Ezekiel 35:1-12 · Bible study
Ezekiel 35:1-12 Commentary: The Fall of Edom
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Ezekiel's prophecy against Mount Seir (Edom) reveals God's justice against those who hate His people, making way for Israel's restoration.
Research Summary
- Meaning: God judges Edom for its perpetual hatred and aggression against Israel, making it a perpetual desolation.
- Key words: perpetual hatred (v.5), blood (v.6), desolation/astonishment (vv.3-9), Yahweh was there (v.10).
- Main debate: Whether Edom is only a historical nation or a type for all enemies of God's people; the literal versus typological reading.
- Theological theme: God's vindication of His people and His holy presence in the land.
- Best use: Comfort for the oppressed; warning against pride and gloating over others; preparation for the hope of restoration.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
1Moreover, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2“Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir and prophesy against it,
3and declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I am against you, O Mount Seir. I will stretch out My hand against you and make you a desolate waste.
4I will turn your cities into ruins, and you will become a desolation. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
5Because you harbored an ancient hatred and delivered the Israelites over to the sword in the time of their disaster at the final stage of their punishment,
6therefore as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I will give you over to bloodshed and it will pursue you. Since you did not hate bloodshed, it will pursue you.
7I will make Mount Seir a desolate waste and will cut off from it those who come and go.
8I will fill its mountains with the slain; those killed by the sword will fall on your hills, in your valleys, and in all your ravines.
9I will make you a perpetual desolation, and your cities will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
10Because you have said, ‘These two nations and countries will be ours, and we will possess them,’ even though the LORD was there,
11therefore as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I will treat you according to the anger and jealousy you showed in your hatred against them, and I will make Myself known among them when I judge you.
12Then you will know that I, the LORD, have heard every contemptuous word you uttered against the mountains of Israel when you said, ‘They are desolate; they are given to us to devour!’
WEB World English Bible 2000
1Moreover Yahweh’s word came to me, saying,
2“Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir, and prophesy against it,
3and tell it, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Behold, I am against you, Mount Seir, and I will stretch out my hand against you. I will make you a desolation and an astonishment.
4I will lay your cities waste, and you will be desolate. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.
5“‘“Because you have had a perpetual hostility, and have given over the children of Israel to the power of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time of the iniquity of the end,
6therefore, as I live,” says the Lord Yahweh, “I will prepare you for blood, and blood will pursue you. Since you have not hated blood, therefore blood will pursue you.
7Thus I will make Mount Seir an astonishment and a desolation. I will cut off from it him who passes through and him who returns.
8I will fill its mountains with its slain. The slain with the sword will fall in your hills and in your valleys and in all your watercourses.
9I will make you a perpetual desolation, and your cities will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.
10“‘“Because you have said, ‘These two nations and these two countries will be mine, and we will possess it,’ although Yahweh was there,
11therefore, as I live,” says the Lord Yahweh, “I will do according to your anger, and according to your envy which you have shown out of your hatred against them; and I will make myself known among them when I judge you.
12You will know that I, Yahweh, have heard all your insults which you have spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, ‘They have been laid desolate. They have been given to us to devour.’
KJV King James Version 1769
1Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2Son of man, set thy face against mount Seir, and prophesy against it,
3And say unto it, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O mount Seir, I am against thee, and I will stretch out mine hand against thee, and I will make thee most desolate.
4I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.
5Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred, and hast 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:
6Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord God, I will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee: sith thou hast not hated blood, even blood shall pursue thee.
7Thus will I make mount Seir most desolate, and cut off from it him that passeth out and him that returneth.
8And I will fill his mountains with his slain men: in thy hills, and in thy valleys, and in all thy rivers, shall they fall that are slain with the sword.
9I will make thee perpetual desolations, and thy cities shall not return: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
10Because thou hast said, These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess it; whereas the Lord was there:
11Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord God, I will even do according to thine anger, and according to thine envy which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them; and I will make myself known among them, when I have judged thee.
