Ezekiel 25

A Prophecy Against Ammon

1The word of the Lord came to me: 2“Son of man, turn toward
Heb “set your face toward.”
the Ammonites
Heb “the sons of Ammon.” Ammon was located to the east of Israel.
and prophesy against them.
3Say to the Ammonites, ‘Hear the word of the sovereign Lord: This is what the sovereign Lord says: You said “Aha!” about my sanctuary when it was desecrated, about the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and about the house of Judah when they went into exile. 4So take note,
The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates being aware of or taking notice of something and has been translated here with a verb (so also throughout the chapter).
I am about to make you slaves of
Heb “Look I am about to give you for a possession to.”
the tribes
Heb “sons.”
of the east. They will make camps among you and pitch their tents among you. They will eat your fruit and drink your milk.
5I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels and Ammon
Heb “the sons of Ammon.”
a resting place for sheep. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
6For this is what the sovereign Lord says: Because you clapped your hands, stamped your feet, and rejoiced with intense scorn
Heb “with all your scorn in (the) soul.”
over the land of Israel,
7take note, I have stretched out my hand against you, and I will hand you over as plunder
The translation here follows the marginal reading (Qere) of the Hebrew text. The consonantal text (Kethib) is meaningless.
to the nations. I will cut you off from the peoples and make you perish from the lands. I will destroy you; then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

A Prophecy Against Moab

8 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘Moab
Moab was located immediately south of Ammon.
and Seir say, “Look, the house of Judah is like all the other nations.”
9So look, I am about to open up Moab’s flank,
Heb “shoulder.”
eliminating the cities,
Heb “from the cities.” The verb “eliminating” has been added in the translation to reflect the privative use of the preposition (see BDB 583 s.v. מִן 7.b).
including its frontier cities,
Heb “from its cities, from its end.”
the beauty of the land – Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon, and Kiriathaim.
10I will hand it over,
Heb “I will give it for a possession.”
along with the Ammonites,
Heb “the sons of Ammon” (twice in this verse).
to the tribes
Heb “the sons.”
of the east, so that the Ammonites will no longer be remembered among the nations.
11I will execute judgments against Moab. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”

A Prophecy Against Edom

12 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘Edom
Edom was located south of Moab.
has taken vengeance against the house of Judah; they have made themselves fully culpable
Heb “and they have become guilty, becoming guilty.” The infinitive absolute following the finite verb makes the statement emphatic and draws attention to the degree of guilt incurred by Edom due to its actions.
by taking vengeance
Heb “and they have taken vengeance.”
on them.
Edom apparently in some way assisted in the destruction of Jerusalem in 587/6 b.c. (Ps 137:7; Lam 5:21, 22; Joel 3:19; Obadiah).
13So this is what the sovereign Lord says: I will stretch out my hand against Edom, and I will kill the people and animals within her,
Heb “and I will cut off from her man and beast.”
and I will make her desolate; from Teman to Dedan they will die
Heb “fall.”
by the sword.
14I will exact my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel. They will carry out in Edom my anger and rage; they will experience
Heb “know.”
my vengeance, declares the sovereign Lord.’”

A Prophecy Against Philistia

15 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘The Philistines
The Philistines inhabited the coastal plain by the Mediterranean Sea, west of Judah.
have exacted merciless revenge,
Heb “have acted with vengeance and taken vengeance with vengeance.” The repetition emphasizes the degree of vengeance which they exhibited, presumably toward Judah.
showing intense scorn
Heb “with scorn in (the) soul.”
in their effort to destroy Judah
The object is not specified in the Hebrew text, but has been clarified as “Judah” in the translation.
with unrelenting hostility.
Heb “to destroy (with) perpetual hostility.” Joel 3:4–8 also speaks of the Philistines taking advantage of the fall of Judah.
16So this is what the sovereign Lord says: Take note, I am about to stretch out my hand against the Philistines. I will kill
In Hebrew the verb “and I will cut off” sounds like its object, “the Cherethites,” and draws attention to the statement.
the Cherethites
This is a name for the Philistines, many of whom migrated to Palestine from Crete.
and destroy those who remain on the seacoast.
17I will exact great vengeance upon them with angry rebukes.
Heb “with acts of punishment of anger.”
Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I exact my vengeance upon them.’”

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