Ezekiel 35:3

3 and shalt say to it, The Lord God saith these things, Thou hill of Seir, lo! I to thee; I shall stretch forth mine hand on thee, and I shall give thee desolate and forsaken. (and shalt say to it, The Lord God saith these things, Thou hill country of Seir, lo! I am against thee; I shall stretch forth my hand upon thee, and I shall make thee into a desolate wilderness.)

Ezekiel 35:3 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 35:3

And say unto it, thus saith the Lord God
The prophet was not upon the spot, and could not direct his speech immediately to the Edomites; but he might send this prophecy to their ambassadors at Babylon; or in a letter to them in their own land, in the name of the Lord: behold, O Mount Seir, I am against thee:
not the face of the prophet only, but the face of God himself was against them; and a terrible thing it is for any to have God to be against them, whether a nation, or a particular person. The Targum is,

``behold, I send my fury upon thee:''
and I will stretch out mine hand against thee;
which was able to reach them wherever they were: and which, being stretched out, cannot be turned back; and, where it lights, falls heavy indeed; namely, his mighty hand of power and wrath. The Targum is,
``and I will lift up the stroke of my power upon thee;''
that is, lift up his hand and strike powerfully; the consequence of which must be as follows: and I will make thee most desolate;
their land, cities, towns, and villages, all should be utterly laid waste; see ( Revelation 17:16 ) ( 18:8 ) , so it follows:

Ezekiel 35:3 In-Context

1 And the word of the Lord was made to me, and he said,
2 Thou, son of man, set thy face against the hill of Seir; and thou shalt prophesy to it, (Thou, son of man, set thy face toward the hill country of Seir; and thou shalt prophesy against it,)
3 and shalt say to it, The Lord God saith these things, Thou hill of Seir, lo! I to thee; I shall stretch forth mine hand on thee, and I shall give thee desolate and forsaken. (and shalt say to it, The Lord God saith these things, Thou hill country of Seir, lo! I am against thee; I shall stretch forth my hand upon thee, and I shall make thee into a desolate wilderness.)
4 I shall destroy thy cities, and thou shalt be forsaken; and thou shalt know, that I am the Lord.
5 For thou were an enemy everlasting, and closedest together the sons of Israel into the hands of sword, in the time of their torment, in the time of the last wickedness; (For thou were an everlasting enemy, and hast altogether enclosed the Israelites in the hands of the sword, in the time of their torment, at the time of the last wickedness;)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.