God now gives another reason why he will judge the land of Edom. The connector Because introduces this reason.

You said, ‘These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will take possession of them’: Apparently, when Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem and took its people into exile, the Edomites said they would take over the land of the Israelites which was now empty of people. These two nations and these two countries refers to the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel (compare Good News Translation “the two nations, Judah and Israel”). There is little difference in meaning between … shall be mine and we will take possession of them. The first clause is probably a simple statement, while the second one is a statement of intention, so it may be rendered “so let us take possession of them.” Both the singular pronoun mine and the plural pronoun we refer to the Edomites, so some languages may prefer only plural pronouns here; for example, New Century Version renders the quote of the Edomites as “These two nations, Israel and Judah, and these two lands will be ours. We will take them for our own.”

Although the LORD was there: Some translations take this clause as continuing the words of the Edomites (for example, New Living Translation says “What do we care that the LORD is still there?”), but it is better to see it as the words of God, or as a comment inserted by Ezekiel himself. However, it is not certain exactly what this clause means. Revised Standard Version and many other literal translations are quite ambiguous. Some translations assume that God was no longer in the land, once his people had gone into exile; for example, Revised English Bible has “though the LORD has been there,” and Jerusalem Bible says “where Yahweh used to be.” These renderings reflect the view in the ancient world that, when a nation had been defeated and its people had been taken into exile, that nation’s god had also been defeated and had left the land, or that their god had already abandoned the people and had left the land before they were defeated. Other translations believe that God was still in the land (so Revised Standard Version); for example, Christian Community Bible says “and you disregarded Yahweh, who was there,” and New English Bible has “though the LORD is there” (similarly New Living Translation). Other translations say the same thing in a different way; for example, Good News Translation says “even though I, the LORD, was their God,” Contemporary English Version has “But I am their God,” and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates “But you forget that the land is mine!” This interpretation makes most sense, because the Edomites’ claim to the land was a direct challenge to God’s ownership of it. Although he had allowed his people to be defeated and taken into exile, God himself had not left the land, and he did not allow enemies to take possession of it. In those languages where it is unnatural and unclear for God to refer to himself in the third person by saying the LORD, translators may use the first person for him in this clause; for example, New International Version says “even though I the LORD was there,” and New International Reader’s Version has “even though I was there. I am the LORD.”

In many languages it will not be natural to begin a sentence with the connector Because. If so, a possible model for this verse is:

• You said, ‘These two countries (Judah and Israel) are ours; let us take possession of them.’ You said this even though the land belonged to me, Yahweh. For this reason [or, That is why]….

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 .