Ezekiel 35:13
And you magnified yourselves against me with your mouth, and multiplied your words against me; I heard it.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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It's not just the cruel words spoken against God's people that matter, but the specific choice to "magnify yourselves against me" reveals a deep-seated pride. This wasn't just gossip or boasting; it was an active attempt to elevate themselves over God, a defiant declaration that they were greater than His promises and power. God heard every single one of those arrogant words, not just as insults to His people, but as direct affronts to His own sovereignty.
The prophet Ezekiel is denouncing the Edomites for their malicious gloating and territorial ambition over Israel during Jerusalem's downfall. They boasted that they would seize Israel's land, which God had promised to His people, and their cruel words were like arrogant insults directed at God Himself. This passage is part of a larger oracle against nations who rejoiced at Israel's suffering, assuring them that God heard every word and would bring them to judgment.
Ever feel like your hurtful words or boasts just float away into the void? Think again. God's attention is fixed on what you say.
The Edomites engaged in a relentless verbal assault against God and His people. They didn't just say a few things; they "multiplied their words," filling the air with arrogance and boasts. This wasn't a private conversation; it was a public declaration of defiance.
The Weight of Words
God, in His infinite awareness, declares, "I heard it." This isn't a passive hearing, like background noise. It's an attentive, understanding, and purposeful reception. Every proud word, every boast against God's promises, every slight against His chosen people, registered in the divine ear.
Think about the power of words today. Gossip, slander, boastful claims, or dismissive remarks can deeply wound others and challenge God's sovereignty. This verse reminds us that God doesn't miss a single one. He hears the underlying pride, the defiance, and the intent behind them.
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The Edomites declared ownership of land that God Himself had promised to His people. What does it mean to boast against God where He is present?
The Edomites proclaimed, "These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess it." This wasn't just about land; it was a direct challenge to God's sovereignty and His promises.
God Was There
Ezekiel highlights the critical truth: "whereas the LORD was there." The very land they claimed was already under God's watchful eye and claim. Their boasts were made in defiance of His presence and His established rights. To "magnify yourselves against me with your mouth" meant to exalt themselves above God, to deny His authority and His plan.
This teaches us that when we assert our will or desires in a way that dismisses God's presence or His plans, we are engaging in a similar kind of arrogant boasting. It's claiming territory—whether physical, emotional, or spiritual—that belongs to God, and doing so with proud words that ignore His ownership.
The Edomites didn't just want land; they reveled in the downfall of Judah. God noticed their cruel joy.
The Edomites saw Jerusalem fall and rejoiced. They gave encouragement to its destroyers and likely mocked God's people in their distress. This is more than just indifference; it's actively taking pleasure in the suffering of others, especially when they perceive those suffering as God's people.
God's Displeasure with Cruelty
Scripture repeatedly condemns those who delight in the misfortune of others. God declared through Ezekiel that He heard the Edomites' words because their boasting was tied to their cruel satisfaction over Judah's destruction. It was a magnification of themselves by diminishing God's chosen people.
This has a powerful application today. Do we find satisfaction when others, particularly fellow believers, face hardship? Do we subtly or openly celebrate their falls? God sees this malicious joy, and it earns His strong disapproval, just as it did for the Edomites.
Ezekiel's fierce words against Edom are a direct response to their arrogant gloating and territorial gains at the moment of Judah's greatest suffering, reminding us that God hears and judges those who mock His people in their distress.
c. 586 BC
Fall of Jerusalem
The Babylonians conquer Jerusalem, destroy the Temple, and deport many Judeans into exile. This event marks a devastating low point for the people of Judah.
c. 585 BC— this verse
Edom's Exultation and Occupation
The Edomites, seeing Jerusalem fall, rejoiced and aided the Babylonians, seizing Judean territory. This is the specific act of pride and aggression that Ezekiel is prophesying against.
c. 580 BC
Ezekiel's Prophecy Against Edom
Ezekiel delivers this prophecy in Babylon, denouncing Edom's actions and predicting their ultimate destruction and desolation as divine judgment.
c. 550 BC - 300 BC
Edom's Decline and Displacement
Over subsequent decades, the Edomites are gradually pushed out of their territory by the Nabateans, fulfilling the prophecy of their land becoming desolate.
This Psalm speaks to the Edomites' cruel exultation and encouragement of Jerusalem's destroyers, directly mirroring the boasting and 'multiplying words' against God's people described in Ezekiel.
2 Kings 19:22Sennacherib's arrogant words and boasts against God and His people are a powerful parallel to the Edomites' actions, showing how God hears and takes note of such blasphemy.
Luke 11:23Jesus' words remind us that not acting for God is akin to acting against Him, highlighting the gravity of speaking against God's people and purposes, just as the Edomites did.
James 4:6This verse directly states that God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble, underscoring why God's judgment is certain for those like the Edomites who magnify themselves against Him.
Revelation 13:5-6The description of the beast speaking 'great things and blasphemies' against God and His people provides a later, prophetic parallel to the kind of defiant and multiplied words the Edomites uttered against the Lord.
bensonEzekiel 35:13: "Thus with your mouth ye have boasted against me, and have multiplied your words against me: I have heard them."
Ezekiel 35:13-15 . With your mouth ye have boasted against me — As if I were not able to make good my promises toward my people, or to assert my right in Judea. When the whole earth rejoiceth, I will make thee desolate — When I shall restore other countries, conquered by the king of Babylon, to their former prosperity, thou shalt still lie waste and desolate. The Edomi…
pooleEzekiel 35:13: "Thus with your mouth ye have boasted against me, and have multiplied your words against me: I have heard them."
Though the very words be not reported, yet it is certain, from this passage, that they spake proudly against the God of Israel, boasting what they would do, will he nill be. And these blasphemous words or discourses were not once or twice, they multiplied them, it is probable, not much unlike the words of Sennacherib; but they shall smart for all this, and know it is f…
It's not just the cruel words spoken against God's people that matter, but the specific choice to "magnify yourselves against me" reveals a deep-seated pride. This wasn't just gossip or boasting; it was an active attempt to elevate themselves over God, a defiant declaration that they were greater than His promises and power. God heard every single one of those arrogant words, not just as insults to His people, but as direct affronts to His own sovereignty.
The prophet Ezekiel is denouncing the Edomites for their malicious gloating and territorial ambition over Israel during Jerusalem's downfall. They boasted that they would seize Israel's land, which God had promised to His people, and their cruel words were like arrogant insults directed at God Himself. This passage is part of a larger oracle against nations who rejoiced at Israel's suffering, assuring them that God heard every word and would bring them to judgment.
The prophet Ezekiel is denouncing the Edomites for their malicious gloating and territorial ambition over Israel during Jerusalem's downfall. They boasted that they would seize Israel's land, which God had promised to His people, and their cruel words were like arrogant insults directed at God Himself. This passage is part of a larger oracle against nations who rejoiced at Israel's suffering, assuring them that God heard every word and would bring them to judgment.
"And you magnified yourselves against me with your mouth, and multiplied your words against me; I heard it." — It's not just the cruel words spoken against God's people that matter, but the specific choice to "magnify yourselves against me" reveals a deep-seated pride. This wasn't just gossip or boasting; it…
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