Bible in 90 Days
40 They even sent a special invitation to men who lived far away. When they arrived, you had bathed in fragrant waters, painted around your eyes, dressed in seductive garments, and adorned your body with shiny jewelry for your honored guests. 41 You reclined on a silky couch in front of a table set for your visitors with the incense and oils that belonged to Me. 42 As for Oholibah, the mellowed crowd gathered around her—drunkards from the desert and noisy commoners. They adorned the arms of the sisters with bracelets I’d given them and placed ostentatious crowns on the heads of My queens. 43 Then I wondered about this woman who was exhausted from adulterous sex: “Will they still want to sleep with her, here and now?”[a] 44 Yes, they all went into her bed, one after another, and used her as a prostitute. This is what they did to both these wanton women: Oholah and Oholibah. 45 But righteous people will condemn these sisters to punishment befitting adulterous and murderous women! For they are indeed adulteresses and their hands are covered with innocent blood.
46 This is what the Eternal Lord has to say:
Eternal One: Bring a vast army against them! Overtake them with terror and plunder their goods! 47 Their enemies will crush them with large rocks and hack them down in battle. They will massacre their children—My children—and burn down their houses!
(to the sisters) 48 This is how I will put an end to the lewdness practiced in the land and make you an example to all women, that they may learn from your mistakes and never commit the wicked acts you did. 49 You will suffer the consequences of your promiscuity; you will bear the penalty for worshiping your idols. Then you will know that I am the Eternal Lord.
This memorable allegory traces the fate of two sisters who represent the two capital cities of Israel and Judah: Samaria and Jerusalem. The graphic portrayals of their sexual exploits are some of the most disturbing in Scripture; they highlight the disgust God and His prophet must feel toward God’s wayward people. Anyone who hears Ezekiel speak this message must come to the same conclusion: God must judge His unfaithful wives. It is right. It is just. It is necessary.
24 The word of the Eternal came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day.
Eternal One: 2 Son of man, remember this date. Write it down. The Babylonian king laid siege to Jerusalem today. 3 Tell this rebellious crowd a parable. Here is what the Eternal Lord has to say:
Put the cooking pot on the fire;
put it on and fill it with water.
4 Put the finest cuts of meat into it—legs and brisket;
fill it with the best bones.
5 Pick out the best from the flock,
stack wood beneath the pot,
Bring it to a rolling boil,
and cook what’s in the pot.
No one is safe in the cauldron of Jerusalem.
6 Woe to this city polluted with blood—
that pot thickly corroded, whose filth is impossible to clean!
Empty the pot one piece at a time;
don’t bother choosing one or the other!
7 The blood she shed is still polluting the city.
She poured it out on bare rock
Instead of into the ground
to be absorbed by the dust where blood belongs.
8 I have spilled her blood on bare rock
so that it may not be covered,
knowing My anger would be ignited and My revenge accomplished.
9 That’s why I, the Eternal Lord, speak out:
Woe to this city polluted with blood;
I will stack the wood Myself—
10 Stack it high beneath the pot
to feed the fire.
Mix spices and seasoning into the boiling brew
and cook the meat and then burn the bones.
11 Set the empty pot on the coals
until it grows so hot its metal begins to glow,
its filth melts inside, and no trace of corrosion remains.
12 But she has thwarted My efforts!
Her massive corrosion remains when the fire should have cleansed her.
13 Jerusalem, I tried to cleanse your lewd impurity, but you would not stay pure. Because of this, you will not be clean again until after you have suffered the full punishment of My wrath. 14 I, the Eternal One, have spoken. Your day of judgment has arrived, and I will act. I will not be easy on you; I will not feel sorry for you; I will not regret My actions. You will be judged by what you have done and get only what you deserve.
So said the Eternal Lord.
15 The word of the Eternal came to me regarding my wife.
Eternal One: 16 Son of man, in the blink of an eye, I am going to take away the delight of your eyes. Do not weep or grieve or shed a tear. 17 Any groaning must be inward and silent, but do not grieve for the dead. Dress as you always dress: with a turban on your head and sandals on your feet. Don’t do any of the things mourners do. Don’t eat the food others bring to comfort you or cover your upper lip.
18 It happened as such: I preached to the people in the morning, and that evening, my wife passed away. The next morning, I did exactly as I had been instructed to do.
People: 19 Tell us what all of this has to do with us. Why are you acting this way?
Ezekiel: 20 The word of the Eternal came to me 21 with a message for the people of Israel: “Look! I will desecrate My sanctuary—the magnificent house in which you take pride, the desire of your eyes, your complete delight—and all of the children you left behind in Jerusalem will be put to the sword and slaughtered.” 22 You will do exactly as I have done in hiding your grief: You will not eat the food others bring to comfort you or cover your upper lips. 23 You will dress as you always dress: with turbans on your heads and sandals on your feet. You will not mourn or grieve. God tells me, “Instead, you will rot away from within because of your wickedness and moan among yourselves. 24 In this way, Ezekiel will be a living example for you. You must do exactly as he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am the Eternal Lord.”
Eternal One: 25 As for you, son of man, on the day I seize their fortress—the joyous aspect of their pride, the desire of their eyes, their complete delight—and all of their children, 26 a fugitive will escape from the destruction and will come to you in Babylon with news of what happened. 27 The day you learn of My judgment, your mouth will be opened, and your silence will be broken. Then you will be able to converse with the fugitive. You will be a living example to them, and they will know that I am the Eternal One.
25 The word of the Eternal came to me regarding how He plans to punish Israel’s neighbors.
Eternal One: 2 Son of man, face the Ammonites and preach against them. 3 Tell them to listen to the word of the Eternal Lord:
(to Ammon) Because you delighted in the desecration of My sanctuary, because you rejoiced when Israel became a wasteland, and because you cheered when the Judeans went into exile, 4 I will certainly hand you over to the people of the East. They will set up camp all around you, pitching their tents and settling among you. They will feast off of your tables, eating your fruit and drinking your milk. 5 I will transform Rabbah, your great city, into a pasture for camels, and Ammon will be turned into a resting place for sheep and goats. Then you will know that I am the Eternal One.
6 This is what the Eternal Lord has to say about Ammon:
Eternal One: Because you have clapped your hands and stomped your feet, delighting with a malevolent heart against the land of Israel, 7 I will raise My hand against you and divide you among the nations as prisoners and slaves. I will destroy you completely and make sure you are never a nation again. Then you will know that I am the Eternal One.
