Ezekiel / Chapter 25

Ezekiel 25

17 verses • Westminster Leningrad Codex

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

Ezekiel 25 opens the second major section of the book: the oracles against the nations (chs. 25-32). After the judgment on Israel is sealed in chapter 24, the prophetic lens turns outward to Israel's immediate neighbors — Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia — each of whom responded to Jerusalem's fall with malicious glee. These are short, sharp oracles, not the extended poems reserved for Tyre and Egypt. The charge against each nation is the same in essence: they rejoiced at Israel's humiliation and sought to profit from her destruction. The theological logic is clear — if God judges his own people for covenant violation, he will certainly judge the nations who mocked his people's suffering.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

These four oracles share a common structure: accusation (introduced by ya'an, 'because'), followed by judgment (introduced by laken, 'therefore'), followed by the recognition formula ('they will know that I am the LORD'). This formulaic structure is deliberate — it presents God as the universal judge who holds all nations accountable, not only Israel. The nations are not judged for violating the Sinai covenant (they were never party to it) but for violating basic moral obligations: gloating over a neighbor's suffering, seizing territory from the vulnerable, and acting from ancient hatred. The progression from Ammon (east) to Moab (east-southeast) to Edom (south) to Philistia (west) traces a geographic arc around Judah, surrounding the fallen nation with hostile neighbors — and then surrounding those neighbors with divine judgment.

Translation Friction

The phrase benei qedem ('people of the east,' v. 4) required care — it refers to desert-dwelling nomadic peoples east of the Jordan, not to a specific nation. The punishment for Ammon involves being overrun by these easterners who will set up their encampments in Ammonite territory. The Edom oracle (vv. 12-14) introduces the concept of neqamah ('vengeance') applied both to Edom's actions and to God's response — Edom took vengeance on Judah, so God will take vengeance on Edom. We maintained the same Hebrew root in both directions to preserve the measure-for-measure logic.

Connections

The Ammon oracle connects to Jeremiah 49:1-6 and Amos 1:13-15. The Moab oracle connects to Isaiah 15-16 and Jeremiah 48. The Edom oracle connects to Obadiah (the entire book), Jeremiah 49:7-22, and the extended Edom oracle in Ezekiel 35. The Philistia oracle connects to Amos 1:6-8 and Zephaniah 2:4-7. The oracles against the nations as a genre appear in Isaiah 13-23, Jeremiah 46-51, and Amos 1-2 — Ezekiel's collection is distinctive for its geographic focus on Israel's immediate neighbors before turning to the major powers (Tyre and Egypt).

Ezekiel 25:1

וַיְהִ֥י דְבַר־יְהוָ֖ה אֵלַ֥י לֵאמֹֽר׃

The word of the LORD came to me:

KJV The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The standard reception formula marks the beginning of a new prophetic unit. No date is given for these oracles — they are positioned after the sealing of judgment on Jerusalem (ch. 24) and likely date to the period of the siege or shortly after.
Ezekiel 25:2

בֶּן־אָדָ֕ם שִׂ֥ים פָּנֶ֖יךָ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י עַמּ֑וֹן וְהִנָּבֵ֖א עֲלֵיהֶֽם׃

Son of man, set your face toward the Ammonites and prophesy against them.

KJV Son of man, set thy face against the Ammonites, and prophesy against them;

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The phrase sim panekha ('set your face toward') is a hostile gesture — it directs the prophetic word like a weapon aimed at a target. Ammon, east of the Jordan, was a long-standing rival of Israel. The Ammonites' capital was Rabbah (modern Amman, Jordan).
Ezekiel 25:3

וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ לִבְנֵ֣י עַמּ֗וֹן שִׁמְעוּ֙ דְּבַר־אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֔ה כֹּה־אָמַ֞ר אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֗ה יַ֤עַן אָמְרֵךְ֙ הֶאָ֔ח אֶל־מִקְדָּשִׁ֖י כִּ֣י נִחָ֑ל וְאֶל־אַדְמַ֤ת יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ כִּ֣י נָשַׁ֔מָּה וְאֶל־בֵּ֥ית יְהוּדָ֖ה כִּ֥י הָלְכ֥וּ בַגּוֹלָֽה׃

