The verse highlights that Israel's desolation wasn't just a political defeat, but a public spectacle where nations "panted for" them like prey. This wasn't simply about conquest; it was about being turned into a subject of scorn and malicious gossip, a "by-word" used to mock their God.
therefore prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Precisely because they made you desolate and crushed you from all sides, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, and you became the talk and evil gossip of the people,
English Standard Version (ESV)
The prophecy begins with a divine indictment directed at the surrounding nations who mocked and plundered Israel during its exile. God declares that because these nations greedily devoured and desolated the land, making it a trophy for themselves and a subject of scornful gossip, they will face His judgment. This sets the stage for God's powerful restoration of His people and land.
Ever felt like the punchline to a joke you didn't deserve? The people of Israel knew that feeling intimately.
The nations didn't just conquer Israel; they mocked them. The verse highlights the deep humiliation of becoming 'the talk and evil gossip' of others. This wasn't just military defeat; it was public shame. The enemies 'gaped for' Israel, not just their land, treating them like prey. This intense suffering and reproach became a defining characteristic in the eyes of the world.
When our pain is exploited for mockery, where do we turn? Ezekiel shows us God's fierce, protective heart.
The chapter opens with God directing Ezekiel to prophesy. This isn't a gentle suggestion; it's a command born from divine justice. The reason God will act is explicitly stated: because of the cruel devastation and humiliation Israel endured. Their suffering, which made them a 'possession' for others and a target of gossip, was precisely the reason God would intervene. He saw their desolate state and heard the slander, and it ignited His purpose to restore and vindicate them.
Understand the original words
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shemamah · Hebrew Noun
Describes the state of being ruined, abandoned, or destroyed; in Scripture, it often refers to judgment resulting from disobedience or divine wrath.
This prophecy from Ezekiel is spoken during the Babylonian exile, a time when Jerusalem lay in ruins and its people were scattered and mocked. The devastation was so complete that the land itself, along with its people, became a byword for ruin and desolation among the surrounding nations.
c. 722 BC
Fall of Samaria and Fall of Northern Kingdom
The Assyrian Empire conquers the northern Kingdom of Israel, deporting many inhabitants and resettling the area with foreigners. This event marked the beginning of significant territorial loss and diaspora for the Israelite people.
586 BC— this verse
Fall of Jerusalem and Destruction of the Temple
The Babylonian Empire, under Nebuchadnezzar II, conquers the southern Kingdom of Judah, destroys Jerusalem and its sacred Temple, and deports a large portion of the population to Babylon. This event is the immediate backdrop for Ezekiel's prophecy.
c. 580 BC
Ezekiel's Ministry Begins
Ezekiel, a priest taken into exile, begins his prophetic ministry among the exiles in Babylon, delivering messages of judgment and hope.
539 BC
Conquest of Babylon by Persia
The Persian Empire, led by Cyrus the Great, conquers Babylon. This shift in power sets the stage for the eventual return of the Jewish exiles.
538 BC
Cyrus's Edict and Return of Exiles
Cyrus issues a decree allowing exiled peoples, including the Jews, to return to their homelands and rebuild their temples. This marks the beginning of the return from Babylonian exile.
This passage prophesies that Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all the nations to which the Lord will scatter them, directly echoing the experience of being 'talk and evil gossip' described in Ezekiel.
Jeremiah 24:9Jeremiah also predicted that the exiled people would become 'a reproach and a byword, and an object of execration,' highlighting the shame and public disgrace that resulted from their disobedience and judgment.
Psalm 79:4This psalm expresses the deep sorrow and humiliation of Israel, crying out, 'We have become a byword among the nations, a laughingstock to our neighbors,' mirroring the 'infamy' and scorn mentioned in Ezekiel.
Lamentations 2:15The book of Lamentations vividly describes the devastation of Jerusalem, noting how 'all who pass by flap their hands at you; they hiss and wag their heads at the virgin daughter of Jerusalem,' a powerful image of the mockery and derision faced by God's people.
barnesEzekiel 36:3: "Therefore prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and are an infamy of the people:"
The residue of the pagan - Those of the surrounding nations which had survived Jerusalem's fall, and may have profited by it.
jfbEzekiel 36:3: "Therefore prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and are an infamy of the people:"
- Literally, "Because, even because."swallowed you up—literally, "panted after" you, as a beast after its prey; implying the greedy cupidity of Edom as to Israel's inheritance (Ps 56:1, 2).lips of talkers—literally,…
The verse highlights that Israel's desolation wasn't just a political defeat, but a public spectacle where nations "panted for" them like prey. This wasn't simply about conquest; it was about being turned into a subject of scorn and malicious gossip, a "by-word" used to mock their God.
The prophecy begins with a divine indictment directed at the surrounding nations who mocked and plundered Israel during its exile. God declares that because these nations greedily devoured and desolated the land, making it a trophy for themselves and a subject of scornful gossip, they will face His judgment. This sets the stage for God's powerful restoration of His people and land.
The prophecy begins with a divine indictment directed at the surrounding nations who mocked and plundered Israel during its exile. God declares that because these nations greedily devoured and desolated the land, making it a trophy for themselves and a subject of scornful gossip, they will face His judgment. This sets the stage for God's powerful restoration of His people and land.
"therefore prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Precisely because they made you desolate and crushed you from all sides, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, and you became the talk and evil gossip of the peop…" — The verse highlights that Israel's desolation wasn't just a political defeat, but a public spectacle where nations "panted for" them like prey. This wasn't simply about conquest; it was about being t…
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Last reviewed October 2026