8 This is what the Eternal Lord has to say about Moab:
Eternal One: Because Moab and Seir said, “Look! There’s nothing special about Judah; she is just like every other nation,” 9 I will lay bare the western defenses of Moab by exposing its frontier cities—Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriath aim. 10 I will hand Moab and her northern neighbors the Ammonites over to the people of the East. Then the Ammonites will be entirely forgotten by the nations. 11 I will exercise My justice against Moab. Then they will know that I am the Eternal One.
12 This is what the Eternal Lord has to say about Edom:
Eternal One: Edom took revenge on the people of Judah, and her people are undeniably guilty for avenging themselves against My people. 13 Because of this, I—the Eternal Lord—will raise My hand to strike Edom and slaughter the people and animals who live there. I will make Edom a wasteland—and everyone from Teman to Dedan will be put to the sword and die. 14 I will take My own revenge on Edom and use My own people Israel as the weapon against them. Israel will do to Edom everything My anger and wrath require, and Edom will experience My vengeance. This I, the Eternal Lord, declare.
15 This is what the Eternal Lord has to say about Philistia:
Eternal One: Because the Philistines had an old grudge against Judah and acted out of revenge and total malevolence to try to destroy My people, 16 therefore I, the Eternal Lord, promise this: I will raise My hand and strike the Philistines, cut off the Cherethites, and slaughter anyone left along the coast. 17 I will bring My fierce vengeance against them, rebuking them and punishing them in My wrath! When I bring My vengeance against them, they will know that I am the Eternal One.
Israel and Judah are not the only nations infuriating God with their conduct. The surrounding countries—Ammon in the northeast, Moab in the east, Edom in the southeast, Philistia in the west, and Tyre in the northwest—have often been at odds with Israel and Judah. So when Judah falls, they celebrate in the streets and begin to figure how they might maneuver around these political and economic changes. Judah’s fall might be a windfall for them. As the Judean exiles are forcibly marched out of their land, their neighbors mercilessly mock them for their crushing defeat. But God takes all of this very personally. He will not tolerate their disrespect of His people, which amounts to disrespect of Him too. So God takes His own revenge and punishes those who delight in Israel’s and Judah’s tragedies.
26 During the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Eternal came to me regarding Tyre.
Eternal One: 2 Son of man, Tyre has delighted in the news of Jerusalem, saying,
Hurray! The gateway to the nations is broken,
And now it is open for me to receive all of her commerce.
My markets will be full now that she is in ruins.
3 Therefore I, the Eternal Lord, am telling you that I am your enemy, Tyre, and I will gather many nations and march them against you, just as the sea marches its waves against the unsuspecting shore. 4 The waves of the nations will demolish the city walls of Tyre and crumble her towers. After the city is pummeled, I will sweep away all of her rubble and leave nothing but a bare rock. 5 In the loneliness of the ocean, she will become a desolate island, used only for drying out fishnets. She will become prisoner and slave to all the nations, 6 and her villages on the mainland will be massacred in battle. Then they will know that I am the Eternal One.
7 I am going to bring the great Babylonian king, the king of kings named Nebuchadnezzar, against Tyre. He will charge down from the north with strapping horses and indestructible chariots, master horsemen, and an enormous army. 8 He will dispatch his soldiers to destroy your villages on the mainland and then lay siege against you with ramps against your walls and shields raised to deflect your opposition. 9 He will demolish your walls with his siege machines and dismantle your towers with axes. 10 You will be covered with dust from the galloping of his war horses. Your walls will shake from the tumult of the horses, wagons, and chariots when he breaches your walls and comes storming into the city. 11 His rampaging horses will trample all your streets. He will slaughter everyone in the battle and topple every strong pillar to the ground. 12 They will loot your wealth and claim your goods! They will tear down your walls and fine houses, and they’ll toss the wood and stone and rubble into the sea. 13 I will use My avenger to silence your lutes and harps and put an end to your songs. 14 I will leave you a bare rock in the lonely ocean, a desolate island used only for drying out fishnets. I promise you will never be rebuilt. Never. I, the Eternal Lord, declare this.
15 (continuing to Tyre) Don’t you think the coastlands will shake at the sound of your fall, at the groans of the injured, at the great massacre that takes place inside your walls? 16 Then the princes from the other coastal cities will step down from their thrones, give up their royal robes, and remove their embroidered garments. They will clothe their nakedness with sheer terror and sit on the ground, constantly shaking with horror at what happened to you. 17 Then they will sing a dirge over you:
How you are destroyed, O famous city!
City of sea people!
You and your kind were a great force on the seas;
you terrorized all who lived around you.
18 Now, the coastlands will quake on the day when you fall,
and the cities along the shore will be terrified by your passing.
19 When I destroy you and empty your streets, when I drown you and bury you within the ocean depths, 20 I will sink you down into the pit where those people from long ago sleep in death. I will make you stay there, in the lower parts of the earth among the ancient ruins with those who dwell in the pit of the dead, and you will never be inhabited again. You will never resurface in the land of the living where I rest My glory. 21 I will terrify you, and you will meet your end. You will be sought, but you will never be found again.
This is what the Eternal Lord declares.
27 The word of the Eternal came to me with a lament for Tyre.
Eternal One: 2 Son of man, sing a lament over Tyre. 3 Sing of Tyre, gateway to the sea, merchant to many ports and many people. I, the Eternal Lord, say to you:
Tyre, you have claimed,
“I am perfect in beauty.”
4 Your territory extends to the heart of the seas;
your builders have perfected your beauty.
5 Like a great ship they have made you from the finest firs of Senir;
they took a cedar from Lebanon to make you a noble mast.
6 They brought oaks from Bashan and made your oars.
They planked your deck with pines from the coasts of Cyprus
and inlaid it with ivory!
7 Your sail was made of fine linen from Egypt, embroidered by hand;
your blue and purple awning was tinted with dyes imported from the coasts of Elishah.
8 Your oarsmen were strong men from Sidon and Arvad;
your crew was the most skilled and experienced men, O Tyre.
9 Expert craftsmen from Gebal were on board
to make any repairs needed.
All the ships of the sea and their sailors huddled around you
to trade for your goods.
10 Soldiers from Persia, Lydia, and Libya[b] were your army.
Their shields and helmets hung from your ship and announced your splendor.
11 Men from Arvad and Helech patrolled your walls,
and men from Gammad manned your towers.
Their shields hung on all your walls and announced your splendor.
They have perfected your beauty.
