Though Edom says, “We have been beaten down, but we will return and build up the ruins”; this is what the Lord of armies says: “They may build, but I will tear down; and people will call them the territory of wickedness, and the people with whom the Lord is indignant forever.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Whereas Edom says, “We are beaten down, but we will return and build the waste places”; Yahweh of Armies says, “They shall build, but I will throw down; and men will call them ‘The Wicked Land,’ even the people against whom Yahweh shows wrath forever.”
- KJV Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever.
- BSB Though Edom may say, “We have been devastated, but we will rebuild the ruins,” this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Land of Wickedness, and a people with whom the LORD is indignant forever.
- NKJV Even though Edom has said, “We have been impoverished, But we will return and build the desolate places,” Thus says the Lord of hosts: “They may build, but I will throw down; They shall be called the Territory of Wickedness, And the people against whom the Lord will have indignation forever.
- NLT Esau’s descendants in Edom may say, “We have been shattered, but we will rebuild the ruins.” But the Lord of Heaven’s Armies replies, “They may try to rebuild, but I will demolish them again. Their country will be known as ‘The Land of Wickedness,’ and their people will be called ‘The People with Whom the Lord Is Forever Angry.’
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
Though Edom vows to rebuild its ruins, God declares He will tear them down again, marking them as a wicked people under His lasting wrath.
Overview
Edom's defiant determination to rebuild cannot overcome God's settled judgment against it. Where Israel was chastened yet preserved, Edom faces enduring desolation, illustrating the difference between covenant discipline and covenant rejection. The passage warns that human resolve is powerless against divine purpose and underscores how precious God's preserving grace toward His people truly is.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 23
- Ezek 25:14I will lay my vengeance on Edom by the hand of my people Israel; and they shall do in Edom according to my anger and according to my wrath; and they shall know my vengeance, says the Lord Yahweh.
- Ezek 35:9I will make you a perpetual desolation, and your cities shall not be inhabited; and you shall know that I am Yahweh.
- Ps 127:1A Song of Ascents. By Solomon. Unless Yahweh builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. Unless Yahweh watches over the city, the watchman guards it in vain.
- Ezek 11:10You will fall by the sword. I will judge you in the border of Israel; and you will know that I am Yahweh.
- Isa 10:15–16Should an ax brag against him who chops with it? Should a saw exalt itself above him who saws with it? As if a rod should lift those who lift it up, or as if a staff should lift up someone who is not wood.
- Lam 4:21–22Rejoice and be glad, daughter of Edom, that dwell in the land of Uz: The cup shall pass through to you also; you shall be drunken, and shall make yourself naked.
- Isa 11:14They will fly down on the shoulders of the Philistines on the west. Together they will plunder the children of the east. They will extend their power over Edom and Moab, and the children of Ammon will obey them.
- Isa 34:5For my sword has drunk its fill in the sky. Behold, it will come down on Edom, and on the people of my curse, for judgment.
- Lam 3:37Who is he who says, and it comes to pass, when the Lord doesn’t command it?
- Isa 63:1–6Who is this who comes from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? Who this who is glorious in his clothing, marching in the greatness of his strength? “It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.”
- Isa 9:9–10All the people will know, including Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, who say in pride and in arrogance of heart,
- Jer 31:17There is hope for your latter end,” says Yahweh; “and your children shall come again to their own border.
- Job 12:14Behold, he breaks down, and it can’t be built again. He imprisons a man, and there can be no release.
- Isa 10:4They will only bow down under the prisoners, and will fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
- Jas 4:13–16Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow let’s go into this city, and spend a year there, trade, and make a profit.”
- Amos 6:2Go to Calneh, and see; and from there go to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. are they better than these kingdoms? or is their border greater than your border?
- Job 9:4God who is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who has hardened himself against him, and prospered?
- Isa 34:10It won’t be quenched night nor day. Its smoke will go up forever. From generation to generation, it will lie waste. No one will pass through it forever and ever.
- Mal 1:3but Esau I hated, and made his mountains a desolation, and gave his heritage to the jackals of the wilderness.”
- Job 34:29When he gives quietness, who then can condemn? When he hides his face, who then can see him? Alike whether to a nation, or to a man,
- Prov 21:30There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against Yahweh.
- Ps 137:7Remember, Yahweh, against the children of Edom, the day of Jerusalem; who said, “Raze it! Raze it even to its foundation!”
- Matt 12:30“He who is not with me is against me, and he who doesn’t gather with me, scatters.
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