A Prophecy Against Edom

35 The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir;(A) prophesy against it and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Mount Seir, and I will stretch out my hand(B) against you and make you a desolate waste.(C) I will turn your towns into ruins(D) and you will be desolate. Then you will know that I am the Lord.(E)

“‘Because you harbored an ancient hostility and delivered the Israelites over to the sword(F) at the time of their calamity,(G) the time their punishment reached its climax,(H) therefore as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will give you over to bloodshed(I) and it will pursue you.(J) Since you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you. I will make Mount Seir a desolate waste(K) and cut off from it all who come and go.(L) I will fill your mountains with the slain; those killed by the sword will fall on your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines.(M) I will make you desolate forever;(N) your towns will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the Lord.(O)

10 “‘Because you have said, “These two nations and countries will be ours and we will take possession(P) of them,” even though I the Lord was there, 11 therefore as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will treat you in accordance with the anger(Q) and jealousy you showed in your hatred of them and I will make myself known among them when I judge you.(R) 12 Then you will know that I the Lord have heard all the contemptible things you have said against the mountains of Israel. You said, “They have been laid waste and have been given over to us to devour.(S) 13 You boasted(T) against me and spoke against me without restraint, and I heard it.(U) 14 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: While the whole earth rejoices, I will make you desolate.(V) 15 Because you rejoiced(W) when the inheritance of Israel became desolate, that is how I will treat you. You will be desolate, Mount Seir,(X) you and all of Edom.(Y) Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”

35 The word of the Eternal came to me with a message for Edom.

Eternal One: Son of man, turn toward Mount Seir and preach against it. Tell the Edomites that this is what the Eternal Lord has to say:

    Pay attention! I oppose you, Mount Seir!
        I will raise My hand against you, strike you,
        and leave you an empty wasteland.
    I will turn your cities to rubble,
        and you will lie desolate and deserted.
    Then you will know that I am the Eternal One.

You held an old grudge against the Israelites, and you handed them over to death and defeat when they were in the midst of disaster, at a crucial moment of their final punishment.

Israel has no more implacable enemy than Edom. As the descendants of Esau, whose brother Jacob stole his birthright and his father’s blessing, the Edomites view the Israelites as illegitimate rulers and thieves. So shortly after Nebuchadnezzar razes Jerusalem in 586 b.c., Edom seizes its opportunity for revenge and swoops in to fill the political vacuum that results. The Edomites are not operating as God’s instruments. They attack Israel out of their own greed, thinking no one is left to oppose them. They are wrong. The land of Israel never belongs to the people themselves; it belongs to God. When the Edomites sneak in to pillage the land of Israel, they find the stewards of the land gone or severely weakened, but the true Owner is at home and is ready to prosecute them for their actions.

Eternal One: As surely as I, the Eternal Lord, live, what you have given, you will receive! I will hand you over to bloodshed, and it will come after you. Because you have been quick to shed blood, I will make your blood flow! I will leave Mount Seir an empty wasteland and destroy any who come and go. I will spread your corpses upon the mountains; all those slaughtered in battle will fill the hills and valleys and riverbeds! I will turn you into an eternal wasteland; your cities and towns will lie empty and silent. Then you will know that I am the Eternal.

10 You keep saying, “We will take possession of these two countries and two nations—Israel and Judah. We will own them.” And you have the nerve to say this right in front of Me! 11 Consequently, as surely as I, the Eternal Lord, live, the rage and jealousy you have shown as a result of your hatred of them will be returned to you. When I judge you, I will show them who I am and remind them they are still mine. 12 When that day arrives, you will know that I, the Eternal One, have overheard all the despicable threats you made against Israel’s mountains: “They’re nothing but rubble! They’re as good as ours; let’s take what we want!” 13 You said so many haughty things against Me, and I heard every word of it.

14 This is what the Eternal God has to say.

Eternal One: While everyone else in the world sings songs and has happy feasts, I will leave you empty and desolate. 15 Since you celebrated the destruction of the land Israel was meant to inherit, I’m going to treat you the same way. O Mount Seir, you and the rest of Edom will be turned into an empty wasteland! Then you will know that I am the Eternal One.

Prophecy against Mount Seir

35 Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir (Edom), and prophesy against it and say to it, ‘Thus says the Lord God,

“Behold, Mount Seir, I am against you,
And I will stretch out My hand against you
And make you completely desolate.

“I will destroy your cities
And you will become a wasteland.
Then you shall know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.

Because you [descendants of Esau] have had an everlasting hatred [for Jacob (Israel)] and you handed over the sons of Israel to the power of the sword at the time of their tragedy, at the time of their final punishment [the Babylonian conquest],(A) therefore, as I live,” says the Lord God, “I will hand you over to bloodshed, and bloodshed will pursue you since you have not hated bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you. I will make Mount Seir (Edom) a ruin and a desolate wasteland and I will cut off from it the one who passes through it and the one who returns. I will fill its mountains with its slain; those killed by the sword will fall on your hills, and in your valleys, and in all your ravines. I will make you an everlasting desolation and your [a]cities will not be inhabited. Then you will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.

10 “Because you [descendants of Esau] have said, ‘These two nations [Israel and Judah] and these two lands shall be mine, and we will take possession of them,’ although the Lord was there, 11 therefore, as I live,” says the Lord God, “I will deal with you in accordance with the anger and envy you showed because of your hatred for them; and I will make Myself known among them [as Judge] when I judge and punish you. 12 Then you will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord, and that I have heard all your scornful speeches which you have spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, ‘They have been made a wasteland; they have been given to us as food.’ 13 So you have boasted and spoken arrogantly against Me, and have multiplied your words against Me; I have heard it.” 14 Thus says the Lord God, “While the whole earth rejoices, I will make you a wasteland. 15 As you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel because it was desolate, so I will do to you; you will be a desolate waste, O Mount Seir, and all Edom, all of it. Then they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.”’

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 35:9 The Edomites gave whatever help they could to Nebuchadnezzar when he captured Judah (Ps 137:7; Obad 11-14). Later these cousins of the Israelites were pushed out of their own country into southern Judea; Hebron became their chief city. When in a.d. 70 the Romans under Titus besieged Jerusalem, Josephus says that the Edomites joined the Jews in rebellion against the attackers, and 20,000 were admitted into the city as defenders of the Holy City. But once in, they pillaged the city, raping and killing, not even sparing the priests—though these traitors themselves had been previously forced to become circumcised and recognized as Jews. The Roman conqueror destroyed them, and Edom ceased to be. The forecasts of the prophets regarding Edom are in striking contrast to those of their neighbors, Moab and Ammon. The latter two countries were to suffer great and severe judgments, as was Edom. But restoration and renewed prosperity were promised to them “in the latter days” (Jer 48:47; 49:6), while Edom was never to be rebuilt.