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Ezekiel 35:6

in Ezekiel 35

therefore as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I will give you over to bloodshed and it will pursue you. Since you did not hate bloodshed, it will pursue you.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

therefore, as I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, I will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee: since thou hast not hated blood, therefore blood shall pursue thee.

KJV

Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord God, I will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee: sith thou hast not hated blood, even blood shall pursue thee.

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This verse in Ezekiel 35

Commentary

9 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Blood shall pursue thee - Thou lovest blood, and thou shalt have blood. It is said that Cyrus and two hundred thousand men were slain in an ambush by Thomyris, queen of the Scythians, and that she cut ok his head, and threw it into a vessel filled with blood, with this severe sarcasm: - Satia te sanguine quem sitisti, Cyre. “O Cyrus, now satisfy thyself with blood.” Hence, the figure: - “Sarcasmus, with this biting taunt doth kill: Cyrus, thy thirst was blood, now drink thy fill.”

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”.

This site's exposition

you did not hate bloodshed

The Hebrew word for blood, dam, sounds like Edom, the red one, a name tied to the red stew of Genesis 25:30. The sentence turns Edom's own name against it. Bloodshed is pictured as a pursuer, like the avenger of blood in Numbers 35.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Ezekiel · Written before 420.

proposed

(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 Awakening4 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

Some read it, " Unless thou hatest blood " (that is, "unless thou dost repent, and put off this bloody disposition) blood shall pursue thee. " And then it is an intimation that the judgment may yet be prevented by a thorough reformation.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

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.

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

proposed

And blood - Thy guilt, and my just revenge of innocent blood. Hast not hated - Thou hast loved, rather than hated, blood-shed; therefore vengeance for it follows thee.
Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord God,....
1 more voice on this verse

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

I will prepare thee unto blood--I will expose thee to slaughter. sith--old English for "seeing that" or "since." thou hast not hated blood--The Hebrew order is, "thou hast hated not--blood"; that is, thou couldst not bear to live without bloodshed [GROTIUS]. There is a play on similar sounds in the Hebrew;

The words behind it

17 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • לָכֵ֣ן<to> therefore

    lakhenH3651 →771 times

  • חַי־[by] [the] life

    chai-H2416 →498 times

  • אָ֗נִיof me

    ʾaniH589 →874 times

  • נְאֻם֙[the] utterance of

    neumH5002 →376 times

  • אֲדֹנָ֣י[the] Lord

    ʾadonaiH136 →440 times

  • יְהוִ֔הYahweh

    yahwehH3069 →306 times

  • כִּֽי־that

    ki-H3588 →4482 times

  • לְדָ֥םto blood

    ledamH1818 →360 times

  • אֶעֶשְׂךָ֖I will appoint you

    ʾeeskhaH6213 →2628 times

  • וְדָ֣םand blood

    vedamH1818 →360 times

  • יִרְדֲּפֶ֑ךָit will pursue you

    yirdafekhaH7291 →

  • אִם־if

    ʾim-H518 →1069 times

  • לֹ֥אnot

    lo'H3808 →5168 times

  • דָ֛םblood

    damH1818 →360 times

  • שָׂנֵ֖אתָyou have hated

    sanetaH8130 →146 times

  • וְדָ֥םand blood

    vedamH1818 →360 times

  • יִרְדֲּפֶֽךָ׃it will pursue you

    yirdafekhaH7291 →

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

12 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Psalms 109:17The cursing that he loved, may it fall on him; the blessing in which he refused to delight, may it be far from him.6 worksIsaiah 63:2–6Why are Your clothes red, and Your garments like one who treads the winepress?5 worksObadiah 1:15For the Day of the LORD is near for all the nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your recompense will return upon your own head.3 worksRevelation 18:24And there was found in her the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who had been slain on the earth.3 worksIsaiah 59:3For your hands are stained with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters injustice.3 worksMatthew 7:2For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.2 works
The other 6 cross-references, with their words ▾
Revelation 19:2–3For His judgments are true and just. He has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality. He has avenged the blood of His servants that was poured out by her hand.”2 worksRevelation 16:5–7And I heard the angel of the waters say: “Righteous are You, O Holy One, who is and was, because You have brought these judgments.2 worksPsalms 109:16–17For he never thought to show kindness, but pursued the poor and needy and brokenhearted, even to their death.2 worksRevelation 18:6Give back to her as she has done to others; pay her back double for what she has done; mix her a double portion in her own cup.2 worksIsaiah 34:3Their slain will be left unburied, and the stench of their corpses will rise; the mountains will flow with their blood.2 worksMatthew 14:11John’s head was brought in on a platter and presented to the girl, who carried it to her mother.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Matthew 7:2

    For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

    it leads to

    • James 2:13

      For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Mark 4:24

      He went on to say, “Pay attention to what you hear. With the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and even more will be added to you.

    • Luke 6:38

      Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured…

    • Obadiah 1:15

      For the Day of the LORD is near for all the nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your recompense will return upon your own head.

    • Revelation 18:6

      Give back to her as she has done to others; pay her back double for what she has done; mix her a double portion in her own cup.

  • Through

    Obadiah 1:15

    For the Day of the LORD is near for all the nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your recompense will return upon your own head.

    it leads to

    • Habakkuk 2:8

      Because you have plundered many nations, the remnant of the people will plunder you—because of your bloodshed against man and your violence against the land, the city, and all their dwellers.

    • Matthew 7:2

      For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

  • Through

    Revelation 18:24

    And there was found in her the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who had been slain on the earth.

    it leads to

    • Revelation 17:6

      I could see that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and witnesses for Jesus. And I was utterly amazed at the sight of her.

About Ezekiel

Ezekiel’s Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Ezekiel’s Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Ezekiel: the study guide →Read Ezekiel 35 →
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Ezekiel; 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); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Ezekiel 35 →