American King James Version - AKJV - 1999
Ezekiel 35
1
Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
3
And say to it, Thus said the Lord GOD; Behold, O mount Seir, I am against you, and I will stretch out my hand against you, and I will make you most desolate.
Reference
4
I will lay your cities waste, and you shall be desolate, and you shall know that I am the LORD.
Reference
References Lord
Ezekiel 35:9
5
Because you have had a perpetual hatred, and have shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time that their iniquity had an end:
Reference
6
Therefore, as I live, said the Lord GOD, I will prepare you to blood, and blood shall pursue you: since you have not hated blood, even blood shall pursue you.
Reference
7
Thus will I make mount Seir most desolate, and cut off from it him that passes out and him that returns.
Reference
8
And I will fill his mountains with his slain men: in your hills, and in your valleys, and in all your rivers, shall they fall that are slain with the sword.
Reference
Parallel theme
Ezekiel 31:12
9
I will make you perpetual desolations, and your cities shall not return: and you shall know that I am the LORD.
Reference
10
Because you have said, These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess it; whereas the LORD was there:
Reference
Parallel theme
Isaiah 12:6
Obadiah 1:13
References Lord
Ezekiel 36:5
Ezekiel 48:35
Ezekiel 36:2
Zechariah 2:5
Zephaniah 3:15
11
Therefore, as I live, said the Lord GOD, I will even do according to your anger, and according to your envy which you have used out of your hatred against them; and I will make myself known among them, when I have judged you.
Reference
12
And you shall know that I am the LORD, and that I have heard all your blasphemies which you have spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid desolate, they are given us to consume.
Reference
13
Thus with your mouth you have boasted against me, and have multiplied your words against me: I have heard them.
Reference
14
Thus said the Lord GOD; When the whole earth rejoices, I will make you desolate.
Summary of Ezekiel 35
Ezekiel 35 is a focused prophecy against Mount Seir and the nation of Edom, condemning its long-standing hatred toward Israel, its participation in violence during Judah's crisis, its celebration of Jerusalem's destruction, and its ambition to take possession of Israel's land when Judah appeared helpless, while God promises to turn Edom's own hostility back upon it and make its territory desolate.
The chapter begins with God telling Ezekiel to set his face against Mount Seir, a mountainous region representing Edom.
Edom had a particularly complicated relationship with Israel because the two peoples were connected through their ancestry, yet their relationship was repeatedly marked by hostility, rivalry, territorial disputes, and resentment.
By the time of Ezekiel, this hostility had become especially serious because Edom had taken advantage of Judah's catastrophe.
When Jerusalem was destroyed by Babylon, Edom saw the collapse of its neighboring rival as an opportunity rather than responding with compassion.
The chapter therefore focuses heavily on Edom's attitude toward Judah during its suffering.
God says that Edom had maintained an ancient hatred and had helped deliver Israel into the hands of the sword during a time of national disaster.
The accusation is not simply that Edom disliked Israel, but that it used Israel's weakness as an opportunity to advance its own interests.
Edom wanted the land of Judah for itself and apparently believed that the destruction of Jerusalem had removed the obstacle preventing it from taking control.
God responds by emphasizing that the land ultimately belongs to Him, so Edom's attempt to claim it is not merely a political ambition but an act of arrogance against God's purposes.
The chapter repeatedly emphasizes that God has heard Edom's words.
This is significant because Edom appears to believe that its boasts are politically harmless, especially while Judah is defeated and Babylon dominates the region.
Yet God declares that He has heard the insults spoken against Israel's mountains and has seen the anger and jealousy behind Edom's actions.
The message is that political circumstances do not determine ultimate ownership or authority.
A nation may appear powerful because its neighbor has been defeated, but God's purposes cannot be rewritten simply because circumstances temporarily favor one kingdom over another.
Edom's confidence therefore becomes part of the reason for its judgment.
The chapter also uses a principle of reversal.
Edom celebrated when Israel's inheritance was destroyed, so Edom itself will experience desolation.
Edom wanted to see Judah's territory emptied so that it could possess the land, and God declares that Edom's own territory will become empty.
Edom participated in the violence surrounding Judah's downfall, and God declares that bloodshed will pursue Edom.
The judgment therefore reflects the character of Edom's own behavior.
The mountains, valleys, and ravines of Mount Seir are described as becoming filled with the dead, while the cities and settlements become deserted.
The land that Edom hoped to acquire from Israel becomes itself a place of devastation.
This is one of the chapter's strongest lessons: using another person's disaster as an opportunity for personal gain can ultimately become the path toward one's own destruction.
The chapter also emphasizes that Edom's problem is not merely political ambition but hatred, anger, jealousy, and pride.
These inner attitudes eventually produce destructive actions.
Edom does not simply want security for itself; it wants Israel to lose its inheritance.
It does not merely survive Judah's defeat; it rejoices over it.
It does not simply observe the destruction of Jerusalem; it treats that destruction as an opportunity to expand its own territory.
God therefore judges both the actions and the motives behind them.
Historically, Edom's relationship with Judah had been tense for centuries, and biblical traditions repeatedly remember conflicts between the two peoples.
The Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC created a particularly vulnerable moment for Judah, and Edom's behavior during and after this catastrophe became a major reason for prophetic condemnation.
The exact historical details of Edom's involvement are debated, but the prophetic tradition consistently presents Edom as having responded to Judah's disaster with hostility and opportunism.
Ezekiel 35 therefore fits into a broader collection of prophetic messages against neighboring nations that had taken advantage of Judah's suffering.
