Ezekiel 25
New English Translation
A Prophecy Against Ammon
25 The Lord’s message came to me: 2 “Son of man, turn toward[a] the Ammonites[b] and prophesy against them. 3 Say to the Ammonites, ‘Hear the word of the Sovereign Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: You said “Aha!” about my sanctuary when it was desecrated, about the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and about the house of Judah when they went into exile. 4 So take note,[c] I am about to make you slaves of[d] the tribes[e] of the east. They will make camps among you and pitch their tents among you. They will eat your fruit and drink your milk. 5 I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels and Ammon[f] a resting place for sheep. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 6 For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you clapped your hands, stamped your feet, and rejoiced with intense scorn[g] over the land of Israel, 7 take note—I have stretched out my hand against you, and I will hand you over as plunder[h] to the nations. I will cut you off from the peoples and make you perish from the lands. I will destroy you; then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
A Prophecy Against Moab
8 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Moab[i] and Seir say, “Look, the house of Judah is like all the other nations.” 9 So look, I am about to open up Moab’s flank,[j] eliminating the cities,[k] including its frontier cities,[l] the beauty of the land—Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon, and Kiriathaim. 10 I will hand it over,[m] along with the Ammonites,[n] to the tribes[o] of the east, so that the Ammonites will no longer be remembered among the nations. 11 I will execute judgments against Moab. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”
A Prophecy Against Edom
12 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Edom[p] has taken vengeance against the house of Judah; they have made themselves fully culpable[q] by taking vengeance[r] on them.[s] 13 So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will stretch out my hand against Edom, and I will kill the people and animals within her,[t] and I will make her desolate; from Teman to Dedan they will die[u] by the sword. 14 I will exact my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel. They will carry out in Edom my anger and rage; they will experience[v] my vengeance, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”
A Prophecy Against Philistia
15 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘The Philistines[w] have exacted merciless revenge,[x] showing intense scorn[y] in their effort to destroy Judah[z] with unrelenting hostility.[aa] 16 So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Take note, I am about to stretch out my hand against the Philistines. I will kill[ab] the Kerethites[ac] and destroy those who remain on the seacoast. 17 I will exact great vengeance upon them with angry rebukes.[ad] Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I exact my vengeance upon them.’”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 25:2 tn Heb “set your face toward.”
- Ezekiel 25:2 tn Heb “the sons of Ammon.” Ammon was located to the east of Israel.
- Ezekiel 25:4 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates being aware of or taking notice of something and has been translated here with a verb (so also throughout the chapter).
- Ezekiel 25:4 tn Heb “Look, I am about to give you for a possession to.”
- Ezekiel 25:4 tn Heb “sons.”
- Ezekiel 25:5 tn Heb “the sons of Ammon.”
- Ezekiel 25:6 tn Heb “with all your scorn in (the) soul.”
- Ezekiel 25:7 tc The translation here follows the Qere reading: בַּז (baz, “spoil, plunder”). The Kethib reading of the consonantal text, בַּג (bag), is not a word.
- Ezekiel 25:8 sn Moab was located immediately south of Ammon.
- Ezekiel 25:9 tn Heb “shoulder.”
- Ezekiel 25:9 tn Heb “from the cities.” The verb “eliminating” has been added in the translation to reflect the privative use of the preposition (see BDB 583 s.v. מִן 7.b).
- Ezekiel 25:9 tn Heb “from its cities, from its end.”
- Ezekiel 25:10 tn Heb “I will give it for a possession.”
- Ezekiel 25:10 tn Heb “the sons of Ammon” (twice in this verse).
- Ezekiel 25:10 tn Heb “the sons.”
- Ezekiel 25:12 sn Edom was located south of Moab.
- Ezekiel 25:12 tn Heb “and they have become guilty, becoming guilty.” The infinitive absolute following the finite verb makes the statement emphatic and draws attention to the degree of guilt incurred by Edom due to its actions.
- Ezekiel 25:12 tn Heb “and they have taken vengeance.”
- Ezekiel 25:12 sn Edom apparently in some way assisted in the destruction of Jerusalem in 587/6 b.c. (Ps 137:7; Lam 4:21, 22; Joel 3:19; Obadiah).
