וַיְהִי דְבַר־ה' אֵלַי לֵאמֹר

The word of the Lord was with me, saying:

בֶּן־אָדָם שִׂים פָּנֶיךָ עַל הַר שֵׂעִיר וְהִנָּבֵא עָלָיו

Son of man, direct your attention against Mount Se’ir, a mountain range in the land of Edom, and prophesy in its regard. The name Mount Se’ir is a designation for the entire land of Edom, which is a mountainous region.

וְאָמַרְתָּ לּוֹ כֹּה אָמַר ה' אֱלוֹהִים הִנְנִי אֵלֶיךָ הַר־שֵׂעִיר וְנָטִיתִי יָדִי עָלֶיךָ וּנְתַתִּיךָ שְׁמָמָה וּמְשַׁמָּה

Say to it: So said the Lord God: Behold, I am turning against you, Mount Se’ir, and I will extend or raise My hand against you to smite you, and I will render you desolation and waste; everyone will be astonished at the extent of the destruction.

עָרֶיךָ חָרְבָּה אָשִׂים וְאַתָּה שְׁמָמָה תִהְיֶה וְיָדַעְתָּ כִּי־אֲנִי ה'

I will render your cities ruins, and you, in your entirety, will be desolation, and you will know that I am the Lord.

יַעַן הֱיוֹת לְךָ אֵיבַת עוֹלָם וַתַּגֵּר אֶת־בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל עַל־יְדֵי חָרֶב בְּעֵת אֵידָם בְּעֵת עֲוֹן קֵץ

As descendants of Esau, the Edomites are more closely related to Israel than other nations, and Edom is referred to in the Torah as the brother of Israel. Nevertheless, the prophet tells the Edomites: You will be punished harshly because you have eternal hatred of the Jewish people and have clashed with or spilled the blood of the children of Israel by means of the sword at the time of their calamity, at the time of ultimate iniquity, when the magnitude of Israel’s sins caused God to destroy it. Edom was never a large nation, and it was generally subservient to the Kingdom of Judah. When Judah was ultimately destroyed, Edom rejoiced at the opportunity to exact vengeance upon the children of Israel and contributed to the ongoing massacre (see 25:12);

לָכֵן חַי־אָנִי נְאֻם ה' אֱלוֹהִים כִּי־לְדָם אֶעֶשְׂךָ וְדָם יִרְדֳּפֶךָ אִם־לֹא דָם שָׂנֵאתָ וְדָם יִרְדֳּפֶךָ

therefore, as I live, a formulation indicating an oath – the utterance of the Lord God – so I will render you blood, and the blood of your brother that you have spilled will pursue you; surely, you hated blood, and blood will pursue you. Alternatively, the latter part of the verse means: Had you not hated the blood of your brother, would blood have pursued you?

וְנָתַתִּי אֶת־הַר שֵׂעִיר לְשִׁמְמָה וּשְׁמָמָה וְהִכְרַתִּי מִמֶּנּוּ עֹבֵר וָשָׁב

I will render Mount Se’ir desert and desolation, and I will eliminate from it passerby and wayfarer.

וּמִלֵּאתִי אֶת־הָרָיו חֲלָלָיו גִּבְעוֹתֶיךָ וְגֵיאוֹתֶיךָ וְכָל־אֲפִיקֶיךָ חַלְלֵי־חֶרֶב יִפְּלוּ בָהֶם

I will fill its mountains with its slain. Your hills and your valleys and all your streams, those slain by the sword will fall in them.

שִׁמְמוֹת עוֹלָם אֶתֶּנְךָ וְעָרֶיךָ לֹא תָשֹׁבְנָה וִידַעְתֶּם כִּי־אֲנִי ה'

I will render you eternal desolation, and your cities will not be restored to their former state, and you will know that I am the Lord. The destruction and desolation of Edom will last forever.

יַעַן אֲמָרְךָ אֶת־שְׁנֵי הַגּוֹיִם וְאֶת־שְׁתֵּי הָאֲרָצוֹת לִי תִהְיֶינָה וִירַשְׁנוּהָ וה' שָׁם הָיָה

You deserve this harsh punishment, because you said: The two nations and the two lands, meaning Edom and Judah, or the Kingdom of Judah and the Kingdom of Israel, will be mine, and we will take possession of it, the two nations and lands, which were united and will be reunited, and the Lord was there. God knows exactly what you are plotting, and He will ensure that it will not succeed;

לָכֵן חַי־אָנִי נְאֻם ה' אֱלוֹהִים וְעָשִׂיתִי כְּאַפְּךָ וּכְקִנְאָתְךָ אֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתָה מִשִּׂנְאָתֶיךָ בָּם וְנוֹדַעְתִּי בָם כַּאֲשֶׁר אֶשְׁפְּטֶךָ

therefore, as I live – the utterance of the Lord God – I will act towards you in accordance with your wrath and in accordance with your zealotry, that which you did from your hatred of them, Israel, and I will become known among them when I judge you. Through your harsh punishment, I will reveal Myself to Israel, and they will have faith in Me and in My power.

וְיָדַעְתָּ כִּי אֲנִי ה' שָׁמַעְתִּי אֶת־כָּל־נָאָצוֹתֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר אָמַרְתָּ עַל־הָרֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר שָׁמֵמוּ לָנוּ נִתְּנוּ לְאָכְלָה

You will know that I the Lord have heard all your execrations that you stated against the mountains of Israel, saying: They have become desolate; they have been given to us to consume. You, the Edomites, have cursed the mountains of Israel in your hope that they would be emptied of their inhabitants, and that you would then take possession of the land and its produce. The idea that the land of Judah belonged to Edom stemmed from the fact that they share a common border, as opposed to Amon and Moav, which were located north of Judah.

וַתַּגְדִּילוּ עָלַי בְּפִיכֶם וְהַעְתַּרְתֶּם עָלַי דִּבְרֵיכֶם אֲנִי שָׁמָעְתִּי

You were haughty, speaking arrogantly against Me with your mouths, and you increased your words against Me; your dreams of conquest and your boasts I heard.

כֹּה אָמַר ה' אֱלוֹהִים כִּשְׂמֹחַ כָּל־הָאָרֶץ שְׁמָמָה אֶעֱשֶׂה־לָּךְ

Therefore, so said the Lord God: When the entire earth rejoices upon the return of the Jewish people to their homeland, I will render you desolation.

כְּשִׂמְחָתְךָ לְנַחֲלַת בֵּית־יִשְׂרָאֵל עַל אֲשֶׁר־שָׁמֵמָה כֵּן אֶעֱשֶׂה־לָּךְ שְׁמָמָה תִהְיֶה הַר־שֵׂעִיר וְכָל־אֱדוֹם כֻּלָּהּ וְיָדְעוּ כִּי־אֲנִי ה'

Like your joy over the inheritance of the house of Israel, over its having become desolate, so I will do to you; you will be desolation, Mount Se’ir and all Edom in its entirety, and they will know that I am the Lord.