And I will fill your mountains with the slain: The slain refers to the dead bodies of those who have been killed in Edom. Filling an area with corpses is a picture Ezekiel uses often to describe how God will judge and punish people and countries (compare 9.7 with “courts”; 11.6 with “streets”; and 30.11 with “land”), but it is not easy to think how mountains can be filled with dead bodies. This clause cannot be taken literally, but rather is a picture of bodies lying about all over the mountains, scattered everywhere.

Revised Standard Version changes the Hebrew text of this clause, which is literally “And I will fill its/his mountains with its/his slain” (similarly King James Version / New King James Version, Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). The third person pronoun “its/his” refers to Edom. Since God is addressing Edom, Revised Standard Version uses the second person pronoun your for Edom to avoid confusion (so also Contemporary English Version, New International Version, New Living Translation). Other languages may find this helpful. Good News Translation removes all pronouns from this verse, which is another possibility.

On your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines those slain with the sword shall fall: More detail is given here to the picture of dead bodies lying everywhere. For hills, valleys and ravines, see the comments on 6.3. Those slain with the sword refers to those killed in war (see 26.6).

A model for this verse is:

• I will cover your mountains with the bodies of those who die in war [or, of those whom your enemies kill in war]. Yes, the bodies of those killed [or, who die] in battle will cover all your hills, valleys, and ravines.

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .