Ezekiel 35:9
in Ezekiel 35I will make you a perpetual desolation, and your cities will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I will make thee a perpetual desolation, and thy cities shall not be inhabited; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah.
KJV
I will make thee perpetual desolations, and thy cities shall not return: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
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This verse in Ezekiel 35
Commentary
8 notes on this verseI will make thee perpetual desolations, and thy cities shall not return,.... To their former dignity and glory; should not be built and inhabited again, but lie waste for ever: this agrees with what is prophesied of Edom, Mal 1:4 and will be true of Rome or Babylon when destroyed; it will never rise more, but be like a millstone in the midst of the sea, Rev 18:21, and ye shall know that I am the Lord; See Gill on Eze 35:4.
This site's exposition
you harbored an ancient hatred
on Ezekiel 35:5-9
The ground of the sentence is a long history. It ends in Edom's violence “in the time of their disaster”, the same hostility Obadiah and Psalm 137:7 record. The talion principle answers blood with blood, “Since you did not hate bloodshed, it will pursue you”.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 35) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir and prophesy against it, and say to it, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, Mount Seir, and I will stretch out my hand against you, and I will make you a desolation and a waste.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
As the works of creation and common providence demonstrate that there is a God, so the care taken of Israel shows that Jehovah, the God of Israel, is that God alone, the true and living God.
15 As 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 L ORD . A further account of the sin of the Edomites, and their bad conduct towards the people of God.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-run:44w-of-64
The punishment shall answer to the sin: " As thou didst rejoice in the desolation of the house of Israel, God will give thee enough of desolation; since thou art so fond of it, thou shalt be desolate;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
shall not return--to their former state (Eze 16:55); shall not be restored. The Hebrew text (Chetib) reads, "shall not be inhabited" (compare Eze 26:20;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Perpetual desolations - Thou shalt have perpetual desolation for thy perpetual hatred.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Because you said, 'These two nations and these two provinces are mine, and I will inherit them!'—yet before Hashem the thoughts of the heart are revealed.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שִֽׁמְמ֤וֹת | shimot | desolations of | H8077 → | 57 times |
| עוֹלָם֙ | olam | perpetuity | H5769 → | 438 times |
| אֶתֶּנְךָ֔ | ʾetenkha | I will make you | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| וְעָרֶ֖יךָ | veareikha | and cities your | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תָשֹׁ֑בְנָה | teishavnah | they will return | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| וִֽידַעְתֶּ֖ם | vida'tem | and you will know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֲנִ֥י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | [am] Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
שִֽׁמְמ֤וֹתdesolations of
shimotH8077 →57 times
עוֹלָם֙perpetuity
olamH5769 →438 times
אֶתֶּנְךָ֔I will make you
ʾetenkhaH5414 →2011 times
וְעָרֶ֖יךָand cities your
veareikhaH5892 →1090 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תָשֹׁ֑בְנָהthey will return
teishavnahH7725 →1056 times
וִֽידַעְתֶּ֖םand you will know
vida'temH3045 →945 times
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
אֲנִ֥יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
יְהוָֽה׃[am] Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ezekiel 25:13therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I will stretch out My hand against Edom and cut off from it both man and beast. I will make it a wasteland, and from Teman…
it leads to
- Malachi 1:3–4
but Esau I have hated, and I have made his mountains a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 29:8
Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I will bring a sword against you and cut off from you man and beast.
- Jeremiah 25:23
Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who cut the corners of their hair;
- Malachi 1:3–4
Through
Jeremiah 49:13For by Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, that Bozrah will become a desolation, a disgrace, a ruin, and a curse, and all her cities will be in ruins forever.”
it leads to
- Genesis 36:33
When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah reigned in his place.
- Genesis 22:16
saying, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your only son,
- Isaiah 34:6
The sword of the LORD is bathed in blood. It drips with fat—with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the LORD has a sacrifice in…
- Jeremiah 49:22
Look! An eagle will soar and swoop down, spreading its wings over Bozrah. In that day the hearts of Edom’s mighty men will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
- Isaiah 63:1
Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah with crimson-stained garments? Who is this robed in splendor, marching in the greatness of His strength? “It is I, proclaiming vindication, mighty to save.”
- Genesis 36:33
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.