12 Tarshish traded with you because of your great wealth and plentiful goods; they bartered silver, iron, tin, and lead for your wares. 13 Greece,[c] Tubal, and Meshech did business with you as well. They bartered slaves and boatloads of bronze for your wares. 14 The men of Beth-togarmah bartered work horses, war horses, and mules for your goods. 15 The people of Rhodes[d] traded with you too. You made the people of the coastland your own special market, and they paid you in ivory tusks and ebony. 16 Aram[e] traded with you because your goods were plentiful. They bartered precious stones,[f] purple cloth, embroidered work, exquisite linens, coral, and rubies for your wares. 17 Judah and the rest of Israel did business with you. They paid you fine wheat, fresh produce,[g] sweet honey, fragrant oil, and exotic balm for your merchandise. 18 Damascus—the hub of caravan trading—traded with you because of your great wealth and plentiful goods as well. They brought wine from Helbon, wool from Zahar[h]; 19 Greeks from Uzal[i] bartered iron, cassia bark, and other herbs for your goods. 20 Deban traded in saddle blankets with you. 21 Arabia and all of the Kedar princes certainly traded with you. They traded lambs, rams, and goats. 22 The businessmen of Sheba and Raamah exchanged the finest spices, gems, and gold for your plentiful goods. 23-24 Haran, Canneh, Eden, and merchants from Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad did business with you, exchanging exquisite clothing, indigo fabrics, embroidered cloth, carpets dyed of various colors, and tightly braided ropes. 25 Commerce was bustling as Tarshish’s ships transported your goods. In the heart of the sea your docks were full, Tyre, and your business brought you glory and success.
Tarshish was probably located in what is southern Spain today, so Tyre’s commercial reach extended to the other side of the Mediterranean.
26 Expert seafarers row you out into the high seas;
there, a squall from the east shatters you in the heart of the sea!
27 All is lost: your treasures and goods and products
along with all crew aboard—seafarers, pilots, carpenters, traders, and soldiers.
Everyone and everything will sink into the heart of the sea
when the ship is wrecked.
28 The coastal plains shudder
at the shrieks and cries of your pilots.
29 All oarsmen, seafarers, and pilots come down from their ships.
They stand on the shore and gaze out to your catastrophe.
30 They mourn over you with bitter cries that drown out your screams.
They throw dust on top of their heads and wallow in beds of ashes.
31 They shave all their hair and wear sackcloth around their waists.
They grieve and weep over you, deeply and bitterly.
32 And they shout their dirge over your demise:
“Who is like Tyre, sunken and silent in the heart of the sea?”
33 Your goods pleased many people when your sailors went to sea.
Your treasures and products made kings rich all over the world.
34 But now you are shipwrecked, devoured by the great waves.
Your products and all your crew have been swallowed by the sea.
35 All the inhabitants of the coasts
are shocked at what happened to you;
their kings grimace in fear as they look on.
36 And the traders of the nations jeer at you;
the end of your story is a horror,
for you are gone, never to return.
28 The word of the Eternal came to me with a message about the prince of Tyre.
Tyre’s troubles start not long after Judah is destroyed in 586 b.c. Nebuchadnezzar marches there and begins a siege that lasts for almost 13 years. The part of the city on the mainland is captured by Nebuchadnezzar, but the princes of Tyre continue to rule from their island palace for another two centuries. In 332 b.c. Alexander the Great will use the rubble of the mainland city to construct a bridge to the island. Soon the island of Tyre will be in ruins, as it will remain forever.
Eternal One: 2 Son of man, go to the prince of Tyre, and give him this message. This is what I, Eternal Lord, have to say:
Your heart is swollen with pride—
a pride that says, “I am a god.
I sit on a divine throne in the heart of the sea.”
But I assure you, prince, you are nothing more
than a mortal man—a man of mortal destiny.
Even though you have the self-confidence of a god,
you are made entirely of flesh and blood.
3 But obviously you must be wiser than Daniel, that ancient judge in Ugarit.
Clearly, you understand every mystery.
4 You used your wisdom and discernment to amass a great fortune,
to fill your treasuries with gold and silver.
5 Your knack for trade has built your wealth,
but your success and riches have made your heart swell with pride.
Because of Tyre’s location off the coast, she receives daily supplies and survives a long war; therefore, her ruler, Ethbaal III, has every human reason to be confident. Such confidence and wickedness is bred into him: Ethbaal’s ancestor, Ethbaal I, was a priest of their goddess Astarte and seized the throne for himself. He was a powerful prince, making political connections and spreading the worship of his goddess all over the region. Ethbaal I’s daughter, Jezebel, was famous for entrenching pagan worship in Israel, so Tyre is indirectly the root of Israel’s wickedness.
6 Here is what the Eternal Lord has to say:
Eternal One: Because you imagine yourself as wise as a god,
7 I am going to recruit outsiders—merciless nations—to take you down.
They will draw their swords and cut you down to size,
attacking the beautiful things your wisdom procured and destroying your splendor.
8 They will force you down to the pit,
and you will die the death
of those struck down in the heart of the sea.
9 At that moment, will you protest to your executioners, “But I’m a god!”?
To those who strike you down you are no god.
To them, you are nothing more than a mortal man.
10 You will die the death of all who are uncircumcised,
at the hand of outsiders.
Like the Israelites, the people of Tyre practice circumcision.
So said the Eternal Lord.
11 The word of the Eternal continued giving me His message.
Eternal One: 12 Son of man, sing a lament for the prince of Tyre. Tell him this is what I, the Eternal Lord, have to say:
You were a paradigm of perfection, human life at its best.
You had everything a leader needs: immense wisdom and perfect beauty.
13 You lived in Eden, God’s garden.
You were clothed in magnificent splendor, covered in jewels:
Sardius, topaz, diamond, beryl, onyx, jasper,
lapis lazuli, turquoise, and emerald.
All the mountings were made of gold,[j]
prepared for you on the day you were created.
14 I anointed you the guardian[k] of the garden and stationed you at your post to protect it.
You were on the divine mountain, the holy mount of God.
There you walked among the fiery stones.
15 You were entirely pure from the day you were created,
until wickedness crept in and was found in you!
16 Too much buying and selling—a greedy obsession!
You became motivated to violence and did wicked things.
Polluted and disgraced, I drove you off the mountain of God!
I expelled you, O guardian protector, from the fiery stones.
17 Your heart swelled with pride because of your beauty and talents.
Your hunger for fame, your thirst for glory corrupted your wisdom.
This is why I drove you to the ground
and made an example out of you before a company of kings.
18 You desecrated your sanctuaries
by pursuing sin after sin and cheating in business.