- Ezekiel 25:13 tn Heb “and I will cut off from her man and beast.”
- Ezekiel 25:13 tn Heb “fall.”
- Ezekiel 25:14 tn Heb “know.”
- Ezekiel 25:15 sn The Philistines inhabited the coastal plain by the Mediterranean Sea, west of Judah.
- Ezekiel 25:15 tn Heb “have acted with vengeance and taken vengeance with vengeance.” The repetition emphasizes the degree of vengeance which they exhibited, presumably toward Judah.
- Ezekiel 25:15 tn Heb “with scorn in (the) soul.”
- Ezekiel 25:15 tn The object is not specified in the Hebrew text, but has been clarified as “Judah” in the translation.
- Ezekiel 25:15 tn Heb “to destroy (with) perpetual hostility.” Joel 3:4-8 also speaks of the Philistines taking advantage of the fall of Judah.
- Ezekiel 25:16 tn In Hebrew the verb “and I will cut off” sounds like its object, “the Kerethites,” and draws attention to the statement.
- Ezekiel 25:16 sn This is a name for the Philistines, many of whom migrated to Palestine from Crete.
- Ezekiel 25:17 tn Heb “with acts of punishment of anger.”
Ezekiel 25
New Catholic Bible
Prophecies against Foreign Nations[a]
Chapter 25
Against Ammon. 1 The following word of the Lord was addressed to me: 2 Son of man, turn toward the Ammonites and prophesy against them. 3 Say to the Ammonites: Hear the word of the Lord God. Thus says the Lord God: Because you raised shouts of joy over my sanctuary when it was profaned, and over the land of Israel when it suffered devastation, and over the house of Judah when it went into exile, 4 therefore I am handing you over to the people of the East[b] to be their possession. They will establish their camps among you and pitch their tents in your midst. They will eat your fruit and drink your milk. 5 I will turn Rabbah into a pasture for camels and the towns of Ammon into a resting place for sheep. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
6 For thus says the Lord: Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet and taken malicious delight in the fall of the land of Israel, 7 I therefore have stretched out my hand against you, and I will hand you over as plunder to the nations. I will cut you off from other peoples and obliterate you as a country. I intend to completely destroy you. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.
Against Moab. 8 Thus says the Lord God: Because Moab said that the house of Judah is like all other nations, 9 therefore, I will lay open the flank of Moab, beginning with the towns on its frontier—Beth-jesimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim—the jewels of the country. 10 I will give both Moab and Ammon to the people of the East as their possession. As a result, Ammon will not be remembered among the nations. 11 Moreover, I will render judgment upon Moab, so that they will know that I am the Lord.
12 Against Edom. Thus says the Lord God: Since Edom has acted with vengeance against the house of Judah and has committed a grievous offense in taking vengeance upon them, 13 the Lord God has made this decision: I will stretch forth my hand against Edom and remove from it both people and animals. I will lay it waste from Teman as far as Dedan, and they will all fall by the sword. 14 I will wreak my vengeance on Edom by the hand of my people Israel, and they will treat Edom according to my anger and my fury. Thus they will know my vengeance, declares the Lord God.
15 Against Philistia. Thus says the Lord God: Inasmuch as the Philistines have engaged in endless hostilities with vengeance, and with malice in their hearts took revenge in destruction, 16 therefore, thus says the Lord God: I will stretch forth my hand against the Philistines, cut off the Cherethites, and destroy those remaining along the seacoast. 17 I will execute great vengeance on them and punish them in my wrath. Therefore, they will know that I am the Lord when I exact my vengeance on them.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 25:1 The day of the Lord (Ezek 30:3) is approaching, the day of the judgment on the nations. These are punished for having scorned the people who are God’s servants; the house of Israel will be gathered together again. The people are, therefore, to realize during their afflictions that these are not final; God transcends them. “They will know that I am the Lord” (Ezek 28:24-26): this is the fundamental motif of this section.
- Ezekiel 25:4 People of the East: the Bedouin of the Syro-Arabian Desert.
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