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Judgment on Mount Seir

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

“Behold, O Mount Seir, I am against you;
(C)I will stretch out My hand against you,
And make you [a]most desolate;
I shall lay your cities waste,
And you shall be desolate.
Then you shall know that I am the Lord.

(D)“Because you have had an [b]ancient hatred, and have shed the blood of the children of Israel by the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, (E)when their iniquity came to an end, therefore, as I live,” says the Lord God, “I will prepare you for (F)blood, and blood shall pursue you; (G)since you have not hated [c]blood, therefore blood shall pursue you. Thus I will make Mount Seir [d]most desolate, and cut off from it the (H)one who leaves and the one who returns. And I will fill its mountains with the slain; on your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines those who are slain by the sword shall fall. (I)I will make you [e]perpetually desolate, and your cities shall be uninhabited; (J)then you shall know that I am the Lord.

10 “Because you have said, ‘These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will (K)possess them,’ although (L)the Lord was there, 11 therefore, as I live,” says the Lord God, “I will do (M)according to your anger and according to the envy which you showed in your hatred against them; and I will make Myself known among them when I judge you. 12 (N)Then you shall know that I am the Lord. I have (O)heard all your (P)blasphemies which you have spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, ‘They are desolate; they are given to us to consume.’ 13 Thus (Q)with your mouth you have [f]boasted against Me and multiplied your (R)words against Me; I have heard them.

14 ‘Thus says the Lord God: (S)“The whole earth will rejoice when I make you desolate. 15 (T)As you rejoiced because the inheritance of the house of Israel was desolate, (U)so I will do to you; you shall be desolate, O Mount Seir, as well as all of Edom—all of it! Then they shall know that I am the Lord.” ’

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 35:3 Lit. a desolation and a waste
  2. Ezekiel 35:5 Or everlasting
  3. Ezekiel 35:6 Or bloodshed
  4. Ezekiel 35:7 Lit. a waste and a desolation
  5. Ezekiel 35:9 Lit. desolated forever
  6. Ezekiel 35:13 Lit. made yourself great

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.’”

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.

A Message for Edom

35 Again a message came to me from the Lord: “Son of man, turn and face Mount Seir, and prophesy against its people. Give them this message from the Sovereign Lord:

“I am your enemy, O Mount Seir,
    and I will raise my fist against you
    to destroy you completely.
I will demolish your cities
    and make you desolate.
Then you will know that I am the Lord.

“Your eternal hatred for the people of Israel led you to butcher them when they were helpless, when I had already punished them for all their sins. As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, since you show no distaste for blood, I will give you a bloodbath of your own. Your turn has come! I will make Mount Seir utterly desolate, killing off all who try to escape and any who return. I will fill your mountains with the dead. Your hills, your valleys, and your ravines will be filled with people slaughtered by the sword. I will make you desolate forever. Your cities will never be rebuilt. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

10 “For you said, ‘The lands of Israel and Judah will be ours. We will take possession of them. What do we care that the Lord is there!’ 11 Therefore, as surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I will pay back your angry deeds with my own. I will punish you for all your acts of anger, envy, and hatred. And I will make myself known to Israel[a] by what I do to you. 12 Then you will know that I, the Lord, have heard every contemptuous word you spoke against the mountains of Israel. For you said, ‘They are desolate; they have been given to us as food to eat!’ 13 In saying that, you boasted proudly against me, and I have heard it all!

14 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The whole world will rejoice when I make you desolate. 15 You rejoiced at the desolation of Israel’s territory. Now I will rejoice at yours! You will be wiped out, you people of Mount Seir and all who live in Edom! Then you will know that I am the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. 35:11 Hebrew to them; Greek version reads to you.

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!’”