seir to a heap of rubble. No one will either come or go from that place! I’ll blanket your mountains with corpses. Massacred bodies will cover your hills and fill up your valleys and ditches. I’ll reduce you to ruins and all your towns will be ghost towns—population zero. Then you’ll realize that I am God.
10-13 “‘Because you said, “These two nations, these two countries, are mine. I’m taking over” (even though God is right there watching, right there listening), I’ll turn your hate-bloated anger and rage right back on you. You’ll know I mean business when I bring judgment on you. You’ll realize then that I, God, have overheard all the vile abuse you’ve poured out against the mountains of Israel, saying, “They’re roadkill and we’re going to eat them up.” You’ve strutted around, talking so big, insolently pitting yourselves against me. And I’ve heard it all.
14-15 “‘This is the verdict of God, the Master: With the whole earth applauding, I’ll demolish you. Since you danced in the streets, thinking it was so wonderful when Israel’s inheritance was demolished, I’ll give you the same treatment: demolition. Mount Seir demolished—yes, every square inch of Edom. Then they’ll realize that I am God!’”
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Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson