Ezekiel 25:4

4 Because you were glad, I will let the tribes from the eastern desert conquer you. They will set up their camps in your country and settle there. They will eat the fruit and drink the milk that should have been yours.

Ezekiel 25:4 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 25:4

Behold, therefore, I will deliver thee to the men of the east
for a possession
The Chaldeans and Syrians, which were on the east side, as Jarchi; or the Medes and Persians, as Kimchi, which lay more eastward; or it may be the Arabians, who are commonly called the men of the east; who were a part of Nebuchadnezzar's army, and whom he might reward with this country, when taken by him; for this prophecy, according to Josephus ^F17, was fulfilled five years after the destruction of Jerusalem: and they shall set their palaces in thee, and make their dwellings in
thee;
or, "their camps and their tents" ^F18; and so the Syriac version renders it, their armies and their tents; who should subdue them, and take possession of their cities and fields, and enjoy what they found there: they shall eat thy fruit, and drink thy milk;
the fruit of their land, their vineyards and fields, and the milk of their flocks and herds, which was commonly drank in those countries; these are put for the whole of their substance. So the Targum,

``they shall eat the good of thy land, and spoil thy substance.''

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FOOTNOTES:

F17 Antiqu. l. 16. c. 9. sect. 7.
F18 (Mhytwryj) "arces suas", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Polanus, Coeccius. (Mhynkvm) "tentoria sua", V. L. "tabernacala sus", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Polanus, Cocceius, Starckius.

Ezekiel 25:4 In-Context

2 "Mortal man," he said, "denounce the country of Ammon.

3 Tell them to listen to what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying: You were delighted to see my Temple profaned, to see the land of Israel devastated, to see the people of Judah go into exile.

4 Because you were glad, I will let the tribes from the eastern desert conquer you. They will set up their camps in your country and settle there. They will eat the fruit and drink the milk that should have been yours.

5 I will turn the city of Rabbah into a place to keep camels, and the whole country of Ammon will become a place to keep sheep, so that you will know I am the Lord.

6 "This is what the Sovereign Lord is saying: You clapped your hands and jumped for joy. You despised the land of Israel.