Ezekiel 25

Judgment upon Various Gentile Nations

1 And the word of Yahweh {came} to me, {saying},

2 "Son of man, set your face toward the {Ammonites} and prophesy against them,

3 and you must say to the {Ammonites}, 'Hear the word of the Lord Yahweh! Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Because of your saying, 'Ah!' to my sanctuary when it was profaned, and to the land of Israel when it was desolate, and to the house of Judah when they went into the exile,

4 therefore look! I [am] giving you to the people of the East as a possession, and they will set up their encampments in you, and they will make in you their dwelling places; {they themselves} will eat your fruit and {they themselves} will drink your milk.

5 And I will make Rabbah as a pasture of camels and the {Ammonites} as a haunt of flocks, and they will know that I [am] Yahweh." '"

6 For thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Because of clapping your hand and stamping with your foot, and [because] you rejoiced in yourself with all of your malice over the land of Israel,

7 therefore look! I stretched out my hand against you, and I will give you as plunder to the nations, and I will cut you off from the peoples, and I will destroy you from the countries, and I will wipe you out, and you will know that I [am] Yahweh."

8 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Because of Moab and Seir saying, 'The house of Judah [is] like all of the nations,'

9 therefore, look! I [am] opening the side of Moab from the cities on its frontier, [the] glory of [the] land: Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon, and Kiriathaim.

10 I will give it to the people of the East in addition to the {Ammonites} as a possession, so that the {Ammonites} will not be remembered among the nations.

11 And on Moab I will execute punishments, and they will know that I [am] Yahweh."

12 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Because of the doings of Edom in avenging himself [with] vengeance for the house of Judah, and [so] they became very guilty and they avenged themselves on them,"

13 therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: "so I will stretch out my hand against Edom and I will cut off from it [both] human and animal, and I will make it a ruin from Teman and Dedan; they will fall by the sword.

14 And I will exact my vengeance on Edom by the hand of my people Israel, and they will do in Edom according to my anger and according to my rage, and they will know my vengeance," {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

15 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Because of the {acting} of [the] Philistines in vengeance, so that they avenged themselves relentlessly with malice in themselves for destruction {with everlasting hostility},

16 therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: 'Look! I [am] stretching out my hand against [the] Philistines, and I will cut off the Kerethites, and I will destroy the remainder of {the seacoast}.

17 And I will execute on them great vengeance with punishments of rage, and they will know that I [am] Yahweh when I exact my vengeance on them!"

Ezekiel 25 Commentary

Chapter 25

Judgments against the Ammonites. (1-7) Against the Moabites, Edomites, and Philistines. (8-17)

1-7. It is wicked to be glad at the calamities of any, especially of God's people; it is a sin for which he will surely reckon. God will make it appear that he is the God of Israel, though he suffers them for a time to be captives in Babylon. It is better to know Him, and to be poor, than to be rich and ignorant of him.

Verses 8-17 Though one event seem to the righteous and wicked, it is vastly different. Those who glory in any other defence and protection than the Divine power, providence, and promise, will, sooner or later, be ashamed of their glorying. Those who will not leave it to God to take vengeance for them, may expect that he will take vengeance on them. The equity of the Lord's judgments is to be observed, when he not only avenges injuries upon those that did them, but by those against whom they were done. Those who treasure up old hatred, and watch for the opportunity of manifesting it, are treasuring up for themselves wrath against the day of wrath.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "was"
• [b]. Literally "to say"
• [c]. Or "mortal," or "son of humankind"
• [d]. Literally "sons of Ammon"
• [e]. Literally "sons of Ammon"
• [f]. Or "became"
• [g]. Or "children"
• [h]. Literally "they, they"
• [i]. Literally "they, they"
• [j]. Literally "sons of Ammon"
• [k]. Or "to"
• [l]. According to the reading tradition (Qere)
• [m]. Or "the flank"
• [n]. Or "children"
• [o]. Literally "sons of Ammon"
• [p]. Literally "sons of Ammon"
• [q]. Or "toward"
• [r]. Or "since"
• [s]. Literally "and"
• [t]. Literally "declaration of"
• [u]. Literally "doing"
• [v]. Literally "[with] hostility of ongoing ages/eternity"
• [w]. Literally "the coast of the sea"

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 25

In this chapter the prophet foretells the judgments of God upon the Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites, and Philistines, for their ill usage of the Jews; on the Ammonites, Eze 25:1-7, on the Moabites, Eze 25:8-11, on the Edomites, Eze 25:12-14, on the Philistines, Eze 25:15-17.