I set a flame inside of you, and it devoured you completely.
I reduced you to a pile of ashes on the ground,
a sight for all to see.
Ezekiel prophesies that the prince of Tyre will die violently without the benefit of a proper burial and find no peace in the afterlife.
19 All the nations who know you are appalled at what has happened to you.
The end of your story is a horror:
you are gone, never to return.
The prince of Tyre’s biography echoes the creation story. Adam, too, is described as a perfect and honored creation of God, given guardianship of the earth and full access to God. Expelled from paradise, wickedness becomes entrenched and spreads until God is forced to execute His judgment.
20 The word of the Eternal came to me with a message against Sidon.
Eternal One: 21-22 Son of man, face Sidon and preach to her. This is what I, the Eternal Lord, have to say:
Look, Sidon! I am against you;
My glory will be revealed when I prevail over you.
They will know that I am the Eternal One
when I have punished her
and revealed My holy self to her.
23 I will rain down disease upon her—an epidemic of death!
Her streets will become rivers of blood!
The wounded will fall within her walls,
and the battle will rage on every side!
Then they will know that I am the Eternal One.
24 As for the people of Israel, they will no longer have to deal with the spiteful, thorny neighbors who mocked their destruction. Then they will know that I am the Eternal Lord.
25 Here is what the Eternal Lord has to say:
Eternal One: When I gather the people of Israel from the nations where they have been scattered, I will reveal My holiness through them with all the nations watching. They will live in their own land—the land I gave to My servant, Jacob. 26 They will live safely there, building houses and planting vineyards. They will live safely there when I punish all of their neighbors who mocked them and treated them shamefully. Then they will know that I am the Eternal their God.
29 In the 10th year, on the 12th day of the 10th month, the word of the Eternal came to me with a message about Egypt.
Eternal One: 2 Son of man, face Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and preach against him and against all of Egypt! 3 Tell him this is what I, the Eternal Lord, have to say:
Look, I am against you,
Pharaoh king of Egypt.
You are like a great river monster,
snaking through the streams in the Nile,
declaring, “I own the Nile. I made it, and it is mine.”
4 But I will set a hook in your jaws
and make the fish of the Nile cling to your scales.
I will haul you in out of your waterways,
with all the fish clinging to your scales.
5 Then I will take you and leave you out in the desert,
you and all the fish of your waters.
You’ll collapse in the wide open space,
but no one will bother to collect your remains
Or bury you with your ancestors.
You’ll be food for wild beasts of the earth and birds in the sky.
6 Then all who live in Egypt will know that I am the Eternal One.
You have been nothing more than a staff made of wobbly reeds to the people of Israel.
7 When they took hold of you, looking for support,
you splintered and tore their hands.
When they leaned on you, you snapped in two,
and they wrenched their backs because of you.[l]
8 So this is what I, the Eternal Lord, have to say: “Look, I will march an army against you! It’s coming to slaughter your people and your animals. 9 I am going to make the land of Egypt a lonely wasteland; then they will know that I am the Eternal One.”
Because of your arrogant utterance, “I own the Nile. I made it, and it is mine,” 10 I oppose you and your streams. I will turn the land of Egypt into a lonely wasteland from Migdol to Aswan,[m] all the way to Ethiopia.[n] 11-12 No people or animals will pass through there. Not a single person will live there for 40 years. I will turn the land of Egypt into a wasteland, a tragedy among tragedies, the most devastating of devastations! Any cities still standing after the war will lie in ruins for 40 years. I will scatter the Egyptians to the wind and divide them among the nations.
13 After 40 years have passed, I am going to gather the Egyptians from the nations where I scattered them. 14 I will restore their fortunes and lead them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their ancestors. There, Egypt will begin again, but this time as an insignificant kingdom.
According to Egyptian legends, their people originate in southern Egypt near Pathros. Ezekiel is apparently aware of these stories and indicates God will give Egypt a new start.
15 She will be the weakest of any kingdom, never gaining power and never again ruling over other nations. 16 The people of Israel will never again turn to Egypt in a time of crisis because Egypt’s fate will be a reminder of her sins—when Israel chose to trust a pagan nation instead of Me. Then My people will know that I am the Eternal Lord.
The prophet directs his oracle against Pharaoh, but in reality the pharaoh represents all of the people. Pharaoh’s audacious claim that he created the Nile stands in clear contradiction to the fact that Israel’s God created the heavens and the earth. So God becomes his enemy, fishes the great river monster out of the river—the lifeline of Egypt—and leaves his body as food for the animals and birds of the desert. The “monster” could refer either to the Nile crocodile—a symbol of the Pharaoh’s power—or the mythical creature of chaos who opposes God but is ultimately defeated by Him. The other fishes clinging to his scales appear to represent all those who depend on Pharaoh, including the Egyptian people and those foolish enough to align with them.
17 In the 27th year, on the 1st day of the 1st month, the word of the Eternal came to me.
Eternal One: 18 Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, has exhausted his army with the long siege of Tyre. His soldiers’ bodies are spent, their heads bald and shoulders rubbed raw, yet they have made little progress. The king and his army have not been rewarded for all of their hard work against Tyre.
19 Therefore, the Eternal Lord says:
Eternal One: Look, I am going to hand the land of Egypt over to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. He will take away her wealth—her goods and her population—by force and pay his army with the treasures he acquires there. 20 I have given him Egypt’s land as his reward to compensate him for all the work he has done for Me.
21 When that day comes, I will make a horn grow for the people of Israel so that they will be confident that My deliverance is near. Then I will open your mouth so that they will realize you have been speaking for Me all along. Then they will know that I am the Eternal One.
30 The word of the Eternal came to me with a lament for Egypt.
Eternal One: 2 Son of man, speak! Tell them this is what the Eternal Lord has to say:
Weep and wail,
for today is the day you’ve dreaded;
3 The day of God’s judgment is near;
the day of the Eternal is closing in!
It is a day of dark clouds and gloom
that foreshadows the doom of the nations.
4 A sword will come against Egypt,
agony will invade Ethiopia,
When the dead cover the land of Egypt,
when her wealth is taken away and her foundations are leveled.
5 Every nation in league with her will be destroyed in the war: Ethiopia,[o] Put, Lud, all of Arabia, and Libya.
6 Egypt’s friends will crumble
along with her arrogance, her proud strength.
From Migdol to Aswan,[p]
they will fall by the sword.
