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Obadiah
New King James Version

The Coming Judgment on Edom

1 The vision of Obadiah.

Thus says the Lord God (A)concerning Edom
(B)(We have heard a report from the Lord,
And a messenger has been sent among the nations, saying,
“Arise, and let us rise up against her for battle”):

2 “Behold, I will make you small among the nations;
You shall be greatly despised.
3 The (C)pride of your heart has deceived you,
You who dwell in the clefts of the rock,
Whose habitation is high;
(D)You who say in your heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’
4 (E)Though you ascend as high as the eagle,
And though you (F)set your nest among the stars,
From there I will bring you down,” says the Lord.

5 “If (G)thieves had come to you,
If robbers by night—
Oh, how you will be cut off!—
Would they not have stolen till they had enough?
If grape-gatherers had come to you,
(H)Would they not have left some gleanings?

6 “Oh, how Esau shall be searched out!
How his hidden treasures shall be sought after!
7 All the men in your confederacy
Shall force you to the border;
(I)The men at peace with you
Shall deceive you and prevail against you.
Those who eat your bread shall lay a [a]trap for you.
(J)No[b] one is aware of it.

8 “Will(K) I not in that day,” says the Lord,
“Even destroy the wise men from Edom,
And understanding from the mountains of Esau?
9 Then your (L)mighty men, O (M)Teman, shall be dismayed,
To the end that everyone from the mountains of Esau
May be cut off by slaughter.

Edom Mistreated His Brother

10 “For (N)violence against your brother Jacob,
Shame shall cover you,
And (O)you shall be cut off forever.
11 In the day that you (P)stood on the other side—
In the day that strangers carried captive his forces,
When foreigners entered his gates
And (Q)cast lots for Jerusalem—
Even you were as one of them.

12 “But you should not have (R)gazed[c] on the day of your brother
[d]In the day of his captivity;
Nor should you have (S)rejoiced over the children of Judah
In the day of their destruction;
Nor should you have spoken proudly
In the day of distress.
13 You should not have entered the gate of My people
In the day of their calamity.
Indeed, you should not have [e]gazed on their affliction
In the day of their calamity,
Nor laid hands on their substance
In the day of their calamity.
14 You should not have stood at the crossroads
To cut off those among them who escaped;
Nor should you have [f]delivered up those among them who remained
In the day of distress.

15 “For(T) the day of the Lord upon all the nations is near;
(U)As you have done, it shall be done to you;
Your [g]reprisal shall return upon your own head.
16 (V)For as you drank on My holy mountain,
So shall all the nations drink continually;
Yes, they shall drink, and swallow,
And they shall be as though they had never been.

Israel’s Final Triumph

17 “But on Mount Zion there (W)shall be [h]deliverance,
And there shall be holiness;
The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.
18 The house of Jacob shall be a fire,
And the house of Joseph (X)a flame;
But the house of Esau shall be stubble;
They shall kindle them and devour them,
And no survivor shall remain of the house of Esau,”
For the Lord has spoken.

19 The [i]South (Y)shall possess the mountains of Esau,
(Z)And the Lowland shall possess Philistia.
They shall possess the fields of Ephraim
And the fields of Samaria.
Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
20 And the captives of this host of the children of Israel
Shall possess the land of the Canaanites
As (AA)far as Zarephath.
The captives of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
(AB)Shall possess the cities of the [j]South.
21 Then (AC)saviors[k] shall come to Mount Zion
To judge the mountains of Esau,
And the (AD)kingdom shall be the Lord’s.

Footnotes

  1. Obadiah 1:7 Or wound or plot
  2. Obadiah 1:7 Or There is no understanding in him
  3. Obadiah 1:12 Gloated over
  4. Obadiah 1:12 Lit. On the day he became a foreigner
  5. Obadiah 1:13 Gloated over
  6. Obadiah 1:14 Handed over to the enemy
  7. Obadiah 1:15 Or reward
  8. Obadiah 1:17 Or salvation
  9. Obadiah 1:19 Heb. Negev
  10. Obadiah 1:20 Heb. Negev
  11. Obadiah 1:21 deliverers
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Obadiah
Holman Christian Standard Bible

The vision of Obadiah.