12And thou shalt know that I am the Lord, and that I have heard all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid desolate, they are given us to consume.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
1Moreover the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
2Son of man, set thy face against mount Seir, and prophesy against it,
3and say unto it, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against thee, O mount Seir, and I will stretch out my hand against thee, and I will make thee a desolation and an astonishment.
4I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate; and thou shalt know that I am Jehovah.
5Because thou hast had a perpetual enmity, and hast given over the children of Israel to the power of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time of the iniquity of the end;
6therefore, as I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, I will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee: since thou hast not hated blood, therefore blood shall pursue thee.
7Thus will I make mount Seir an astonishment and a desolation; and I will cut off from it him that passeth through and him that returneth.
8And I will fill its mountains with its slain: in thy hills and in thy valleys and in all thy watercourses shall they fall that are slain with the sword.
9I will make thee a perpetual desolation, and thy cities shall not be inhabited; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah.
10Because thou hast said, These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess it; whereas Jehovah was there:
11therefore, as I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, I will do according to thine anger, and according to thine envy which thou hast showed out of thy hatred against them; and I will make myself known among them, when I shall judge thee.
12And thou shalt know that I, Jehovah, have heard all thy revilings which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid desolate, they are given us to devour.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
1And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying:
2`Son of man, set thy face against mount Seir, and prophesy against it,
3and thou hast said to it: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I am against thee, O mount Seir, And have stretched out My hand against thee, And made thee a desolation and an astonishment.
4Thy cities a waste I make, and thou art a desolation, And thou hast known that I am Jehovah.
5Because of thy having an enmity age-during, And thou dost saw the sons of Israel, By the hands of the sword, In the time of their calamity, In the time of the iniquity of the end:
6Therefore, I live--an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Surely for blood I do appoint thee, And blood doth pursue thee, If blood thou hast not hated, Blood also doth pursue thee.
7And I have given mount Seir for a desolation and an astonishment, And have cut off from it him who is passing over and him who is returning,
8And filled his mountains with his wounded, Thy hills, and thy valleys, and all thy streams, The pierced of the sword fall into them.
9Desolations age-during I make thee, And thy cities do not return, And ye have known that I am Jehovah.
10Because of thy saying: The two nations and the two lands are mine, and we have possessed it, And Jehovah hath been there;
11Therefore, I live--an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, And I have done according to thine anger, And according to thine envy, With which thou hast wrought, Because of thy hatred against them, And I have been known among them when I judge thee.
12And thou hast known that I--Jehovah, I have heard all thy despisings that thou hast spoken Against mountains of Israel, saying: A desolation, to us they were given for food.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
1And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
2Son of man, set thy face against mount Seir, and prophesy against it,
3and say unto it, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against thee, mount Seir, and I will stretch out my hand upon thee, and I will make thee a desolation and an astonishment.
4I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be a desolation: and thou shalt know that I [am] Jehovah.
5Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred, and hast given over the children of Israel to the power of the sword, in the time of their calamity, in the time of the iniquity of the end;
6therefore, [as] I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, I will certainly appoint thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee; since thou hast not hated blood, blood shall pursue thee.
7And I will make mount Seir a desolation and an astonishment, and cut off from it him that passeth out and him that returneth;
8and I will fill his mountains with his slain. In thy hills, and in thy valleys, and in all thy water-courses shall they fall that are slain with the sword.
9I will make thee perpetual desolations, and thy cities shall not be inhabited: and ye shall know that I [am] Jehovah.
10Because thou hast said, These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess it, whereas Jehovah was there:
11therefore, [as] I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, I will even do according to thine anger and according to thine envy, as thou hast done out of thy hatred against them; and I will make myself known among them, when I shall judge thee.
12And thou shalt know that I Jehovah have heard all thy reproaches, which thou hast uttered against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid desolate, they are given us to devour.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
1And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
2Son of man, set thy face against mount Seir, and prophesy concerning it, and say to it:
3Thus saith the Lord God: Behold I come against thee, mount Seir, and I will stretch forth my hand upon thee, and I will make thee desolate and waste.
4I will destroy thy cities, and thou shalt be desolate: and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.
5Because thou hast been an everlasting enemy, and hast shut up the children of Israel in the hands of the sword in the time of their affliction, in the time of their last iniquity.
