Oracles against the Nations (25:1–32:32): Ezekiel’s message is not confined to Jerusalemites or to ex-Jerusalemites now living in captivity. He turns his attention in this chapter to four bordering nations.

Ezekiel first addresses the Ammonites (25:1–7; cf. Jer. 49:1–6), who were descendants of Lot. The main city of their territory was Rabbah (25:5). David annexed them during his reign (2 Sam. 12:26–31). At some subsequent point (post-Solomonic) Ammon regained her independence. Nebuchadnezzar used Ammonites to put down insurrections in Judah (2 Kings 24:2). What Ezekiel chastises them for is their open mockery of the devastation that hit Jerusalem in 587 BC. They clapped their hands, stampe…