Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever.
Whereas, х kiy (H3588)] - rather, But if Edom say (Maurer).
We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the Lord of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down. Edom may strive as she may to recover herself, but it shall be in vain, because I doom her to perpetual desolation, whereas I restore Israel. This Yahweh states, to illustrate His gratuitous love to Israel rather than to Edom.
And they shall call them, The border of wickedness - a region given over to the curse of reprobation (Calvin). For a time Judea seemed as desolate as Idumea; but though the latter was once the highway of Eastern commerce, now the lonely rock-houses of Petra attest the fulfillment of the prophecy. It is still "The border of wickedness," being the resort of the marauding tribes of the desert. Judea's restoration, though delayed, is yet certain.
And, The people against whom the Lord hath indignation forever - "The people of my curse" (Isaiah 34:5).