6Therefore as I live, saith the Lord God, I will deliver thee up to blood, and blood shall pursue thee: and whereas thou hast hated blood, blood shall pursue thee.
7And I will make mount Seir waste and desolate: and I will take away from it him that goeth and him that returneth.
8And I will fill his mountains with his men that are slain: in thy hills, and in thy valleys, and in thy torrents they shall fall that are slain with the sword.
9I will make thee everlasting desolations, and thy cities shall not be inhabited: and thou shalt know that I am the Lord God.
10Because thou hast said: The two nations, and the two lands shall be mine, and I will possess them by inheritance: whereas the Lord was there.
11Therefore as I live, saith the Lord God, I will do according to thy wrath, and according to thy envy, which thou hast exercised in hatred to them: and I will be made known by them, when I shall have judged thee.
12And thou shalt know that I the Lord have heard all thy reproaches, that thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying. They are desolate, they are given to us to consume.
Verse in Context
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that Ezekiel 35 pronounces divine judgment on Edom for its unrelenting hostility toward Israel. Barnes calls Edom 'the God-hating, God-opposing power' whose destruction sets the stage for Israel's deliverance in the next chapter. The Cambridge Bible identifies three grounds: Edom's perpetual hatred (v.5), its malicious joy over Judah's fall, and its claim to possess Israel's land (v.10). Keil and Delitzsch stress that Edom's 'eternal enmity' provokes God's oath to make it 'blood', a complete reversal: the nation that lived by violence will be consumed by it. Gill sees a typological extension to Rome, while Jamieson-Fausset-Brown interpret the chapter as a detailed commentary on the earlier oracle of Ezekiel 25:12-14. All agree the judgment serves to vindicate God's holy presence, which Edom denied when it claimed the land for itself, ignoring that 'Yahweh was there' (v.10). The ultimate purpose is that both Edom and Israel will know that I am Yahweh.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Literal-historical: Edom was destroyed by Babylon and later by the Nabateans, disappearing from history. The prophecy addresses the specific Edomite nation.
- Typological: Edom represents all enemies of God's people, especially those who gloat over their suffering. Barnes and others take this view.
- Eschatological: The language of 'perpetual desolation' and the context of final judgment point to a final overthrow of God's enemies, as seen in Gill's interpretation.
What is clear: God holds nations accountable for their treatment of His people and their disregard for His holy presence. Judgment leads to the acknowledgment that 'I am Yahweh'.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Historical identity of Edom | Edom refers to the nation of Esau's descendants living in Mount Seir, with a long history of hostility to Israel. | Some interpreters (e.g., Gill) see Edom as a type of Rome or all God-hating powers; others restrict the reference to the historic Edomites and their destruction by Babylon. |
| Nature of Edom's judgment | The judgment involved historical desolation and bloodshed, fulfilling prophecies like Jeremiah 49 and Obadiah. | Whether 'perpetual desolation' (v.9) means total permanent extinction of the nation or a lasting desolation that ended their national identity. |
| Meaning of 'the time of the iniquity of the end' | It refers to the period when Israel's sin reached its climax and brought about judgment. | Some (Wesley) see it as the end of Israel's national punishment; others see an eschatological reference to the final outpouring of God's wrath. |
| Purpose of the chapter | The chapter vindicates God's holiness and love for Israel, demonstrating that He is in control of history. | Whether the primary purpose is to warn all nations against treating God's people with contempt, or to prepare the exiles for the coming message of restoration by showing that their enemies will not escape. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Mount Seir, the mountainous region southeast of the Dead Sea, was the ancestral home of Esau and his descendants, the Edomites (Genesis 36:8-9). Deuteronomy 2:5 records that God gave this territory to Esau as a possession, establishing a brother-nation relationship with Israel. Yet Edom harbored a perennial enmity toward Jacob's descendants, rooted in the sibling rivalry that began in Rebekah's womb. This hatred erupted at key moments, most notoriously when Edom refused passage to Israel during the wilderness wandering (Numbers 20:14-21), and later when they rejoiced over Jerusalem's fall to Babylon in 587 BC (Psalm 137:7; Obadiah 1:10-14).