Say to the Ammonites: Hear the word of the Lord GOD! This is what the Lord GOD says — Because you said 'Aha!' over my sanctuary when it was desecrated, and over the land of Israel when it was laid waste, and over the house of Judah when they went into exile —

KJV And say unto the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou saidst, Aha, against my sanctuary, when it was profaned; and against the land of Israel, when it was desolate; and against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity;

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The exclamation he'ach ('Aha!') is an expression of malicious satisfaction — not sorrow or sympathy but gloating pleasure at another's misfortune. Three objects of Ammon's gloating are listed in ascending order of intimacy: God's sanctuary (the Temple), God's land (Israel), and God's people (the house of Judah). The charge is not that Ammon caused the destruction but that they celebrated it. God calls the Temple 'my sanctuary' (miqdashi) — even in its desecration, it belongs to God.
Ezekiel 25:4

לָכֵ֗ן הִנְנִ֤י נֹֽתְנָךְ֙ לִבְנֵי־קֶ֣דֶם לְמ֣וֹרָשָׁ֔ה וְיִשְּׁב֤וּ טִירֽוֹתֵיהֶם֙ בָּ֔ךְ וְנָתְנ֥וּ בָ֖ךְ מִשְׁכְּנֵיהֶ֑ם הֵ֚מָּה יֹאכְל֣וּ פִרְיֵ֔ךְ וְהֵ֖מָּה יִשְׁתּ֥וּ חֲלָבֵֽךְ׃

Therefore I am handing you over to the people of the east as a possession. They will set up their encampments among you and pitch their dwellings in your midst. They will eat your fruit and drink your milk.

KJV Behold, therefore I will deliver thee to the men of the east for a possession, and they shall set their palaces in thee, and make their dwellings in thee: they shall eat thy fruit, and they shall drink thy milk.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The benei qedem ('people of the east') are desert-dwelling nomadic peoples from the Arabian steppe east of Ammon — Bedouin-type groups who will overrun Ammon's settled agricultural territory. The word tiroteihem can mean 'encampments' or 'tent-villages' — it describes the nomadic settlements that will replace Ammon's cities. The punishment is territorial displacement: Ammon's land will cease to be Ammonite. 'Eating your fruit and drinking your milk' means the invaders will consume the agricultural produce that sustained Ammon.
Ezekiel 25:5

וְנָתַתִּ֨י אֶת־רַבָּ֜ה לִנְוֵ֣ה גְמַלִּ֗ים וְאֶת־בְּנֵ֤י עַמּוֹן֙ לְמִרְבַּץ־צֹ֔אן וִידַעְתֶּ֖ם כִּי־אֲנִ֥י יְהוָֽה׃

I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels and the land of the Ammonites a resting place for flocks. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

KJV And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels, and the Ammonites a couching place for flocks: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Rabbah was Ammon's capital city (modern Amman, Jordan). The image of a great capital reduced to camel pasture is one of total civilizational reversal — urban space returned to pastoral use. The recognition formula 'you will know that I am the LORD' (viyda'tem ki ani YHWH) closes the oracle, making clear that the purpose of judgment is not mere punishment but divine self-revelation. Even the nations will come to know Israel's God through his acts of judgment.
Ezekiel 25:6

כִּ֣י כֹ֤ה אָמַר֙ אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֔ה יַ֚עַן מַחְאֲךָ֣ יָ֔ד וְרַקְעֲךָ֖ בְּרָ֑גֶל וַתִּשְׂמַ֧ח בְּכָל־שָׁאטְךָ֛ בְּנֶ֖פֶשׁ אֶל־אַדְמַ֥ת יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃

For this is what the Lord GOD says: Because you clapped your hands and stamped your feet and rejoiced with utter contempt in your heart over the land of Israel —

KJV For thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast clapped thine hands, and stamped with the feet, and rejoiced in heart with all thy despite against the land of Israel;

