Ezekiel 25 (NET)

A Prophecy Against Ammon

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, turn toward1 the Ammonites2 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,3 I am about to make you slaves of4 the tribes5 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 Ammon6 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 scorn7 over the land of Israel, 7 take note, I have stretched out my hand against you, and I will hand you over as plunder8 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: ‘Moab9 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,10 eliminating the cities,11 including its frontier cities,12 the beauty of the land – Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon, and Kiriathaim. 10 I will hand it over,13 along with the Ammonites,14 to the tribes15 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: ‘Edom16 has taken vengeance against the house of Judah; they have made themselves fully culpable17 by taking vengeance18 on them.19 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,20 and I will make her desolate; from Teman to Dedan they will die21 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 experience22 my vengeance, declares the sovereign Lord.’”

A Prophecy Against Philistia

15 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘The Philistines23 have exacted merciless revenge,24 showing intense scorn25 in their effort to destroy Judah26 with unrelenting hostility.27 16 So this is what the sovereign Lord says: Take note, I am about to stretch out my hand against the Philistines. I will kill28 the Cherethites29 and destroy those who remain on the seacoast. 17 I will exact great vengeance upon them with angry rebukes.30 Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I exact my vengeance upon them.’”

125:2tn Heb “set your face toward.” 225:2tn Heb “the sons of Ammon.” Ammon was located to the east of Israel. 325:4tn 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). 425:4tn Heb “Look I am about to give you for a possession to.” 525:4tn Heb “sons.” 625:5tn Heb “the sons of Ammon.” 725:6tn Heb “with all your scorn in (the) soul.” 825:7tc The translation here follows the marginal reading (Qere) of the Hebrew text. The consonantal text (Kethib) is meaningless. 925:8sn Moab was located immediately south of Ammon. 1025:9tn Heb “shoulder.” 1125:9tn 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). 1225:9tn Heb “from its cities, from its end.” 1325:10tn Heb “I will give it for a possession.” 1425:10tn Heb “the sons of Ammon” (twice in this verse). 1525:10tn Heb “the sons.” 1625:12sn Edom was located south of Moab. 1725:12tn 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. 1825:12tn Heb “and they have taken vengeance.” 1925:12sn Edom apparently in some way assisted in the destruction of Jerusalem in 587/6 b.c. (Ps 137:7; Lam 5:21, 23; Joel 3:19; Obadiah). 2025:13tn Heb “and I will cut off from her man and beast.” 2125:13tn Heb “fall.” 2225:14tn Heb “know.” 2325:15sn The Philistines inhabited the coastal plain by the Mediterranean Sea, west of Judah. 2425:15tn Heb “have acted with vengeance and taken vengeance with vengeance.” The repetition emphasizes the degree of vengeance which they exhibited, presumably toward Judah. 2525:15tn Heb “with scorn in (the) soul.” 2625:15tn The object is not specified in the Hebrew text, but has been clarified as “Judah” in the translation. 2725:15tn Heb “to destroy (with) perpetual hostility.” Joel 3:4-8 also speaks of the Philistines taking advantage of the fall of Judah. 2825:16tn In Hebrew the verb “and I will cut off” sounds like its object, “the Cherethites,” and draws attention to the statement. 2925:16sn This is a name for the Philistines, many of whom migrated to Palestine from Crete. 3025:17tn Heb “with acts of punishment of anger.”