The final message is that God remains sovereign over the land and over the nations, even when His people appear powerless.
Israel's defeat does not mean that God has abandoned His purposes, and Edom's temporary advantage does not mean that Edom has received permanent authority over Israel's inheritance.
The central message is that Ezekiel 35 condemns Edom, represented by Mount Seir, because its ancient hatred toward Israel became especially destructive when Judah suffered under Babylon, with Edom treating Jerusalem's destruction as an opportunity for revenge, territorial expansion, and the possession of Israel's inheritance, while God declares that He has seen Edom's violence, heard its proud words, recognized the anger and jealousy behind its actions, and will therefore turn its own desire for Judah's desolation into judgment against Edom itself, making its mountains, valleys, cities, and settlements desolate, demonstrating that political opportunity does not give a nation the right to seize what belongs to God, and showing that pride, hatred, jealousy, and the exploitation of another people's suffering can ultimately bring destruction upon those who practice them, while the chapter ultimately reassures God's people that even when their land appears lost and their enemies appear victorious, God's purposes remain secure and He remains able to judge the nations that rejoice over the suffering of His people.
The chapter begins with God telling Ezekiel to set his face against Mount Seir, a mountainous region representing Edom.
Edom had a particularly complicated relationship with Israel because the two peoples were connected through their ancestry, yet their relationship was repeatedly marked by hostility, rivalry, territorial disputes, and resentment.
By the time of Ezekiel, this hostility had become especially serious because Edom had taken advantage of Judah's catastrophe.
When Jerusalem was destroyed by Babylon, Edom saw the collapse of its neighboring rival as an opportunity rather than responding with compassion.
The chapter therefore focuses heavily on Edom's attitude toward Judah during its suffering.
God says that Edom had maintained an ancient hatred and had helped deliver Israel into the hands of the sword during a time of national disaster.
The accusation is not simply that Edom disliked Israel, but that it used Israel's weakness as an opportunity to advance its own interests.
Edom wanted the land of Judah for itself and apparently believed that the destruction of Jerusalem had removed the obstacle preventing it from taking control.
God responds by emphasizing that the land ultimately belongs to Him, so Edom's attempt to claim it is not merely a political ambition but an act of arrogance against God's purposes.
The chapter repeatedly emphasizes that God has heard Edom's words.
This is significant because Edom appears to believe that its boasts are politically harmless, especially while Judah is defeated and Babylon dominates the region.
Yet God declares that He has heard the insults spoken against Israel's mountains and has seen the anger and jealousy behind Edom's actions.
The message is that political circumstances do not determine ultimate ownership or authority.
A nation may appear powerful because its neighbor has been defeated, but God's purposes cannot be rewritten simply because circumstances temporarily favor one kingdom over another.
Edom's confidence therefore becomes part of the reason for its judgment.
The chapter also uses a principle of reversal.
Edom celebrated when Israel's inheritance was destroyed, so Edom itself will experience desolation.
Edom wanted to see Judah's territory emptied so that it could possess the land, and God declares that Edom's own territory will become empty.
Edom participated in the violence surrounding Judah's downfall, and God declares that bloodshed will pursue Edom.
The judgment therefore reflects the character of Edom's own behavior.
The mountains, valleys, and ravines of Mount Seir are described as becoming filled with the dead, while the cities and settlements become deserted.
The land that Edom hoped to acquire from Israel becomes itself a place of devastation.
This is one of the chapter's strongest lessons: using another person's disaster as an opportunity for personal gain can ultimately become the path toward one's own destruction.
The chapter also emphasizes that Edom's problem is not merely political ambition but hatred, anger, jealousy, and pride.
These inner attitudes eventually produce destructive actions.
Edom does not simply want security for itself; it wants Israel to lose its inheritance.
It does not merely survive Judah's defeat; it rejoices over it.
It does not simply observe the destruction of Jerusalem; it treats that destruction as an opportunity to expand its own territory.
God therefore judges both the actions and the motives behind them.
Historically, Edom's relationship with Judah had been tense for centuries, and biblical traditions repeatedly remember conflicts between the two peoples.
The Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC created a particularly vulnerable moment for Judah, and Edom's behavior during and after this catastrophe became a major reason for prophetic condemnation.
The exact historical details of Edom's involvement are debated, but the prophetic tradition consistently presents Edom as having responded to Judah's disaster with hostility and opportunism.
Ezekiel 35 therefore fits into a broader collection of prophetic messages against neighboring nations that had taken advantage of Judah's suffering.
The final message is that God remains sovereign over the land and over the nations, even when His people appear powerless.
Israel's defeat does not mean that God has abandoned His purposes, and Edom's temporary advantage does not mean that Edom has received permanent authority over Israel's inheritance.
The central message is that Ezekiel 35 condemns Edom, represented by Mount Seir, because its ancient hatred toward Israel became especially destructive when Judah suffered under Babylon, with Edom treating Jerusalem's destruction as an opportunity for revenge, territorial expansion, and the possession of Israel's inheritance, while God declares that He has seen Edom's violence, heard its proud words, recognized the anger and jealousy behind its actions, and will therefore turn its own desire for Judah's desolation into judgment against Edom itself, making its mountains, valleys, cities, and settlements desolate, demonstrating that political opportunity does not give a nation the right to seize what belongs to God, and showing that pride, hatred, jealousy, and the exploitation of another people's suffering can ultimately bring destruction upon those who practice them, while the chapter ultimately reassures God's people that even when their land appears lost and their enemies appear victorious, God's purposes remain secure and He remains able to judge the nations that rejoice over the suffering of His people.