Edom Will Be a Wasteland
1 The Lord said:
2 Ezekiel, son of man, condemn the people of Edom 3 and say to them:
I, the Lord God,
am now your enemy!
And I will turn your nation
into an empty wasteland,
4 leaving your towns in ruins.
Your land will be a desert,
and then you will know
that I am the Lord.
5 People of Edom, not only have you been Israel's longtime enemy, you simply watched when disaster wiped out its people as punishment for their sins. 6 And so, as surely as I am the living Lord God, you are guilty of murder and must be put to death. 7 I will destroy your nation and kill anyone who travels through it. 8 Dead bodies will cover your mountains and fill up your valleys, 9 and your land will lie in ruins forever. No one will live in your towns ever again. You will know that I am the Lord.
10 You thought the nations of Judah and Israel belonged to you, and that you could take over their territory. But I am their God, 11 and as surely as I live, I will punish you for treating my people with anger and hatred. Then they will know that I, the Lord, am punishing you! 12 And you will finally realize that I heard you laugh at their destruction and say their land was yours to take. 13 You even insulted me, but I heard it all.
14 Everyone on earth will celebrate when I destroy you, 15 just as you celebrated when Israel was destroyed. Your nation of Edom will be nothing but a wasteland. Then everyone will know that I am the Lord.
God's Punishment of Edom
1 The Lord spoke to me. 2 “Mortal man,” he said, “denounce the country of Edom. 3 Tell the people what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying:
“I am your enemy, mountains of Edom!
I will make you a desolate wasteland.
4 I will leave your cities in ruins
And your land desolate;
Then you will know that I am the Lord.
5 “You were Israel's constant enemy and let her people be slaughtered in the time of her disaster, the time of final punishment for her sins. 6 So then—as surely as I, the Sovereign Lord, am the living God—death is your fate, and you cannot escape it. You are guilty of murder, and murder will follow you. 7 I will make the hill country of Edom a wasteland and kill everyone who travels through it. 8 I will cover the mountains with corpses, and the bodies of those who are killed in battle will cover the hills and valleys. 9 I will make you desolate forever, and no one will live in your cities again. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
10 “You said that the two nations, Judah and Israel, together with their lands, belonged to you and that you would possess them, even though I, the Lord, was their God. 11 So then, as surely as I, the Sovereign Lord, am the living God, I will pay you back for your anger, your jealousy, and your hate toward my people. They will know that I am punishing you for what you did to them. 12 Then you will know that I, the Lord, heard you say with contempt that the mountains of Israel were desolate and that they were yours to devour. 13 I have heard the wild, boastful way you have talked against me.”
14 The Sovereign Lord says, “I will make you so desolate that the whole world will rejoice at your downfall, 15 just as you rejoiced at the devastation of Israel, my own possession. The mountains of Seir, yes, all the land of Edom, will be desolate. Then everyone will know that I am the Lord.”