Limitless Word
“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The whole world will rejoice when I make you desolate.
Ezekiel 35:14 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB Thus says the Lord Yahweh: When the whole earth rejoices, I will make you desolate.
  • KJV Thus saith the Lord GOD; When the whole earth rejoiceth, I will make thee desolate.
  • BSB This is what the Lord GOD says: While the whole earth rejoices, I will make you desolate.
  • NKJV ‘Thus says the Lord God: “The whole earth will rejoice when I make you desolate.
  • NASB This is what the Lord God says: “As all the earth rejoices, I will make you a desolation.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

When the whole earth rejoices, God will make Edom desolate. Edom's ruin is the reverse of the world's coming joy.

Overview

This verse contrasts the universal rejoicing of restoration with Edom's appointed desolation. As God's redemptive purposes bring gladness to the earth, those who set themselves against His people are excluded and brought low. The pattern anticipates the final separation between those who share in God's blessing and those who oppose His kingdom.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 3

  • Jer 51:48Then the heavens and the earth, and all that is therein, will sing for joy over Babylon; for the destroyers will come to her from the north,” says Yahweh.
  • Isa 14:7–8The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet. They break out song.
  • Isa 65:13–15Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh, “Behold, my servants will eat, but you will be hungry; behold, my servants will drink, but you will be thirsty. Behold, my servants will rejoice, but you will be disappointed;

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Ezekiel videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Ezekiel 35:14YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on EzekielMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The promise of one Shepherd-King David, a new heart and new Spirit, and the river of life flowing from the temple all stream toward Christ, the good Shepherd who gives the Spirit.

How Ezekiel 35:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.