7 Egypt will be laid waste, a tragedy among tragedies, the most devastating of devastations! Her cities will lie in ruins, surrounded by the empty desolation of other ruined cities. 8 Then they will all know that I am the Eternal One after I burn down Egypt and demolish her allies. 9 On that day of destruction, I will dispatch messengers in ships to wake up the sleeping nation of Ethiopia. They will drown in agony when they hear the news of Egypt’s doom! They will know, “We’re next! Judgment is on the horizon!”
10-11 This is what the Eternal Lord has to say:
Eternal One: I will put an end to the wealth and population of Egypt
using the power of Nebuchadnezzar as My weapon.
I will dispatch the king of Babylon and his armies—
the most ruthless in the world—
to ravage the land!
They will unsheathe their swords against Egypt
and fill the land with the slain.
12 I will dry up the waterways of the Nile
and sell the land to those who have evil designs.
I, the Eternal, promise to recruit foreigners
to destroy the land and plunder away everything of value.
13 I, the Eternal Lord, have this to say:
I will demolish the breathless idols
and destroy the vulgar images in Memphis.[q]
There won’t be a prince left in all the land of Egypt anymore;
I will infect the entire nation with a plague of fear!
14 I will crush Pathros in the south, set fire to Zoan in the delta,
and deliver a horrific punishment to Thebes[r] and all its temples.
15 I will drown Sin[s]—the great fortress of Egypt—in My wrath
and put an end to the wealth and population of Thebes.
16 I will set fire to all of Egypt!
Sin will writhe in pain.
Thebes will be torn apart;
day after day Memphis will live in fear.
17 The young soldiers of Heliopolis[t] and Pi-beseth will die in the battle;
the women will go into captivity.
In the ancient world, conquered peoples become the victors’ property. While the men are often killed, the women are taken away and used as slaves for various purposes.
18 An unnatural darkness will cover Tehaphnehes
when I destroy the dominion of Egypt.
I will put an end to her arrogance, her proud strength!
Dark clouds will veil her,
and her daughters will be led away as slaves.
19 This is how I will deliver My punishing judgments against Egypt;
then they will know that I am the Eternal One.
20 During the eleventh year, on the seventh day of the first month, the word of the Eternal came to me with a message about Egypt:
Eternal One: 21 Son of man, I’ve broken the arm of the Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Look! The bone has not yet been set, and his arm has not been splinted in order to promote healing. Therefore, he won’t be able to handle a sword to defend the nation’s power. 22 So this is what I, the Eternal Lord, have to say: Look! I oppose Pharaoh, king of Egypt. I will break both arms—the strong one and the already-broken one. I’ll make sure he’ll not be able to handle a sword! 23 I will scatter the Egyptians to the wind—dividing them among the nations. 24-25 Meanwhile I will strengthen the arms of Babylon’s king, and I will place My sword in his hand. But I will break Pharaoh’s arms, and the king of Egypt will groan with the pain of his injury before Nebuchadnezzar. So I will make the arms of Babylon’s king strong, even as the arms of Pharaoh grow weak and fall limp at his side. Then Egypt will know that I am the Eternal One—when I place My sword in the hands of the Babylonian king and he wields it against the land of Egypt. 26 When I scatter the Egyptians to the wind and divide them among the nations, they will know that I am the Eternal One.
Egypt is the last in this series of oracles against the nations. The imagery is just as profound and poetically graphic as in the other oracles. The terror of Tyre and Sidon’s defeat is fresh on the minds of Jerusalem’s citizens, and they wonder, what else will Nebuchadnezzar do to the Egyptians and their forces? The prophet has the answer. Like a locust hopping from city to city, the Babylonian army will move from the northern capital, Memphis (in lower Egypt), to the southern capital, Thebes (in upper Egypt). God proclaims through His living example, Ezekiel, that He has put His sword in Nebuchadnezzar’s hand to punish Egypt. If Egypt with all its history and splendor will fall to Babylonia, what chance do other nations have?
31 During the eleventh year, on the first day of the third month, the word of the Eternal came to me with a message about the Pharaoh.
Eternal One: 2 Son of man, tell Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and all his subjects,
Who is comparable to your greatness, Pharaoh?
3 Think about Assyria—a land once broad and handsome.
Like a cedar in Lebanon offering shade and beauty,
it grew high enough to reach the clouds!
4 Heaven’s waters made it grow, kept it healthy;
the deep waters made it grow tall,
Causing the rivers to flow around where it was planted,
channeling water to all the thirsty trees of the field.
5 It towered high above all the other trees in that place.
Its boughs increased in number;
Its branches grew stronger, thicker, and longer—
nourished by the generous waters beneath it.
6 All the birds of the air built their nests in its strong limbs;
all the wild beasts of the earth gave birth beneath its mighty branches;
all the great nations flourished in its long shadow.
7 It was magnificent in its beauty,
grand in its form, and long in its branches;
For its roots grew deep and tapped the sources of many waters.
8 No cedar trees in God’s garden could rival it;
no junipers could grow as many boughs;
no oriental plane trees could match its many branches;
No trees in God’s garden could rival its magnificent beauty!
9 I made it mighty and beautiful;
I molded its limbs, leaves, and branches
To be the envy of every tree in Eden,
of each tree in God’s garden.
10 Therefore, this is what the Eternal Lord has to say:
Eternal One: Because it is a giant tree, towering high above the rest, because its upper branches reach the clouds and it boasts of its unrivaled, stately stature, 11 I will hand it over to the ruler of the nations for him to deal with it according to its wickedness. I have cast it aside. 12 Foreigners who strike terror in the heart of the nations chopped it down and left it to rot. Its mighty branches crashed to the ground upon mountains and valleys. Its limbs shattered in ravines and littered rivers and streams. The tree was no longer a giant and no longer provided cool shade, so all the nations of the earth abandoned it. 13 Birds of the air perched on the trunk of the fallen tree. Wild beasts made homes within its limbs. 14 Consequently, no trees should ever boast of their stately stature, nor have their branches reach the clouds, nor tower high above the rest. There will be no more giants nourished by the deep waters of the earth, for they’re all destined to die and be for the world below. They will go down to the pit with all the people of the earth.
15 So I, the Eternal Lord, say that on the day when Assyria, the giant cedar, went to the place of the dead, I filled the deep waters with mourning. I halted the flow of its rivers and streams and veiled Lebanon’s hills and mountains with black for mourning. All the trees in the woodland withered away because of its demise! 16-17 I caused the nations to shake at the sound of its fall when I sent the giant tree to the destiny of all mortal things—death. All the trees of Eden, the finest and most well-watered trees in all of Lebanon, were comforted in that place of death. They accompanied it to the pit along with all those slain in battle—those who once kept it strong and rested in the cool of its shade along with the rest of the nations. 18 Which of the trees in Eden could rival your magnificent beauty and stately glory? But even you will perish and be taken to the earth below, along with other trees of Eden. You will lie in the grave beside the uncircumcised who were slain in battle. This is the fate of Pharaoh and all his people.