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. A second oracle against Ammon intensifies the charge. The physical gestures — clapping hands (macha'akha yad) and stamping feet (raq'akha beregel) — are expressions of spiteful joy, the body language of malicious celebration. The word sha'at ('contempt, scorn') describes the emotional posture behind the gestures: deep, visceral disdain. The phrase be-nephesh ('with all your soul/being') indicates this was not a passing reaction but a whole-hearted, deeply felt contempt.
Ezekiel 25:7

לָכֵ֗ן הִנְנִ֤י נָטִ֙יתִי֙ אֶת־יָדִ֣י עָלַ֔יִךְ וּנְתַתִּ֥יךְ לְבַ֖ג לַגּוֹיִ֑ם וְהִכְרַתִּ֣יךְ מִן־הָעַמִּ֗ים וְהַאֲבַדְתִּיךְ֙ מִן־הָ֣אֲרָצ֔וֹת אַשְׁמִידְךָ֕ וְיָדַעְתָּ֖ כִּי־אֲנִ֥י יְהוָֽה׃

Therefore I am stretching out my hand against you and handing you over as plunder to the nations. I will cut you off from the peoples and make you perish from the lands. I will destroy you, and you will know that I am the LORD.

KJV Behold, therefore I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and will deliver thee for a spoil to the heathen; and I will cut thee off from the people, and I will cause thee to perish out of the countries: I will destroy thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Four verbs of destruction cascade: 'I will cut you off' (hikhrattikh), 'make you perish' (ha'avadtikh), 'destroy you' (ashmidekh), plus the initial 'handing over as plunder' (bag). The word bag ('plunder, spoil') means Ammon itself becomes loot for other nations. The extended hand of God (natiti et yadi) is a gesture of divine power exercised in judgment — the same phrase used for God's acts against Egypt in the Exodus (Exodus 7:5).
Ezekiel 25:8

כֹּ֤ה אָמַר֙ אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֔ה יַ֗עַן אֲמֹ֤ר מוֹאָב֙ וְשֵׂעִ֔יר הִנֵּ֥ה כְכָל־הַגּוֹיִ֖ם בֵּ֥ית יְהוּדָֽה׃

This is what the Lord GOD says: Because Moab and Seir said, 'Look — the house of Judah is just like all the other nations' —

KJV Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because that Moab and Seir do say, Behold, the house of Judah is like unto all the heathen;

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The Moab oracle begins. Seir (another name for Edom) is paired with Moab here, though Edom receives its own separate oracle in verses 12-14. Moab's sin is theological, not merely political: they declared that Judah is 'like all the nations' (ke-khol ha-goyim), denying Judah's special covenant status with God. This is an assault on the doctrine of election — if Judah's God could not protect them, then Judah's claim to be God's chosen people was a delusion. The word hinneh ('look') introduces their mocking observation.
Ezekiel 25:9

לָכֵ֗ן הִנְנִ֤י פֹתֵ֙חַ֙ אֶת־כֶּ֣תֶף מוֹאָ֔ב מֵהֶעָרִ֖ים מֵעָרָ֑יו מִקָּצֵ֕הוּ צְבִ֣י אֶ֔רֶץ בֵּ֧ית הַיְשִׁימ֛וֹת בַּ֥עַל מְע֖וֹן וְקִרְיָתָֽיְמָה׃

Therefore I am opening the flank of Moab — stripping away its frontier cities, the glory of the land: Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim.

KJV Therefore, behold, I will open the side of Moab from the cities, from his cities which are on his frontiers, the glory of the country, Bethjeshimoth, Baalmeon, and Kiriathaim,

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The word keteph ('shoulder, flank, side') is a geographic metaphor — the 'shoulder' of Moab is its border region, its defensive frontier. Opening the flank means removing its border defenses, leaving it exposed to invasion. The three cities named — Beth-jeshimoth ('house of the wastelands'), Baal-meon ('lord of the dwelling'), and Kiriathaim ('double city') — were Moabite frontier towns on the northern border, the first line of defense. The phrase tsevi erets ('glory/beauty of the land') marks these as Moab's finest cities.
Ezekiel 25:10

לִבְנֵ֨י קֶ֜דֶם עַל־בְּנֵ֤י עַמּוֹן֙ וּנְתַתִּ֣יהָ לְמ֣וֹרָשָׁ֔ה לְמַ֛עַן לֹֽא־תִזָּכֵ֥ר בְּנֵֽי־עַמּ֖וֹן בַּגּוֹיִֽם׃

I will give it to the people of the east, along with the Ammonites, as a possession, so that the Ammonites will no longer be remembered among the nations.

