A Prophecy against Edom

35 The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, face Mount Seir(A) and prophesy against it. Say to it, ‘This is what the Lord God says:

Look! I am against you, Mount Seir.
I will stretch out my hand against you
and make you a desolate waste.(B)
I will turn your cities into ruins,
and you will become a desolation.
Then you will know that I am the Lord.

“‘Because you maintained a perpetual hatred(C) and gave the Israelites over to the power of the sword in the time of their disaster, the time of final punishment,(D) therefore, as I live—this is the declaration of the Lord God—I will destine you for bloodshed, and it will pursue you. Since you did not hate bloodshed, it will pursue you.(E) I will make Mount Seir a desolate waste and will cut off from it those who come and go.(F) I will fill its mountains with the slain;(G) those slain by the sword will fall on your hills, in your valleys, and in all your ravines. I will make you a perpetual desolation; your cities will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

10 “‘Because you said, “These two nations and two lands will be mine, and we will possess them”—though the Lord was there(H) 11 therefore, as I live—this is the declaration of the Lord God—I will treat you according to the anger and jealousy you showed in your hatred of them. I will make myself known among them[a] when I judge you. 12 Then you will know that I, the Lord, have heard all the blasphemies you uttered against the mountains of Israel, saying, “They are desolate. They have been given to us to devour!” 13 You boasted against me(I) with your mouth, and spoke many words against me. I heard it myself!

14 “‘This is what the Lord God says: While the whole world rejoices, I will make you a desolation. 15 Just as you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel because it became a desolation, I will deal the same way with you: you will become a desolation, Mount Seir, and so will all Edom in its entirety. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’

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Footnotes

  1. 35:11 LXX reads you

Prophecy Against Mount Seir

35 The Lord’s message came to me: “Son of man, turn toward[a] Mount Seir,[b] and prophesy against it. Say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘Look, I am against you, Mount Seir;
I will stretch out my hand against you
and turn you into a desolate ruin.
I will lay waste your cities,
and you will become desolate.
Then you will know that I am the Lord!

“‘You have shown unrelenting hostility and poured the people of Israel onto the blades of a sword[c] at the time of their calamity, at the time of their final punishment. Therefore, as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will subject you to bloodshed, and bloodshed will pursue you. Since you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you. I will turn Mount Seir into a desolate ruin;[d] I will cut off[e] from it the one who passes through or returns. I will fill its mountains with its dead; on your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines, those killed by the sword will fall. I will turn you into a perpetual desolation, and your cities will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

10 “‘You said, “These two nations, these two lands[f] will be mine, and we will possess them,”[g] (although the Lord was there); 11 therefore, as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will deal with you according to your anger and your envy, by which you acted spitefully against them. I will reveal myself to them when I judge you. 12 Then you will know that I, the Lord, have heard all the insults you spoke against the mountains of Israel, saying, “They are desolate; they have been given to us for food.” 13 You exalted yourselves against me with your speech[h] and hurled many insults against me[i]—I have heard them all! 14 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: While the whole earth rejoices, I will turn you into a desolation. 15 As you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel because it was desolate, so will I deal with you—you will be desolate, Mount Seir, and all Edom—all of it! Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 35:2 tn Heb “set your face against.”
  2. Ezekiel 35:2 sn Mount Seir is to be identified with Edom (Ezek 35:15), home of Esau’s descendants (Gen 25:21-30).
  3. Ezekiel 35:5 tn Or “gave over…to the power of the sword.” This phrase also occurs in Jer 18:21 and Ps 63:10.
  4. Ezekiel 35:7 tc The translation reads with some manuscripts לְשִׁמְמָה וּמְשַׁמָּה (leshimemah umeshammah, “desolate ruin”) as in verse 3 and often in Ezekiel. The majority reading reverses the first mem (מ) with the shin (שׁ), resulting in the repetition of the word desolate: לְשִׁמְמָה וּשְׁמָמָה (leshimemah ushemamah).
  5. Ezekiel 35:7 tn Or “kill.”
  6. Ezekiel 35:10 sn The reference is to Israel and Judah.
  7. Ezekiel 35:10 tn Heb “it.”
  8. Ezekiel 35:13 tn Heb “your mouth.”
  9. Ezekiel 35:13 tn Heb “and you multiplied against me your words.” The Hebrew verb occurs only here and in Prov 27:6, where it refers to the “excessive” kisses of an enemy. The basic idea of the verb appears to be “to be abundant.” Here it occurs in the causative (Hiphil) stem.