Ezekiel 35:7

Thus will I make Mount Seir most desolate,.... By shedding the blood of the inhabitants of it; and as Rome will be, when it will be utterly burnt with fire, as that city will, and the flesh of the whore also, and made desolate; and when all the vials shall be poured out on the antichristian states under her jurisdiction, Revelation 16:1 , and cut off from it him that passeth out and him that returneth: every traveller that passeth to and fro; it shall no more be frequented by merchants; nor will there be any merchandise any more in it, Revelation 18:11.

Ezekiel 35:7-12 . Thus will I make mount Seir most desolate — Hebrew, לשׁממה ושׁממה , a desolation and a desolation, or, a desolation and an astonishment, as Bishop Newton renders it, following the reading of several MSS. And cut off from it him that passeth out, &c. — No travellers shall go forward or backward in it with safety: see the margin. And thy cities shall not return — Thy cities shall not be restored to thee again. This was exactly fulfilled; for the Nabatheans having driven the Edomites out of their ancient habitations, in the time of the Babylonish captivity, they settled themselves in the southern part of Judea, where they were afterward conquered by Hyrcanus, and obliged to embrace the Jewish religion, and so became at length incorporated with that nation. — Dr. Prideaux. Because thou hast said, These two nations, &c., shall be mine — The two nations and countries here spoken of mean the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah. The Edomites had settled themselves in part of Judea, and hoped to have got possession both of the land of Judah and the land of Israel in time. The Ammonites had the same design, as appears from Jeremiah 49:1 . Whereas, or although, the Lord was there — Was still with his ancient people, and had not yet entirely abandoned them, or withdrawn his protection from their country, and given it up to be laid waste.

These Edomites, it seems, did not believe that God had placed his name in Judea, had chosen it for the place of his peculiar residence, and would never quite relinquish his property in it. Therefore I will even do according to thine anger — As thou out of anger and envy didst hurt them, so will I hurt thee. I will make myself known among them — I will make my people see that I have not quite cast them off, by the punishments I will bring upon thee on account of the evil thou hast done to them. And thou shalt know that I am the Lord — Thou shalt then be convinced that I am the sovereign Lord of all things.

(7) Him that passeth out .—The cutting off of the traveller is a striking feature in the doom of Edom, for her nomadic tribes had been the great carriers between India and the East and Egypt, and she had grown rich by this commerce. The fierceness of the few tribes now wandering over the land make even the occasional visit of the curious traveller a matter of difficulty and danger.

Verse 7. - Thus will I make Mount Seir most desolate ; literally, desolation and a desolation ( שְׁמֲמָּה וּשְׁמָמָה ); or, as in the Revised Version, an astonishment and a desolation ; changing שְׁמֲמַה into מְשַׁמָּה , for which, however, there is no sufficient warrant. And I will out off... him that passeth out (or, through ) and him that returneth . No more should traders or travelers pass through the land of Edom or go to and return from it (cf. Ezekiel 33:28 ; Zechariah 7 :15; 9:8, 10). Ezekiel 35:7

Shed blood - Omit "blood:" better as in the margin, i. e., and hast given up the children of Israel to the sword; thou hast scattered the children of Israel in confusion like stones poured down a mountain-side Micah 1:6 . That their iniquity had an end - Or, "of the iniquity of the end," i. e., the time when by the capture of the city the iniquity of Israel came to an end Ezekiel 21:29.

All travellers that go to or from Edom’s country, or his cities; or possibly it may intimate the close sieges with which his cities should be so begirt, that none should attempt to go out or go in, but it should cost them their life: so Jericho close besieged, none went in or out, Joshua 6:1 .

The Devastation of Edom Ezekiel 35:1. And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, Ezekiel 35:2. Son of man, set thy face against Mount Seir, and prophesy against it, Ezekiel 35:3. And say to it, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I will deal with thee, Mount Seir, and will stretch out my hand against thee, and make thee waste and devastation. Ezekiel 35:4. Thy cities will I make into ruins, and thou wilt become a waste, and shalt know that I am Jehovah. Ezekiel 35:5. Because thou cherishest eternal enmity, and gavest up the sons of Israel to the sword at the time of their distress, at the time of the final transgression, Ezekiel 35:6. Therefore, as truly as I live, is the saying of the Lord Jehovah, I will make thee blood, and blood shall pursue thee; since thou hast not hated blood, therefore blood shall pursue thee. Ezekiel 35:7. I will make Mount Seir devastation and waste, and cut off therefrom him that goeth away and him that returneth, Ezekiel 35:8. And fill his mountains with his slain; upon thy hills, and in thy valleys, and in all thy low places, those pierced with the sword shall fall. Ezekiel 35:9. I will make thee eternal wastes, and thy cities shall not be inhabited; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah. Ezekiel 35:10. Because thou sayest, The two nations and the two lands they shall be mine, and we will take possession of it, when Jehovah was there; Ezekiel 35:11.