Bible Strands
Ezekiel 25:14
I will take My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel, and they will deal with Edom according to My anger and wrath. Then they will know My vengeance, declares the Lord GOD.’
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Lord GOD speaks through Ezekiel, pronouncing judgment on Edom immediately after detailing its coming destruction in the preceding verse. This oracle functions as a direct response to Edom’s hostility, delivered to the exiled community to confirm divine sovereignty over foreign nations.
The words — The Hebrew verb נָתַתִּי (na.tat.ti) translates literally as “I will put” or “I will place,” structuring the declaration “I will take My vengeance.” The noun נִקְמָתִי (niq.ma.ti) means “my vengeance,” identifying both the nature of the coming act and its ultimate source.
The thread — The mechanism of God executing judgment through a chosen people appears in Deuteronomy 32:35, where God states “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay.” The pattern of Israel acting against hostile neighbors also surfaces in Genesis 27:29 and Isaiah 11:14, showing a consistent biblical motif of divine retribution channeled through human agency.
Why it lands — The text requires Edom to recognize the Lord GOD’s wrath by witnessing Israel’s execution of His anger. It asks the reader to accept that historical events serve as concrete demonstrations of divine justice rather than mere political outcomes.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel: and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and according to my fury; and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord God.
Cross-references
- Genesis 27:29 May peoples serve you and nations bow down to you. May you be the master of your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed, and those who bless you be blessed.”
- Isaiah 11:14 They will swoop down on the slopes of the Philistines to the west; together they will plunder the sons of the east. They will lay their hands on Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites will be subject to them.
- Deuteronomy 32:35 Vengeance is Mine; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly.”
- Psalms 58:10 The righteous will rejoice when they see they are avenged; they will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked.
- Isaiah 63:1 Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah with crimson-stained garments? Who is this robed in splendor, marching in the greatness of His strength? “It is I, proclaiming vindication, mighty to save.”
- Jeremiah 49:2 Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will sound the battle cry against Rabbah of the Ammonites. It will become a heap of ruins, and its villages will be burned. Then Israel will drive out their dispossessors, says the LORD.
- Ezekiel 35:11 therefore as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I will treat you according to the anger and jealousy you showed in your hatred against them, and I will make Myself known among them when I judge you.
- Nahum 1:2 The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD is avenging and full of wrath. The LORD takes vengeance on His foes and reserves wrath for His enemies.
- Hebrews 10:30 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge His people.”
- Revelation 6:16 And they said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.