Ezekiel 25:4

Translations

Modern

…therefore I will indeed give you as a possession to the people of the East. They will set up their camps and pitch their tents among you. They will eat your fruit and drink your milk.

Traditional

Behold, therefore I will deliver thee to the men of the east for a possession, and they shall set their palaces in thee, and make their dwellings in thee: they shall eat thy fruit, and they shall drink thy milk.

Literal

…therefore behold, I am giving you to the sons of the East as a possession, and they will settle their encampments among you, and they will put their tents among you; they will eat your fruit, and they will drink your milk.

Latin

…idcirco ego tradam te filiis orientalibus in hæreditatem: et collocabunt caulas suas in te, et ponent in te tentoria sua: ipsi comedent fruges tuas, et ipsi bibent lac tuum.

Original

Hebrew

English

…therefore I will indeed give you as a possession to the people of the East. They will set up their camps and pitch their tents among you. They will eat your fruit and drink your milk.

Notes

Ezekiel 25:3–7

The Ammonites celebrated Judah's downfall and the destruction of Israel's temple. So, as the prophet warned (Ezekiel 21:28–32), they would face invasion and destruction. Others would consume the Ammonites' produce, and their people would be wiped out, similar to Judah. The Ammonites' gods could not save them from the Lord's anger, and they would realize that the Lord is the true God.

Ezekiel 25:1–32:32

This section contains a series of messages of judgment against nearby nations. There are six shorter messages against Judah's immediate neighbors, arranged in a clockwise order, followed by a final message against Egypt (Ezekiel 30–32). Through experiencing God's judgment, the nations would recognize God's control over everything. The nations might be used to carry out God's judgment on his people, but they would not avoid judgment themselves.
One of the main purposes of these messages was to show that the negative part of God's promise to Abraham ("I will … curse those who curse you," Genesis 12:3) was still active. No one can harm God's people and avoid consequences, even when God's people are under his judgment.

Theme notes and profiles

Messages Against the Nations

Events

Prophecies of Ezekielc. 593 BC

Related verses

Judges 6:33
Then all the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east gathered together, crossed over the Jordan, and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.
Deuteronomy 28:33
A people you do not know will eat the produce of your land and of all your toil. All your days you will be oppressed and crushed.
1 Kings 4:30
Solomon’s wisdom was greater than that of all the men of the East, greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.
Isaiah 1:7
Your land is desolate; your cities are burned with fire. Foreigners devour your fields before you—a desolation demolished by strangers.
Deuteronomy 28:51
They will eat the offspring of your livestock and the produce of your land until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain or new wine or oil, no calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks, until they have caused you to perish.
Numbers 23:7
And Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the mountains of the east. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘put a curse on Jacob for me; come and denounce Israel!’
Judges 8:10
Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army of about fifteen thousand men—all that were left of the armies of the people of the east. A hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had already fallen.
2 Samuel 12:26
Meanwhile, Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal fortress.
Isaiah 65:22
No longer will they build houses for others to inhabit, nor plant for others to eat. For as is the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people, and My chosen ones will fully enjoy the work of their hands.
Genesis 29:1
Jacob resumed his journey and came to the land of the people of the east.
Isaiah 41:2
Who has aroused one from the east and called him to his feet in righteousness? He hands nations over to him and subdues kings before him. He turns them to dust with his sword, to windblown chaff with his bow.
Isaiah 32:8–9
But a noble man makes honorable plans; he stands up for worthy causes.

Places

East: A direction associated with invading armies and nomadic tribes

Glossary

Book of Jeremiah Ezekiel, Book of Lord People of the East

Topics

Ammonites: Prophecies Concerning Fruits: Often Destroyed by Enemies Milk used for Food The Ammonites: Predictions Respecting: Destructions for Hatred to Israel

Ezekiel 25:4

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