Ezekiel 35

God tells Ezekiel to speak against Mount Seir, the home of Edom, Israel’s neighbor and relative. Edom had nursed a long hatred, helped hand Israel over to the sword, and gloated over Israel’s ruin. God promises to make Edom desolate, so that Edom will know that He is the LORD.

Ezekiel 35:1-2

The word of the LORD comes again to Ezekiel. He is told to turn toward Mount Seir, the hill country of Edom, and speak against it. The prophet must face the very people God is about to judge, and say what God says.

BSA: set (“appoint, place”): Ezekiel’s stance is deliberate, a purposeful appointment to confront Edom with God’s message.

Hebrew: שִׂים (sim, H7760) — “set, fix, place.” The command is to fix his face firmly in one direction, like a man who will not look away. It shows the seriousness and settled purpose of the judgment.

See also: Ezekiel 6:2.

Ezekiel 35:3-4

God declares that He Himself is against Seir. His outstretched hand will turn its cities to ruins. The purpose goes beyond punishment: through the ruin Edom will be forced to recognize who the LORD really is.

BSA: desolate (“wasted or devastated”): The land will be emptied and left in horror, the opposite of the fruitful life God intends.

See also: Obadiah 1:1-4.

Ezekiel 35:5

Edom’s sin was an old, settled hatred. When Israel was struck down in its day of calamity, Edom did not pity them but helped hand them over to the sword. Rejoicing over a brother’s downfall is a serious sin.

BSA: ancient (“long-standing, age-old”): This hatred was not a sudden outburst but a grudge passed down through generations.

Hebrew: עוֹלָם (ʿolam, H5769) — “ancient, lasting, age-long.” The word reaches far back in time. Edom’s grudge goes back to Esau and Jacob, the twin brothers whose descendants never made peace.

See also: Obadiah 1:10-14; Genesis 27:41.

Ezekiel 35:6

The punishment fits the crime. Edom did not hate bloodshed, so bloodshed will hunt it down. Those who delight in violence cannot escape it forever; God makes their own way of living come back on them.

BSA: pursue (“chase, hunt”): The violence Edom loved will become a hunter that tracks Edom down.

See also: Genesis 9:6; Psalm 7:15-16.

Ezekiel 35:7-8

Seir will become empty and silent, with no travelers on its roads. Its hills, valleys and ravines will be filled with those killed by the sword. The whole land, from top to bottom, will be a field of the dead.

BSA: cut off (“destroy, eliminate”): Even the traffic of travelers passing through will end, showing how complete the emptiness will be.

Ezekiel 35:9

Edom’s desolation is described as lasting, with cities no longer inhabited. Again the aim is the same: that Edom will know the LORD. Judgment, when it comes, reveals that God is real and that He sees what nations do.

BSA: perpetual (“everlasting, forever”): The ruin is not temporary but a lasting witness to God’s justice.

See also: Isaiah 34:5-10.

Ezekiel 35:10

Edom said that Israel and Judah, the two nations, would be theirs to possess. They forgot one thing: the LORD was there. The land was God’s, and Israel’s fall did not mean God had abandoned it.

BSA: nations (“Gentile, non-Hebrew peoples”): Edom looked on Israel and Judah as just two more peoples to be seized, ignoring God’s covenant claim on them.

See also: Psalm 83:4-5.

Ezekiel 35:11

God swears by His own life that He will repay Edom’s anger and jealousy according to what it showed. By judging Edom, God will make Himself known among His own people, showing that He had not forgotten them.

BSA: jealousy (“strong feelings of envy, zeal”): Edom’s envy was a sinful grudge against Israel’s place, far from the holy zeal God Himself has for His people.

Ezekiel 35:12-13

God heard every scornful word. Edom called Israel’s mountains desolate and said they were handed over to be devoured. But such boasts were really against God Himself. Nothing said in secret or in pride escapes His ears.

BSA: heard (“listened to, gave attention to”): God was no distant observer; He gave careful attention to every word of scorn. contemptuous (“blasphemous, scornful”): Mocking God’s people was treated as speaking against God Himself.

See also: Matthew 12:36; Psalm 12:3-4.

Ezekiel 35:14-15

Edom rejoiced when Israel’s land lay waste, so the same will be done to Edom. The whole earth will rejoice at Edom’s fall. Measure for measure, God repays gloating. Once more, the outcome is that they will know the LORD.

BSA: rejoiced (“with great joy, celebrated”): Edom’s celebration over Israel’s ruin is the very thing that brings the same ruin back on Edom.

See also: Obadiah 1:15; Proverbs 24:17-18.