Edom’s Certain Judgment

This is what the Lord God has said about Edom:(A)

We have heard a message from the Lord;(B)
a messenger has been sent(C) among the nations:
“Rise up,(D) and let us go to war against her.”[a]
2 Look, I will make you insignificant(E)
among the nations;
you will be deeply despised.
3 Your presumptuous heart has deceived you,(F)
you who live in clefts of the rock[b][c](G)
in your home on the heights,
who say to yourself,
“Who can bring me down to the ground?”(H)
4 Though you seem to soar[d] like an eagle(I)
and make your nest among the stars,(J)
even from there I will bring you down.
This is the Lord’s declaration.

5 If thieves came to you,(K)
if marauders by night—
how ravaged you would be!—
wouldn’t they steal only what they wanted?
If grape pickers came to you,
wouldn’t they leave some grapes?(L)
6 How Esau will be pillaged,(M)
his hidden treasures searched out!(N)
7 Everyone who has a treaty with you(O)
will drive you to the border;
everyone at peace with you
will deceive and conquer you.
Those who eat your bread(P)
will set[e] a trap for you.
He will be unaware of it.(Q)
8 In that day—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
will I not eliminate the wise ones of Edom(R)
and those who understand
from the hill country of Esau?
9 Teman,[f](S) your warriors(T) will be terrified
so that everyone from the hill country of Esau
will be destroyed by slaughter.(U)

Edom’s Sins against Judah

10 You will be covered with shame
and destroyed forever
because of violence done to your brother Jacob.(V)
11 On the day you stood aloof,(W)
on the day strangers captured his wealth,[g]
while foreigners entered his gate
and cast lots for Jerusalem,(X)
you were just like one of them.(Y)
12 Do not[h] gloat over your brother(Z)
in the day of his calamity;
do not rejoice over the people of Judah(AA)
in the day of their destruction;
do not boastfully mock[i](AB)
in the day of distress.(AC)
13 Do not enter the gate of My people
in the day of their disaster.(AD)
Yes, you—do not gloat over their misery
in the day of their disaster
and do not appropriate their possessions(AE)
in the day of their disaster.
14 Do not stand at the crossroads[j](AF)
to cut off their fugitives,
and do not hand over their survivors
in the day of distress.

Judgment of the Nations

15 For the Day of the Lord(AG) is near,
against all the nations.(AH)
As you have done,(AI) so it will be done to you;
what you deserve will return on your own head.(AJ)
16 As you have drunk on My holy mountain,(AK)
so all the nations will drink continually.(AL)
They will drink and gulp down
and be as though they had never been.
17 But there will be a deliverance on Mount Zion,(AM)
and it will be holy;(AN)
the house of Jacob will dispossess(AO)
those who dispossessed them.[k](AP)
18 Then the house of Jacob will be a blazing fire,(AQ)
and the house of Joseph, a burning flame,
but the house of Esau will be stubble;
Jacob[l] will set them on fire and consume Edom.[m]
Therefore no survivor will remain(AR)
of the house of Esau,
for the Lord has spoken.

Future Blessing for Israel

19 People from the Negev will possess(AS)
the hill country of Esau;(AT)
those from the Judean foothills will possess
the land of the Philistines.(AU)
They[n] will possess
the territories of Ephraim and Samaria,(AV)
while Benjamin will possess Gilead.
20 The exiles of the Israelites who are in Halah[o]
and who are among the Canaanites as far as Zarephath(AW)
as well as the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
will possess the cities of the Negev.(AX)
21 Saviors[p] will ascend Mount Zion(AY)
to rule over the hill country of Esau,
but the kingdom will be the Lord’s.(AZ)

