Ezekiel 35

Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

1God's message came to me. This is what he said.

2Son of man, set thy face against mount Seir, and prophesy against it,

2"Son of man, that means human being, turn and face Mount Seir. Speak my message against that mountain land."

3And say unto it, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O mount Seir, I am against thee, and I will stretch out mine hand against thee, and I will make thee most desolate.

3Tell it that the Lord GOD says this: "I am against you, Mount Seir. I will reach out my hand to punish you. I will leave your land empty and ruined."

4I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.

4"I will knock your cities down. Your land will be left empty. Then you will know that I am the LORD."

5Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred, and hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time that their iniquity had an end:

5"You hated Israel for a very long time. You handed Israel's people over to be killed with swords. You did this when trouble came to them, at the end of their punishment."

NoteThe KJV says "in the time that their iniquity had an end." It means the time when Israel's punishment was coming to its end. It does not mean Israel's wrongdoing simply stopped.

6Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee: sith thou hast not hated blood, even blood shall pursue thee.

6"So, as surely as I live, says the Lord GOD, I will hand you over to killing. Killing will chase after you. You did not hate killing, so killing will chase you."

NoteThe KJV word "sith" is an old spelling of "since." And "I will prepare thee unto blood" means "I will hand you over to killing."

7Thus will I make mount Seir most desolate, and cut off from it him that passeth out and him that returneth.

7"I will leave Mount Seir empty and ruined. No one will come and go there anymore."

8And I will fill his mountains with his slain men: in thy hills, and in thy valleys, and in all thy rivers, shall they fall that are slain with the sword.

8"I will fill its mountains with people who have been killed. Men killed by swords will fall on your hills, in your valleys, and in every narrow valley."

9I will make thee perpetual desolations, and thy cities shall not return: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

9"I will leave you empty forever. No one will live in your cities again. Then you will know that I am the LORD."

10Because thou hast said, These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess it; whereas the LORD was there:

10"You said, 'These two nations, Israel and Judah, and their lands will be ours. We will take them.' But the LORD was there."

11Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will even do according to thine anger, and according to thine envy which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them; and I will make myself known among them, when I have judged thee.

11"So, as surely as I live, says the Lord GOD, I will treat you the way you treated them. You were angry and jealous, and you hated them. When I punish you, Israel's people will learn who I am."

12And thou shalt know that I am the LORD, and that I have heard all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid desolate, they are given us to consume.

12"Then you will know that I am the LORD. I heard every mean word you said about Israel's mountains. You said, 'They are empty now. They are ours to eat up.'"

13Thus with your mouth ye have boasted against me, and have multiplied your words against me: I have heard them.

13"You bragged against me with your mouth. You said many words against me. I heard every one of them."

14Thus saith the Lord GOD; When the whole earth rejoiceth, I will make thee desolate.

14The Lord GOD says this: "While the whole earth is glad, I will leave your land empty."

15As thou didst rejoice at the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so will I do unto thee: thou shalt be desolate, O mount Seir, and all Idumea, even all of it: and they shall know that I am the LORD.

15"You were glad when Israel's land was left empty. So I will do the same to you. Mount Seir, you will be empty and ruined. All of Edom will be too. Then they will know that I am the LORD."

Note"Idumea" is another name for Edom, the land around Mount Seir.