So said the Eternal Lord.
32 During the twelfth year, on the first day of the twelfth month, the word of the Eternal came to me with a lament over Pharaoh and his people.
Eternal One: 2 Son of man, sing a lament over Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Tell him,
You imagine yourself a lion moving mightily through the nations,
but you’re really like the great sea monster
Rampaging through the waterways—muddying up the streams
and fouling the rivers with your feet.
3 So I, the Eternal One, say:
I will use a company of many people to cover you with My net
Using the nations to make the trap.
Once you are caught, they will haul you up in My net.
4 I will leave you on dry land
and cast you in an open field.
I will summon the birds of the sky to land on you and feast on your flesh.
I will bring the wild beasts of the earth to satisfy their hunger with you.
5 I will scatter bits and pieces of you on the hills
and fill the valleys with your remains.
6 I will see that the land drinks your flowing blood
as it streams to the mountains and fills the dry riverbeds.
7 When I blot you out, I will cover the heavens and dim the stars;
I will hide the sun behind a cloud, and the moon will not shine.
8 I will darken the lights that shine in the heavens
and shroud your land in darkness.
9 I will disturb the hearts of many people across the world with accounts of your destruction. The news will travel to places you have never heard of or knew existed. 10 I will shock many peoples with your story; kings will be terrified to remember your fate when I wave My sword at them. On the day of your destruction, they will tremble constantly, fearing your tragic destiny might also be theirs.
11 I, the Eternal Lord, say that the sword of the Babylonian king will strike against you, Egypt. 12 I will use the swords of mighty warriors—all from the most ruthless nation on earth—to strike down your vast population.
They will hack the pride of Egypt to pieces
and slaughter her vast population.
13 I will destroy all her livestock that drink from the abundant rivers and streams
so they will no longer be muddied by the feet of man or beast.
14 Once they are gone, I will settle the waters of Egypt
and let them flow as smoothly as olive oil.
15 After I make the land of Egypt a wasteland,
strip the land bare, and crush all of her inhabitants,
Then they will know that I am the Eternal One.
16 This is the lament they will sing over her. The daughters of the nations will mourn
and sing for Egypt and for all her people.
So says the Eternal Lord.
17 In the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the first month, the word of the Eternal came to me regarding Egypt.
Eternal One: 18 Son of man, grieve for the vast population of Egypt. Deliver Egypt and her foreign allies to the lowest regions of the earth, to the pit where they may join the rest of the dead.
In Ezekiel’s day the Israelites believe that after death, all people go down to the pit, often called “Sheol.” The Hebrew word comes from a root that means “to ask a question” because no one knows exactly what happens on the other side. The afterlife remains an open question for Ezekiel’s contemporaries. The Bible describes it as a dark, shadowy place, located perhaps in the lowest regions of the earth. It stands in sharp contrast to the descriptions Jesus’ apostles will give of heaven and hell later in the New Testament. The Scriptures do not reveal everything at once. They invite the reader to keep digging and keep seeking to find answers.
Eternal One: 19 Ask Egypt, “Who compares to your beauty now?
Go down into the pit and rest among the uncircumcised pagans.”
20 They will fall and be buried with those who died in battle. The sword is drawn and at her throat! They have dragged her and all her vast population away. 21 The mighty rulers in the place of the dead will hail them: “Welcome to the world of the dead! Come on down and take your place among the uncircumcised pagans and those killed in battle.”
The Egyptians practice circumcision and are careful in burying their dead. They consider it an insult to be laid to rest with the uncircumcised and those never properly buried.
22 Assyria is in the pit—she and her entire company. She is encircled by the graves of her people—all of them slain, fallen by the sword. 23 Their graves are in the lowest regions of the pit; a vast company encircles her grave; all of them are slain, fallen by the sword. Their reign of terror among the living has ended in an eternity of dishonor.
24 Elam is there, too, with all her population around her grave. They all died in battle, slaughtered by the sword. They descended to the lowest regions of the pit uncircumcised. 25 Their reign of terror among the living has ended in an eternity among the disgraced in the pit. They have made her a bed among those killed in battle. The graves of her people surround her. They were slaughtered by the sword and descended into death without being circumcised. Their reign of terror among the living has ended in an eternity among the disgraced in the pit. They have taken their place among the slain.
26 Meshech and Tubal take residence in the lowest parts of the pit as well. The graves of their people surround them. Although they terrorized the living, they have all died in battle without being circumcised. 27 But they won’t share a space with the other uncircumcised pagan warriors (who also reigned down terror on earth) inhabiting the place of death honorably, buried with their weapons. Meshech and Tubal won’t rest on their swords in valor; instead, the punishment for their wickedness will rest on their bones. 28 Pharaoh, you, too, will lie with the other residents of the underworld. Your place is set beside the uncircumcised and those who died in battle.
29 Edom is there, too, with all her royalty and leadership. Even though they possessed great power while on earth, they dwell with others in the pit. They lie beside the uncircumcised and those who died in battle.
30 All the northern princes and all the Sidonians will end up in the pit too. They used their power to terrorize others in the land of the living. But now they dwell in shame with others in the pit. They lie beside the uncircumcised and those who died in battle.
31 I, the Eternal One, declare that Pharaoh will see and take comfort in the company of all his people—especially his army—slaughtered by the sword. 32 Even though I used him to terrorize the living, I am consigning him and all his people to lie in the deepest parts of the pit beside the uncircumcised and all those who died in battle.
So says the Eternal Lord.
33 The word of the Eternal came to me.
Eternal One: 2 Son of man, talk with your fellow exiles, and tell them, “If I wage war against a country and the people appoint one of their own to be a lookout, 3 and if the lookout sees an army advancing toward the land and blows a trumpet to warn the people, 4-5 and if someone hears the alarm and ignores it, allowing that army to come and capture him; then it is his own fault for not taking appropriate action. His blood will be on his own hands. If he had done something, he could have saved his life and the lives of others. 6 But if the lookout sees an army advancing and does not sound the alarm to warn the people and if some are captured or killed, then their blood will be on the hands of the lookout.”