Footnotes

  1. Obadiah 1:1 = Edom
  2. Obadiah 1:3 Or in Sela; probably = Petra
  3. Obadiah 1:3 Probably Petra
  4. Obadiah 1:4 Or to build high
  5. Obadiah 1:7 Some LXX mss, Sym, Tg, Vg; MT reads They will set your bread as
  6. Obadiah 1:9 = a region or city in Edom
  7. Obadiah 1:11 Or forces
  8. Obadiah 1:12 Or You should not throughout vv. 12-14
  9. Obadiah 1:12 Lit not make your mouth big
  10. Obadiah 1:14 Hb obscure
  11. Obadiah 1:17 DSS, LXX, Syr, Vg, Tg; MT reads Jacob will possess its inheritance
  12. Obadiah 1:18 Lit they
  13. Obadiah 1:18 Lit them
  14. Obadiah 1:19 = The house of Jacob
  15. Obadiah 1:20 Or of this host of the Israelites; Hb obscure
  16. Obadiah 1:21 Or Those who have been delivered
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Obadiah
New American Standard Bible

Edom Will Be Humbled

1 The vision of Obadiah.

This is what the Lord [a]God says concerning (A)Edom—

(B)We have heard a report from the Lord,
And a (C)messenger has been sent among the nations saying,
“(D)Arise, and let’s go up against her for battle”—
2 “Behold, I will make you (E)small among the nations;
You are greatly despised.
3 The (F)arrogance of your heart has deceived you,
The one who lives in the clefts of [b]the (G)rock,
On the height of his dwelling place,
Who says in his heart,
‘(H)Who will bring me down to earth?’
4 Though you (I)make your home high like the eagle,
Though you set your nest among the (J)stars,
From there I will bring you down,” declares the Lord.
5 “If (K)thieves came to you,
If [c]robbers by night—
Oh how you will be ruined!—
Would they not steal only [d]until they had enough?
If grape-pickers came to you,
(L)Would they not leave some gleanings?
6 Oh how Esau will be (M)searched,
And his hidden treasures searched out!
7 All the (N)people [e]allied with you
Will send you to the border,
And the people at peace with you
Will deceive you and overpower you.
They who eat your (O)bread
Will set an ambush for you.
(There is (P)no understanding [f]in him.)
8 Will I not on that day,” declares the Lord,
“(Q)Eliminate wise men from Edom,
And understanding from the mountain of Esau?
9 Then your (R)warriors will be filled with terror, (S)Teman,
So that everyone will be (T)eliminated from the mountain of Esau by murder.

10 “Because of (U)violence to your brother Jacob,
Shame will cover you,
(V)And you will be eliminated forever.
11 On the day that you (W)stood aloof,
On the day that strangers carried off his wealth,
And foreigners entered his gate
And (X)cast lots for Jerusalem—
(Y)You too were as one of them.
12 (Z)Do not [g]gloat over your brother’s day,
The day of his misfortune.
And (AA)do not rejoice over the sons of Judah
On the day of their destruction;
Yes, (AB)do not [h]boast
On the day of their distress.
13 Do not enter the gate of My people
On the (AC)day of their disaster.
You indeed, do not [i]gloat over their catastrophe
On the day of their disaster.
And do not (AD)lay a hand on their wealth
On the day of their disaster.
14 Do not (AE)stand at the crossroads
To eliminate their survivors;
And do not hand over their refugees
On the day of their distress.

The Day of the Lord and the Future

15 “For the (AF)day of the Lord is near for all the nations.
(AG)Just as you have done, it will be done to you.
Your (AH)dealings will return on your own head.
16 For just as you (AI)drank on (AJ)My holy mountain,
All the nations (AK)will drink continually.
They will drink [j]to the last drop,
And become as if they had never existed.
17 But on Mount (AL)Zion there will be those who escape,
And it will be holy.
And the house of Jacob will [k](AM)possess their [l]property.
18 Then the house of Jacob will be a (AN)fire,
And the house of Joseph a flame;
But the house of Esau will be like stubble.
And they will set [m]them on fire and consume [n]them,
So that there will be (AO)no survivor of the house of Esau,”
For the Lord has spoken.
19 Then those of the [o]Negev will [p](AP)possess the mountain of Esau,
And those of the [q]Shephelah the (AQ)Philistine plain;
Also, (AR)they will [r]possess the territory of Ephraim and the territory of Samaria,
And Benjamin the territory of Gilead.
20 And the exiles of this army of the sons of Israel,
Who are among the Canaanites as far as (AS)Zarephath,
And the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad,
Will [s]possess the (AT)cities of the Negev.
21 [t]The (AU)deliverers will ascend Mount Zion
To judge the mountain of Esau,
And the (AV)kingdom will be the Lord’s.

