Ezekiel 35:10
in Ezekiel 35Because you have said, ‘These two nations and countries will be ours, and we will possess them,’ even though the LORD was there,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Because thou hast said, These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess it; whereas Jehovah was there:
KJV
Because thou hast said, These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess it; whereas the Lord was there:
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This verse in Ezekiel 35
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThese two nations - Israel and Judah. The Idumeans thought of conquering and possessing both; and they would have succeeded, but only the Lord was there; and this spoiled their projects, and blasted their hopes.
This site's exposition
These two nations and countries will be ours
on Ezekiel 35:10-13
Edom's crime widens from hostility to acquisitive claim, treating the fallen kingdoms of Israel and Judah as territory for the taking. The text answers the claim by naming God's prior stake in the land, “even though the LORD was there”. The boastful words are heard directly, “I heard it Myself”.
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 Awakening2 voices
The Lord is there, the Lord Jesus is to be there; and therefore Israel's discontinuance of possession is no defeasance of their right, but it shall be kept for them, and they shall have, hold, and enjoy it by virtue of the divine grant, till the promise of this Canaan shall by the Messiah be changed into the promise of a far better.
Because thou hast said, these two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess it,.... Meaning either Idumea he was now possessed of, and Israel he hoped to be, upon the people of it being carried captive; or rather the two nations of Israel and Judah, and their countries; which he pleased himself with would fall into his hands, as next heir to them; the posterity of his brother being dispossessed of them.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
HEREIN lay the special security of the chosen land. The Edomites saw the whole country of Israel and Judah left desolate. Babylonians and Chaldeans had carried away the people and ravaged the land, therefore the proud inhabitants of the city in the rock said—"These two nations and these two countries shall be mine and we will possess it." The dukes of Edom counted upon an easy conquest and such, indeed, the Holy Land would have proved, had there not been one great difficulty—quite unknown to them—"The Lord was there."
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The broken sentences express the excited feelings of the prophet at Edom's wicked presumption. The transition from the "two nations and two countries" to "it" marks that the two are regarded as one whole. The last clause, "and Jehovah was there," bursts in, like a flash of lightning, reproving the wicked presumption of Edom's thought.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
HEREIN lay the special security of the chosen land. The Edomites saw the whole country of Israel and Judah left desolate. Babylonians and Chaldeans had carried away the people and ravaged the land, therefore the proud inhabitants of the city in the rock said—"These two nations and these two countries shall be mine and we will possess it." The dukes of Edom counted upon an easy conquest and such, indeed, the Holy Land would have proved, had there not been one great difficulty—quite unknown to them—"The Lord was there." Jehovah Himself was still in possession, even though His rebellious people had been carried into captivity. HE would never allow that the Idumea should hold Jehovah's land in possession, and with despiteful hearts cast it out for a prey. From this one incident we gather that whatever may be the machinations and devices of the enemies of God's people, though there is nothing else to thwart them, there is this as an effectual barrier—the saints are God's heritage and the Lord is there, to guard and hold His own. The book of Ezekiel, if you will notice, concludes with these blessed words, as the name of the great city of the latter days. When all conflicts shall be ended, when the scattered shall be gathered, when the tabernacle of the Lord shall be among them. Then this which is Zion's bulwark today, shall be her everlasting glory. JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH—" The Lord was there." As Palestine was preserved from the enmity of Mount Seir by the presence of the great Jehovah, so the Church and each separate member of it is constantly kept by the power of a present God, despite the rage of adversaries. In enlarging upon this cheering Truth of God, I shall invite you to notice the Church as a despised people, constantly triumphant. Next, we will observe the Christian, in his opposed life, perpetually victorious. Thirdly, a desolate soul graciously delivered from Satan.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
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.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
I shall commit [acts] like your [acts of] wrath like the [acts of] wrath that you exerted against Israel, I will exert against you.
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
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יַ֣עַן | yaan | because | H3282 → | 99 times |
| אֲ֠מָרְךָ | ʾamarekha | saying you | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שְׁנֵ֨י | shenei | [the] two | H8147 → | 768 times |
| הַגּוֹיִ֜ם | hagoyim | the nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שְׁתֵּ֧י | shetei | [the] two | H8147 → | 768 times |
| הָאֲרָצ֛וֹת | haaratzot | the lands | H776 → | 2504 times |
| לִ֥י | li | to me | ||
| תִהְיֶ֖ינָה | tihyeinah | they will belong | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| וִֽירַשְׁנ֑וּהָ | virashnuha | and we will take possession of it | H3423 → | 231 times |
| וַֽיהוָ֖ה | vayahweh | and Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| שָׁ֥ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| הָיָֽה׃ | hayah | he was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
יַ֣עַןbecause
yaanH3282 →99 times
אֲ֠מָרְךָsaying you
ʾamarekhaH559 →5305 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
שְׁנֵ֨י[the] two
sheneiH8147 →768 times
הַגּוֹיִ֜םthe nations
hagoyimH1471 →561 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
שְׁתֵּ֧י[the] two
sheteiH8147 →768 times
הָאֲרָצ֛וֹתthe lands
haaratzotH776 →2504 times
לִ֥יto me
li
תִהְיֶ֖ינָהthey will belong
tihyeinahH1961 →3559 times
וִֽירַשְׁנ֑וּהָand we will take possession of it
virashnuhaH3423 →231 times
וַֽיהוָ֖הand Yahweh
vayahwehH3068 →6520 times
שָׁ֥םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
הָיָֽה׃he was
hayahH1961 →3559 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 48:35The perimeter of the city will be 18,000 cubits, and from that day on the name of the city will be: THE LORD IS THERE.”
it leads to
- Revelation 21:3
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will…
- Zechariah 2:10
“Shout for joy and be glad, O Daughter of Zion, for I am coming to dwell among you,” declares the LORD.
- Jeremiah 33:16
In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely, and this is the name by which it will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.
- Revelation 22:3
No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be within the city, and His servants will worship Him.
- Isaiah 12:6
Cry out and sing, O citizen of Zion, for great among you is the Holy One of Israel.”
- Revelation 21:3
Through
Ezekiel 36:2This is what the Lord GOD says: Because the enemy has said of you, ‘Aha! The ancient heights have become our possession,’
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 32:13
He made him ride on the heights of the land and fed him the produce of the field. He nourished him with honey from the rock and oil from the flinty crag,
- Ezekiel 25:3
Tell the Ammonites to hear the word of the Lord GOD, for this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because you exclaimed, “Aha!” when My sanctuary was profaned, when the land of Israel was…
- Deuteronomy 32:13
Through
Ezekiel 36:5Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Surely in My burning zeal I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, who took My land as their own possession…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 36:3
therefore prophesy and declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: Because they have made you desolate and have trampled you on every side, so that you became a possession of the rest…
- Ezekiel 36:3
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 536: “Jehovah-Shammah” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Patrick Fairbairn, An Exposition of Ezekiel.