7 Son of man, I have appointed you as a lookout for the nation of Israel. You must listen to what I have to say, then go and pass My warning on to your countrymen. 8 If I have a message for the wicked such as, “Wicked one, you are going to die,” and you don’t warn him to change his ways, then he will surely die because of his wickedness; but I will hold you responsible for his death. 9 If you do warn him to change his ways and he doesn’t do anything about it, then he will die because of his wickedness; but you will have saved your own life.
10 Son of man, you must tell the people of Israel, “You keep saying, ‘Our crimes and sins are weighing us down! We are rotting away! How can we live?’” 11 Tell them, “As I live,” says the Eternal Lord, “I don’t enjoy watching the wicked die; I want the wicked to stop doing what they’re doing and live! Repent! Turn from your wicked ways. Why would you choose to die instead of live, people of Israel?”
12 Son of man, tell your people, “The righteousness of the righteous won’t save him on the day he breaks My law, and the wickedness of the wicked won’t cause him to stumble and fall if he turns away from his wickedness. The righteous is not able to depend on his former right actions to save him when he decides to sin. 13 If I assure life to the one who does what is right, but he depends on his reputation for doing right and ends up sinning, then none of his former right actions will be remembered or tallied in his favor. He will surely die because of his sins. 14 If I tell the wicked, ‘You are certainly going to die,’ but he turns from his wicked path and chooses to be honest and do what is right, 15 if he gives back a debtor’s collateral, if he returns what he has stolen, if he lives by the laws that offer true life and abandons his evil ways; then he will certainly live. He will escape death. 16 Not one of his former sins will be remembered and tallied against him. He has lived by what is right and true, and he will certainly live.”
17 Still your own people say, “The Lord’s way is not fair at all.” But they are the ones with perverted ways. 18 If a good person turns from the good path he is on and chooses to act wickedly, he will die for it. 19 If a wicked man turns from the wicked path he is on and chooses to live by what is right and true, he will save his life. 20 But you, people of Israel, continue to complain, “The Lord’s way is not fair at all.” I will judge each of you according to what you have done.
21 During the twelfth year of our exile, on the fifth day of the tenth month, someone who had survived the Babylonian attack on Jerusalem brought me news as God said he would:[u] “The city has been captured!” 22 The evening before the Judean refugee came to me, the Eternal took hold of me; and by the time the refugee arrived the next morning, He had opened my mouth, renewed my voice, and broken my silence.
23 Then the word of the Eternal came to me with a message for the survivors.
Eternal One: 24 Son of man, the survivors dwelling in the rubble in the land of Israel are speaking nonsense, saying, “Abraham was but one man, yet he took possession of the land. We are many; surely the land has been given to us to own.” 25 Because they continue in their false hope, go give them this message from the Eternal Lord: “You eat raw meat with blood still in it, you worship idols, and you shed innocent blood. Do you really think you are worthy of owning the land of Israel? 26 You rely on your own strength in battle, you do shocking things, and you all partake in adulterous sex with your neighbors’ wives. Do you really think you are worthy of owning the land?” 27 Tell them the Eternal Lord says, “As surely as I, the Eternal live, those dwelling in the rubble will be killed in battle, those who live out in the open will be fed to wild beasts, and those hiding in fortresses or caves will die of disease. 28 I will turn this land into a wasteland, and no one will step foot there. Her pride in her power will be knocked out from under her, and Israel’s mountains will become so desolate that no one will dare to pass through them. 29 When I have made the land nothing more than a wasteland of rubble because of their shocking actions, they will know that I am the Eternal One.”
30 But you, son of man, your own people are talking about you everywhere—in the streets and at doorsteps—saying to their kinsmen, “Come listen to what Ezekiel is saying. He has a word from the Eternal.” 31 They come to you, just as people flock to see someone famous. My people sit at your feet and seem to hang on your every word, but they never apply those sacred instructions to their own lives. For they act as they speak—with lustful desire—and think only of how they’ll make a profit. 32 To them you are nothing more than a gifted singer of lustful songs, a teller of tales, a master of instruments! They hear what you say but fail to put any of it into practice. 33 But when the messages you’ve given them actually come true—and I assure you, everything you tell them is going to come true—they will realize a true prophet has been among them.
The fall of Jerusalem in 586 b.c. must confound Ezekiel. While he is, of course, devastated by the destruction of his homeland and the deaths of his countrymen, their defeat vindicates him and his life’s work. Everyone now knows that Ezekiel is a true prophet of God, and his years of suffering to bring his fellow exiles God’s message are rewarded by the people fawning over him. Unfortunately, the people’s sudden attention to Ezekiel’s words is akin to a person’s adoration of his favorite entertainer. They love to be in his presence, but they take him no more seriously than they ever have. Ezekiel’s popularity will be short-lived.
34 The word of the Eternal came to me with a message for Israel’s leaders.
Eternal One: 2 Son of man, preach against Israel’s shepherds! Speak directly to the shepherds and tell them this is what the Eternal Lord has to say: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel whose only concern is to protect and nourish themselves! Isn’t a shepherd’s job to look after the sheep? 3 Yet you exploit them in every way. You devour their fat, make soft clothes and blankets out of their wool, and slaughter the best sheep for your table. Meanwhile you don’t take care of the sheep at all. 4 You have not sought to nurse the weak. You have not gone out to tend to the sick. You have not bandaged the injured. You don’t bring back the strays or look for the lost. You have led them with neglect, ruled them with harshness, shepherded them with cruelty! 5 They had no real shepherd, so they have scattered; the entire flock was prey for wild beasts. 6 My sheep drifted aimlessly through all the mountains and up and down every hill. My flock was scattered all over the world, scattered like the stars in the night sky, and not a single shepherd went looking for them.”
God condemns the shepherd-rulers of Israel for neglecting their duties and exploiting their human flock. Heaven will not remain silent at this injustice. A change is coming.
7 Now pay attention, shepherds, to My word: 8 As surely as I, the Eternal Lord, live, because My sheep are without a shepherd, because they have become prey for all the wild beasts to feed upon, because my shepherds have not gone in search of My sheep but have only looked out for themselves and not watched after and cared for My flock; 9 I encourage you, shepherds, to listen to the word of the Eternal.