KJV Unto the men of the east with the Ammonites, and will give them in possession, that the Ammonites may not be remembered among the nations.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Moab shares Ammon's fate — both will be overrun by the benei qedem ('people of the east'). The phrase 'so that the Ammonites will no longer be remembered among the nations' describes national extinction — not merely political defeat but the erasure of Ammon from historical memory. This is the ultimate punishment in the ancient Near East, where nations survived through memory and legacy.
Ezekiel 25:11

וּבְמוֹאָ֖ב אֶעֱשֶׂ֣ה שְׁפָטִ֑ים וְיָדְע֖וּ כִּי־אֲנִ֥י יְהוָֽה׃

I will execute judgments on Moab, and they will know that I am the LORD.

KJV And I will execute judgments upon Moab; and they shall know that I am the LORD.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The word shephatim ('judgments') is plural, indicating multiple acts of divine justice. The recognition formula closes the Moab oracle. The brevity of Moab's oracle (four verses) compared to the later Tyre oracle (three chapters) reflects the relative geopolitical insignificance of Moab in Ezekiel's world.
Ezekiel 25:12

כֹּ֤ה אָמַר֙ אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֔ה יַ֗עַן עֲשׂ֤וֹת אֱדוֹם֙ בִּנְקֹ֔ם נָקָ֖ם לְבֵ֣ית יְהוּדָ֑ה וַיֶּאְשְׁמ֥וּ אָשׁ֖וֹם וְנִקְּמ֥וּ בָהֶֽם׃

This is what the Lord GOD says: Because Edom acted with vengeance against the house of Judah and incurred terrible guilt by taking revenge on them —

KJV Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because that Edom hath dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and hath greatly offended, and revenged himself upon them;

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The Edom oracle uses the root naqam ('vengeance') twice — Edom's sin was binqom naqam ('taking vengeance'), actively punishing Judah during her fall. The phrase va-ye'shemu ashot ('they incurred terrible guilt') uses the verb asham, which carries both the sense of 'being guilty' and 'suffering the consequences of guilt.' Edom's relationship with Israel was fraught from the beginning — the ancestral brothers Jacob and Esau (Genesis 25-33) — and Edom's betrayal during Jerusalem's fall was experienced as the worst kind of family treachery.
Ezekiel 25:13

לָכֵ֗ן כֹּ֤ה אָמַר֙ אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֔ה וְנָטִתִ֥י יָדִ֖י עַל־אֱד֑וֹם וְהִכְרַתִּ֤י מִמֶּ֙נָּה֙ אָדָ֣ם וּבְהֵמָ֔ה וּנְתַתִּ֙יהָ֙ חָרְבָּ֔ה מִתֵּימָ֕ן וּדְדָ֖נֶה בַּחֶ֥רֶב יִפֹּֽלוּ׃

Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: I will stretch out my hand against Edom and cut off from it both human and animal. I will make it a ruin from Teman to Dedan — they will fall by the sword.

KJV Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also stretch out mine hand upon Edom, and will cut off man and beast from it; and I will make it desolate from Teman; and they of Dedan shall fall by the sword.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Teman (in the south) and Dedan (in the north/northeast, in northwest Arabia) mark the full extent of Edomite territory — the entire land will be devastated. The phrase 'cut off human and animal' (hikhratti ... adam u-vehemah) describes total depopulation — even the livestock will be destroyed. The word chorvah ('ruin, desolation') describes permanent uninhabitability.
Ezekiel 25:14

וְנָתַתִּ֤י אֶת־נִקְמָתִי֙ בֶּאֱד֔וֹם בְּיַ֖ד עַמִּ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְעָשׂ֣וּ בֶאֱד֗וֹם כְּאַפִּי֙ וְכַ֣חֲמָתִ֔י וְיָֽדְעוּ֙ אֶת־נִקְמָתִ֔י נְאֻ֖ם אֲדֹנָ֥י יְהוִֽה׃

I will carry out my vengeance on Edom through the hand of my people Israel. They will act in Edom according to my anger and my wrath, and they will know my vengeance, declares the Lord GOD.