Ezekiel likely delivered this oracle during the Babylonian exile, at the same period as the surrounding judgments on other nations. The chapter immediately follows the promise of a faithful shepherd and cursed goats (Ezekiel 34), and precedes the great restoration vision of the dry bones (Ezekiel 37). This placement creates a deliberate contrast: Edom's perpetual desolation sets off the coming renewal of Israel. Barnes notes that Edom was 'singled out as badly pre-eminent in its bitterness against God's people' to represent all such enemies. Clarke adds that Edom's sin was not just ancient but continuous; they 'kept up the ancient feud' and were 'implacable'. Their crime was not only violence but covetousness: in verse 10 they declared, 'These two nations and these two countries will be mine, and we will possess it,' aiming to seize the land of Israel and Judah even as the Babylonians carried the people away.
The cultural background also includes the shame-and-honor dynamics of the ancient Near East. Edom's glee over Judah's fall was a social declaration that their god was stronger than Yahweh. By judging Edom, God reclaims His honor and demonstrates that He had not abandoned His land or His people. The phrase 'set your face against' (v.2) is a prophetic idiom for steadfast opposition, used earlier in Ezekiel 6:2 against the mountains of Israel, now turned against Israel's enemies.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants that alter the meaning of the passage. The Cambridge Bible mentions that the LXX omits the clause 'I will make you blood, and blood will pursue you' (v.6) and in verse 11 reads 'in thee' rather than 'among them'. These are minor differences that do not affect the overall sense. The Hebrew text is well-preserved.
Reception History
Early church fathers, such as Jerome, read Edom as a symbol of the earthly, fleshly opposition to the spiritual people of God, often applying it to the Roman empire. During the Reformation, Calvin and others saw in Edom's judgment a pattern of God's defense of the persecuted church. Matthew Henry focused on the moral lesson: 'Those that hate God's people and are glad at their calamities shall be made desolate.' Gill extended the prophecy to the destruction of the Antichrist, a view echoed in some later evangelical readings. In modern scholarship, the passage is usually treated as an authentic oracle of Ezekiel addressed to the historic Edom, emphasizing God's involvement in the fate of nations.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The Charge: Perpetual hatred and blasphemy against God (vv.5, 10-13). Edom's sin is not a momentary lapse but an entrenched enmity that leads them to mock Israel's desolation and claim God's land for themselves.
- The Sentence: Blood and perpetual desolation (vv.3-9). God's response matches the crime: those who lived by the sword will be consumed by it; the land that gloated over Israel's ruin will itself become an 'astonishment and a desolation'.
- The Purpose: That both Edom and Israel will know Yahweh (vv.4, 9, 12-15). Judgment reveals God's justice and His involvement in history, especially His presence with His people in their suffering.
Five-point outline
- God's declaration: 'I am against you' (vv.2-4).
- The accusation: 'perpetual hatred' and bloodshed against Israel (vv.5-6).
- The implementation: Mountains filled with slain, no traveler passes through (vv.7-9).
- The deeper sin: Edom's claim to possess Israel's land and its contempt for God's presence (vv.10-11).
- The final verdict: God has heard every insult, and Edom's destruction will be as complete as its joy (vv.12-15).
Illustration hooks
- A family rift that spans generations, where old grudge is passed down and celebrated. Edom's hatred never quit because it was nurtured.
- A homeowner whose neighbor constantly trespasses and makes claims on the property, all while ignoring the 'no trespassing' signs and the owner's presence inside. Edom acted as if God was not there.
- A person who laughs when a rival is laid off, only to be laid off themselves the next week. The glee backfires.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why does God spend an entire chapter on judgment of one small nation?
- Does this mean God still judges nations today? How do we discern that?
- If Edom's fate is 'perpetual desolation', does that mean there is no hope for people who oppose God?
Leading a Discussion
This passage can be hard to sit with. It is unrelenting in its pronouncement of judgment, yet it sits within a book that moves directly to resurrection and restoration (Ezekiel 37). As you work through these questions, let the tension stand: God's justice is real, and so is His mercy. We look at Edom not to gloat but to learn.
