Ezekiel 36:2

2 Thus saith the Lord God: Because the enemy hath said to you: Aha, the everlasting heights are given to us for an inheritance.

Ezekiel 36:2 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 36:2

Thus saith the Lord God
By the mouth of the prophet, who was bid to prophesy: because the enemy had said against you, aha:
rejoicing at the calamity of God's people, particularly the Edomites or Idumeans, as in the preceding chapter; and who are chiefly meant; and also the Ammonites and Tyrians, ( Ezekiel 25:3 ) ( 26:2 ) : even the ancient high places are ours in possession;
or, "the high places of the world shall be unto us for a possession" ^F6; the land of Israel, according to Kimchi and others, was the highest part of the world, Jerusalem the highest part of that land, and the temple was built on the highest part of the city; and all these the Edomites claimed as their own, the land, city, and temple, and thought themselves sure of the same, as if they had them in actual possession; even the hilly part of the country, which had been so from the creation, and where stood many of the fortified and frontier towns and cities; which as strong as they were, or had been, they fancied would easily fall into their hands, now such desolations were made in the land.

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FOOTNOTES:

F6 (wnl htyh hvrwml Mlwe twmb) "excelsa seculi haereditario jure futura sunt nobis", Junius & Tremellius, Polanus; "celsa seculi haereditas evenit nobis", Cocceius, Starckius.

Ezekiel 36:2 In-Context

1 And thou son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say: Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord:

2 Thus saith the Lord God: Because the enemy hath said to you: Aha, the everlasting heights are given to us for an inheritance.

3 Therefore prophesy, and say: Thus saith the Lord God: Because you have been desolate, and trodden under foot on every side, and made an inheritance to the rest of the nations, and are become the subject of the talk, and the reproach of the people:

4 Therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God: Thus saith the Lord God to the mountains, and to the hills, to the brooks, and to the valleys, and to desolate places, and ruinous walls, and to the cities that are forsaken, that are spoiled, and derided by the rest of the nations round about.

5 Therefore thus saith the Lord God: In the fire of my zeal I have spoken of the rest of the nations, and of all Edom, who have taken my land to themselves, for an inheritance with joy, and with all the heart, and with the mind: and have cast it out to lay it waste.