Footnotes

  1. Obadiah 1:1 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  2. Obadiah 1:3 Or Sela
  3. Obadiah 1:5 Lit devastators of the night
  4. Obadiah 1:5 Lit their sufficiency
  5. Obadiah 1:7 Lit of your covenant
  6. Obadiah 1:7 I.e., in Esau; or of it
  7. Obadiah 1:12 Lit look on
  8. Obadiah 1:12 Lit make your mouth large
  9. Obadiah 1:13 Lit look at
  10. Obadiah 1:16 Lit and slurp
  11. Obadiah 1:17 Or take possession of
  12. Obadiah 1:17 or inheritance
  13. Obadiah 1:18 I.e., the people of Esau
  14. Obadiah 1:18 I.e., the people of Esau
  15. Obadiah 1:19 I.e., South country
  16. Obadiah 1:19 Or take possession of
  17. Obadiah 1:19 I.e., the foothills
  18. Obadiah 1:19 Or take possession of
  19. Obadiah 1:20 Or take possession of
  20. Obadiah 1:21 Or with ancient versions Those who are rescued
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Obadiah
New International Version

Obadiah’s Vision(A)(B)

1 The vision(C) of Obadiah.

This is what the Sovereign Lord says about Edom(D)—

We have heard a message from the Lord:
    An envoy(E) was sent to the nations to say,
“Rise, let us go against her for battle”(F)—

2 “See, I will make you small(G) among the nations;
    you will be utterly despised.
3 The pride(H) of your heart has deceived you,
    you who live in the clefts of the rocks[a](I)
    and make your home on the heights,
you who say to yourself,
    ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’(J)
4 Though you soar like the eagle
    and make your nest(K) among the stars,
    from there I will bring you down,”(L)
declares the Lord.(M)
5 “If thieves came to you,
    if robbers in the night—
oh, what a disaster awaits you!—
    would they not steal only as much as they wanted?
If grape pickers came to you,
    would they not leave a few grapes?(N)
6 But how Esau will be ransacked,
    his hidden treasures pillaged!
7 All your allies(O) will force you to the border;
    your friends will deceive and overpower you;
those who eat your bread(P) will set a trap for you,[b]
    but you will not detect it.

8 “In that day,” declares the Lord,
    “will I not destroy(Q) the wise men of Edom,
    those of understanding in the mountains of Esau?
9 Your warriors, Teman,(R) will be terrified,
    and everyone in Esau’s mountains
    will be cut down in the slaughter.
10 Because of the violence(S) against your brother Jacob,(T)
    you will be covered with shame;
    you will be destroyed forever.(U)
11 On the day you stood aloof
    while strangers carried off his wealth
and foreigners entered his gates
    and cast lots(V) for Jerusalem,
    you were like one of them.(W)
12 You should not gloat(X) over your brother
    in the day of his misfortune,(Y)
nor rejoice(Z) over the people of Judah
    in the day of their destruction,(AA)
nor boast(AB) so much
    in the day of their trouble.(AC)
13 You should not march through the gates of my people
    in the day of their disaster,
nor gloat over them in their calamity(AD)
    in the day of their disaster,
nor seize their wealth
    in the day of their disaster.
14 You should not wait at the crossroads
    to cut down their fugitives,(AE)
nor hand over their survivors
    in the day of their trouble.

15 “The day of the Lord is near(AF)
    for all nations.
As you have done, it will be done to you;
    your deeds(AG) will return upon your own head.
16 Just as you drank(AH) on my holy hill,(AI)
    so all the nations will drink(AJ) continually;
they will drink and drink
    and be as if they had never been.(AK)
17 But on Mount Zion will be deliverance;(AL)
    it will be holy,(AM)
    and Jacob will possess his inheritance.(AN)
18 Jacob will be a fire
    and Joseph a flame;
Esau will be stubble,
    and they will set him on fire(AO) and destroy(AP) him.
There will be no survivors(AQ)
    from Esau.”
The Lord has spoken.