Discussion questions
- Observation: What does the text say about Edom's attitude and actions? Make a list of the accusations in verses 5, 10, and 12.
- Interpretation: What does 'perpetual hatred' (v.5) look like in practice? How does Edom's hatred toward Israel connect to its treatment of God?
- Interpretation: Why do you think God repeats 'Then you will know that I am Yahweh' so many times (vv.4, 9, 12)? What is the relationship between judgment and knowing God?
- Interpretation: How does the placement of this chapter just before the promise of restored bones and restored land (Ezekiel 36-37) shape your understanding of both?
- Application: Edom was a brother-nation that became an enemy. Where do we see relationships of close origin that have turned into persistent hostility today?
- Application: How does knowing that God hears every insult and sees every claim against His people (v.12) change how we face opposition or mistreatment?
- Application: If you were reading this along with someone who is suffering under injustice, how would you help them hear this as good news?
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Ezekiel 21:1 | Yahweh’s word came to me, saying, |
| Ezekiel 22:1 | Moreover Yahweh’s word came to me, saying, |
| Ezekiel 34:1 | Yahweh’s word came to me, saying, |
| II Peter 1:21 | For no prophecy ever came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke, being moved by the Holy Spirit. |
| Genesis 32:3 | Jacob sent messengers in front of him to Esau, his brother, to the land of Seir, the field of Edom. |
| Genesis 36:8 | Esau lived in the hill country of Seir. Esau is Edom. |
| Genesis 36:9 | This is the history of the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir: |
| Deuteronomy 2:5 | Don’t contend with them; for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as for the sole of the foot to tread on, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau for a possession. |
Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke emphasizes the unnatural cruelty of the Edomites: they not only held perpetual hatred toward their brother nation, but deliberately struck when Israel was already crushed by other enemies. He notes that afflicting the afflicted is inhuman, a spirit that can only come from the devil. Therefore their punishment matched their crime—perpetual desolation for perpetual hatred.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes stresses that Edom's fuller doom is reserved here because it profited from Judah's fall and serves as a stark contrast to Israel's coming restoration. He portrays Edom as the God-opposing power whose ruin marks Israel's triumph, with the scattering of Israel likened to stones poured down a mountain.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The Cambridge Bible identifies three specific causes for Edom’s judgment: their perpetual hatred of Israel, their malicious joy over Israel’s downfall, and their seizure of the land. The commentator emphasizes that Edom’s invasion was especially grave because the land was consecrated by the Lord’s own presence.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note emphasizes that Edom’s sin was not just general hatred but attacking Israel when they were already vulnerable, at the peak of their calamity. God therefore declares that Edom’s punishment will match their cruelty: blood will pursue them until they hate blood themselves. Their arrogant claim to possess Israel’s land will bring the Lord’s judgment.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB highlights Edom, meaning "red," as a name that foretells its violent character: Edom is kin to blood in name and deed, so blood will pursue it. The commentator also stresses that Edom's perpetual hatred toward Israel made it the archetype of all God's enemies in every age.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil and Delitzsch read this prophecy as treating Edom not merely as a historical nation but as the representative of the entire heathen world in its hostility toward God's kingdom. Edom's judgment foreshadows the overthrow of all worldly enmity against God, while Israel's restoration prefigures the re-establishment of God's fallen kingdom.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange reads Edom as a symbolic figure for the profane, materialistic world that rejects grace and election. Edom's perpetual enmity and hatred stand in stark contrast to the blessing on Israel, representing the doomed Antichristian world that has no share in Christ's salvation.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry notes that Edom's sin was not a passing grudge but a perpetual hatred, and they struck Israel when she was already fallen. Their punishment is a separate, specific judgment from God. When God stands against a people, His ministers can speak no good to them, only judgment.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley stresses that Edom's punishment is for loving bloodshed rather than hating it, turning the phrase to mean active delight in violence. He sees the judgment as final, cutting off any prospect of their former glory being restored, even while God remained with Israel.