10-11 Those self-centered shepherds are My enemies! As far as I am concerned, they are no longer shepherds. They will not help themselves to My sheep any longer. I will recover My flock from those corrupt shepherds. I will snatch My sheep from their mouths! My sheep will no longer provide milk, clothing, or meat to them. I will personally go out searching for My sheep. I will find them wherever they are, and I will look after them. 12 In the same way one shepherd seeks after, cares for, and watches over his scattered flock, so will I be the guardian of My sheep. I will be their Rescuer! No matter where they have scattered, I will go to find them. I will bring them back from the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day. 13-14 I will call them out from the nations, gather them from the countries, and bring them into their own land. I will feed them in the high mountain pastures and meadows of Israel. I will feed them on good pastures; they will graze on the mountain heights of Israel. They will lie down to rest on this good ground, and they will feed on succulent grasses in bountiful pastures on the slopes of Israel’s sanctuary mountains. 15 I Myself will watch over My sheep and feed My flock. Whenever they are tired, I will lead them to rest on the cool mountain grass. 16 When they are lost, I will seek them and bring back every last stray. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak. However, I will destroy the fat and powerful. I will feed them a healthy portion of judgment.
17 As for you, My flock, this is what the Eternal Lord has to say: “Watch carefully! I will judge between one sheep and another, between rams and male goats.” 18 Are you not satisfied grazing in blooming pastures, feasting off rich mountain lands? Do you have to trample all of the pastures with your feet? Are you not satisfied drinking out of clear mountain streams? Do you have to muddy all of the mountain streams with your feet? 19 Why should the rest of My flock have to graze on trampled pastures and drink from muddied streams because of your careless feet?
20 So this is what the Eternal Lord has to say to them: “Watch carefully! I will personally judge between the fat sheep and the skinny sheep.” 21 Because you fat sheep bully the weak, push them around, and threaten them with your horns until you scatter them to distant mountains, 22 I will step in and save them. I will rescue them, and they will no longer be hunted and hassled. I will judge between one sheep and another. 23 I will designate one shepherd over the entire flock: My faithful servant, David. He will watch over them and care for them. He will be their shepherd. 24 I, the Eternal, will be their God; and My faithful servant, David, will be their prince.
I, the Eternal One, have spoken.
25 I will establish a covenant of peace with them and drive away all the dangerous wild animals from the land. Then they will be able to live safely in the wilderness and sleep soundly in the forests. 26 I will make them and the area around My holy hill a blessing. At My direction, there will be plenty of rainfall when it is needed. There will be showers of blessing! 27 The trees of the fields and orchards will bear abundant fruit, the soil of the fields will produce ample crops, and My people will rest securely within their land. They will know that I am the Eternal when I destroy the dominion of their oppressors and liberate them from those who made them slaves. 28 Foreign powers won’t ravage them anymore, and wild beasts will no longer feast on their flesh. They’ll be safe and free and fearless. 29 I will make their land famous for its beauty and productivity. Never again will famine strike their land. Never again will other nations sneer at them. 30 They will know that I, the Eternal One their God, am on their side and that they, the people of Israel, are My people.
After God declares His opposition to the shepherd-rulers who neglected and exploited their human flock, God pledges to get involved personally. He will search for the lost sheep, return the strays, and care for them tenderly back in the beautiful land of Israel, the land of promise.
But in God’s human flock are trouble and competition. Even as God lovingly supplies His flock with plenty of good food, clear water, and pleasant pastures, some trample what they can’t control and foul what they can’t consume. Some bully and push their weight around, while others move aside or run for the hills. Again God sees the problem and promises to step in, personally, to rescue His hassled people and put an end to injustice. So God promises to send another shepherd-ruler, in the spirit of King David, who will love and care for the flock as God Himself does. This Davidic shepherd will be unlike the wicked, neglectful shepherd-rulers in Israel’s past; this son of David will rule as their prince in submission to Israel’s one True God.
But there is more. In the final movement of this oracle, God announces a new covenant—a covenant of peace. Its scope is beyond human community and politics. It is a renewal of life in the land of Israel and, by extension, in the rest of creation.
The Eternal said this, 31 then added,
Eternal One: As for you, you are My sheep, the human flock of My pasture, and I am your God.
35 The word of the Eternal came to me with a message for Edom.
Eternal One: 2 Son of man, turn toward Mount Seir and preach against it. 3 Tell the Edomites that this is what the Eternal Lord has to say:
Pay attention! I oppose you, Mount Seir!
I will raise My hand against you, strike you,
and leave you an empty wasteland.
4 I will turn your cities to rubble,
and you will lie desolate and deserted.
Then you will know that I am the Eternal One.
5 You held an old grudge against the Israelites, and you handed them over to death and defeat when they were in the midst of disaster, at a crucial moment of their final punishment.
Israel has no more implacable enemy than Edom. As the descendants of Esau, whose brother Jacob stole his birthright and his father’s blessing, the Edomites view the Israelites as illegitimate rulers and thieves. So shortly after Nebuchadnezzar razes Jerusalem in 586 b.c., Edom seizes its opportunity for revenge and swoops in to fill the political vacuum that results. The Edomites are not operating as God’s instruments. They attack Israel out of their own greed, thinking no one is left to oppose them. They are wrong. The land of Israel never belongs to the people themselves; it belongs to God. When the Edomites sneak in to pillage the land of Israel, they find the stewards of the land gone or severely weakened, but the true Owner is at home and is ready to prosecute them for their actions.
Eternal One: 6 As surely as I, the Eternal Lord, live, what you have given, you will receive! I will hand you over to bloodshed, and it will come after you. Because you have been quick to shed blood, I will make your blood flow! 7 I will leave Mount Seir an empty wasteland and destroy any who come and go. 8 I will spread your corpses upon the mountains; all those slaughtered in battle will fill the hills and valleys and riverbeds! 9 I will turn you into an eternal wasteland; your cities and towns will lie empty and silent. Then you will know that I am the Eternal.
10 You keep saying, “We will take possession of these two countries and two nations—Israel and Judah. We will own them.” And you have the nerve to say this right in front of Me! 11 Consequently, as surely as I, the Eternal Lord, live, the rage and jealousy you have shown as a result of your hatred of them will be returned to you. When I judge you, I will show them who I am and remind them they are still mine. 12 When that day arrives, you will know that I, the Eternal One, have overheard all the despicable threats you made against Israel’s mountains: “They’re nothing but rubble! They’re as good as ours; let’s take what we want!” 13 You said so many haughty things against Me, and I heard every word of it.
14 This is what the Eternal God has to say.
Eternal One: While everyone else in the world sings songs and has happy feasts, I will leave you empty and desolate. 15 Since you celebrated the destruction of the land Israel was meant to inherit, I’m going to treat you the same way. O Mount Seir, you and the rest of Edom will be turned into an empty wasteland! Then you will know that I am the Eternal One.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.