Ezekiel 35:5Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

He charges the Idumeans with malice and covertly scheming against Israel. This is evident in his statement, ‘She hath sat down upon the house of Israel with guile, with the hand of the enemies with the sword in the time of their sorrow.’ That is to say, when their foes advanced upon them, through ambushes and concealed traps, she obstructed their escape and prevented their flight. Other interpreters also render it as: ‘she hath confined the children of Israel with the hand of the sword, in the time of their sorrow, in the time of their iniquity before me.’ Because of transgressions, or as the Septuagint translates, due to the unrighteousness before Me, they endure punishment.