Ezekiel 35

The Voice

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

Eternal One: ²Son of man, turn toward Mount Seir and preach against it. ³Tell 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.
⁴    I will turn your cities to rubble,
        and you will lie desolate and deserted.
    Then you will know that I am the Eternal One.

⁵You 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: ⁶As 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! ⁷I will leave Mount Seir an empty wasteland and destroy any who come and go. ⁸I will spread your corpses upon the mountains; all those slaughtered in battle will fill the hills and valleys and riverbeds! ⁹I 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.

¹⁰You 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! ¹¹Consequently, 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. ¹²When 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!” ¹³You said so many haughty things against Me, and I heard every word of it.

¹⁴This 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. ¹⁵Since 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.