KJV And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel: and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and according to my fury; and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord GOD.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The measure-for-measure logic is explicit: Edom took vengeance (naqam) on Judah (v. 12), so God will execute his vengeance (niqmati) on Edom (v. 14) — the same root naqam appears in both verses. Uniquely among the nations oracles, God specifies that Israel will be the instrument of Edom's judgment ('through the hand of my people Israel'). This may reflect the Maccabean conquest of Idumea (the later name for Edom) in the second century BCE. The phrase 'according to my anger and my wrath' (ke-appi u-khe-chamati) describes the intensity of the coming judgment.
Ezekiel 25:15

כֹּ֤ה אָמַר֙ אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֔ה יַ֗עַן עֲשׂ֤וֹת פְּלִשְׁתִּים֙ בִּנְקָמָ֔ה וַיִּנָּקְמ֥וּ נָקָ֖ם בִּשְׁאָ֣ט בְּנָ֑פֶשׁ לְמַשְׁחִ֖ית אֵיבַ֥ת עוֹלָֽם׃

This is what the Lord GOD says: Because the Philistines acted with vengeance and took revenge with utter contempt, seeking to destroy out of ancient hostility —

KJV Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it for the old hatred;

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The Philistine oracle echoes the Edom oracle in using naqam ('vengeance') vocabulary. The phrase bi-sh'at be-naphesh ('with contempt in the soul') repeats the language used of Ammon in verse 6 (sha'at), creating a literary frame around the four oracles. The eivat olam ('ancient/perpetual hostility') refers to the long history of Philistine-Israelite conflict stretching back to the period of the Judges and through the monarchy (Samson, Saul, David). The word olam here means 'ancient, long-standing' rather than 'eternal.'
Ezekiel 25:16

לָכֵ֗ן כֹּ֤ה אָמַר֙ אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֔ה הִנְנִ֤י נוֹטֶה֙ אֶת־יָדִ֔י עַל־פְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים וְהִכְרַתִּ֖י אֶת־כְּרֵתִ֑ים וְהַ֣אֲבַדְתִּ֔י אֶת־שְׁאֵרִ֖ית חוֹף הַיָּֽם׃

Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: I am stretching out my hand against the Philistines. I will cut off the Cherethites and destroy the remnant of the seacoast.

KJV Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will stretch out mine hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethims, and destroy the remnant of the sea coast.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The Cherethites (keretim) were a sub-group of the Philistines, probably from Crete (the name may derive from the same root as 'Crete'). There is a wordplay in the Hebrew: hikhratti et keretim — 'I will cut off (k-r-t) the Cherethites (k-r-t).' The paronomasia is untranslatable but should be noted. The 'remnant of the seacoast' (she'erit chof ha-yam) refers to the Philistine coastal plain — the strip of Mediterranean coast that the Philistines controlled, including Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gath.
Ezekiel 25:17

וְעָשִׂ֤יתִי בָם֙ נְקָמ֣וֹת גְּדֹל֔וֹת בְּתוֹכְח֖וֹת חֵמָ֑ה וְיָֽדְעוּ֙ כִּי־אֲנִ֣י יְהוָ֔ה בְּתִתִּ֥י אֶת־נִקְמָתִ֖י בָּֽם׃

I will carry out great acts of vengeance against them with furious punishments. They will know that I am the LORD when I bring my vengeance upon them.

KJV And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The chapter closes with the strongest language yet: neqamot gedolot ('great acts of vengeance') and tokhechot chemah ('furious punishments/rebukes'). The word tokhechot can mean 'punishments,' 'rebukes,' or 'chastisements' — it carries a corrective as well as punitive sense. The recognition formula closes the Philistine oracle and the entire chapter: 'they will know that I am the LORD.' This is the theological purpose behind all four oracles — God's judgment on the nations is not merely punitive but revelatory. The nations will come to know Israel's God through his acts of justice.
Chapter 24 Ezekiel index Chapter 26