Ratapan 4:21

The Prophet Speaks:

ש (Sin/Shin)

4:21 Rejoice and be glad for now, ¹  O people of Edom, ² 

who reside in the land of Uz.

But the cup of judgment ³  will pass ⁴  to you also;

you will get drunk and take off your clothes.

Yehezkiel 25:12-14

A Prophecy Against Edom

25:12 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘Edom ⁵  has taken vengeance against the house of Judah; they have made themselves fully culpable ⁶  by taking vengeance ⁷  on them. ⁸  25:13 So this is what the sovereign Lord says: I will stretch out my hand against Edom, and I will kill the people and animals within her, ⁹  and I will make her desolate; from Teman to Dedan they will die ¹⁰  by the sword. 25:14 I will exact my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel. They will carry out in Edom my anger and rage; they will experience ¹¹  my vengeance, declares the sovereign Lord.’”

[4:21]  ¹ tn The phrase “for now” is added in the translation to highlight the implied contrast between the present joy of the Gentiles (4:21a) and their future judgment (4:21b).

[4:21]  ² tn Heb “O Daughter of Edom.”

[4:21]  ³ tn Heb “the cup.” Judgment is often depicted as a cup of wine that God forces a person to drink, causing him to lose consciousness, red wine drooling out of his mouth – resembling corpses lying on the ground as a result of the actual onslaught of the Lord’s judgment. The drunkard will reel and stagger, causing bodily injury to himself – an apt metaphor to describe the devastating effects of God’s judgment. Just as a cup of poison kills all those who are forced to drink it, the cup of God’s wrath destroys all those who must drink it (e.g., Ps 75:9; Isa 51:17, 22; Jer 25:15, 17, 28; 49:12; 51:7; Lam 4:21; Ezek 23:33; Hab 2:16).

[4:21]  ⁴ tn The imperfect verb “will pass” may also be a jussive, continuing the element of request, “let the cup pass…”

[25:12]  ⁵ sn Edom was located south of Moab.

[25:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “and they have become guilty, becoming guilty.” The infinitive absolute following the finite verb makes the statement emphatic and draws attention to the degree of guilt incurred by Edom due to its actions.

[25:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “and they have taken vengeance.”

[25:12]  ⁸ sn Edom apparently in some way assisted in the destruction of Jerusalem in 587/6 b.c. (Ps 137:7; Lam 5:21, 23; Joel 3:19; Obadiah).

[25:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “and I will cut off from her man and beast.”

[25:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “fall.”

[25:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “know.”