19 People from the Negev will occupy
    the mountains of Esau,
and people from the foothills will possess
    the land of the Philistines.(AR)
They will occupy the fields of Ephraim and Samaria,(AS)
    and Benjamin(AT) will possess Gilead.
20 This company of Israelite exiles who are in Canaan
    will possess the land as far as Zarephath;(AU)
the exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
    will possess the towns of the Negev.(AV)
21 Deliverers(AW) will go up on[c] Mount Zion
    to govern the mountains of Esau.
    And the kingdom will be the Lord’s.(AX)

Footnotes

  1. Obadiah 1:3 Or of Sela
  2. Obadiah 1:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
  3. Obadiah 1:21 Or from
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Obadiah
The Message

Your World Will Collapse

1 Obadiah’s Message to Edom
    from God, the Master.
We got the news straight from God
    by a special messenger sent out to the godless nations:

“On your feet, prepare for battle;
    get ready to make war on Edom!

* * *

2-4 “Listen to this, Edom:
    I’m turning you to a no-account,
    the runt of the godless nations, despised.
You thought you were so great,
    perched high among the rocks, king of the mountain,
Thinking to yourself,
    ‘Nobody can get to me! Nobody can touch me!’
Think again. Even if, like an eagle,
    you hang out on a high cliff-face,
Even if you build your nest in the stars,
    I’ll bring you down to earth.”
        God’s sure Word.

5-14 “If thieves crept up on you,
    they’d rob you blind—isn’t that so?
If they mugged you on the streets at night,
    they’d pick you clean—isn’t that so?
Oh, they’ll take Esau apart, piece by piece,
    empty his purse and pockets.
All your old partners will drive you to the edge.
    Your old friends will lie to your face.
Your old drinking buddies will stab you in the back.
    Your world will collapse. You won’t know what hit you.
So don’t be surprised”—it’s God’s sure Word!—
    “when I wipe out all sages from Edom
    and rid the Esau mountains of its famous wise men.
Your great heroes will desert you, Teman.
    There’ll be nobody left in Esau’s mountains.
Because of the murderous history compiled
    against your brother Jacob,
You will be looked down on by everyone.
    You’ll lose your place in history.
On that day you stood there and didn’t do anything.
    Strangers took your brother’s army into exile.
Godless foreigners invaded and pillaged Jerusalem.
    You stood there and watched.
    You were as bad as they were.
You shouldn’t have gloated over your brother
    when he was down-and-out.
You shouldn’t have laughed and joked at Judah’s sons
    when they were facedown in the mud.
You shouldn’t have talked so big
    when everything was so bad.
You shouldn’t have taken advantage of my people
    when their lives had fallen apart.
You of all people should not have been amused
    by their troubles, their wrecked nation.
You shouldn’t have taken the shirt off their back
    when they were knocked flat, defenseless.
And you shouldn’t have stood waiting at the outskirts
    and cut off refugees,
And traitorously turned in helpless survivors
    who had lost everything.

* * *

15-18 “God’s Judgment Day is near
    for all the godless nations.
As you have done, it will be done to you.
    What you did will boomerang back
    and hit your own head.
Just as you partied on my holy mountain,
    all the godless nations will drink God’s wrath.
They’ll drink and drink and drink—
    they’ll drink themselves to death.
But not so on Mount Zion—there’s respite there!
    a safe and holy place!
The family of Jacob will take back their possessions
    from those who took them from them.
That’s when the family of Jacob will catch fire,
    the family of Joseph become fierce flame,
    while the family of Esau will be straw.
Esau will go up in flames,
    nothing left of Esau but a pile of ashes.”
        God said it, and it is so.

* * *

19-21 People from the south will take over the Esau mountains;
    people from the foothills will overrun the Philistines.
They’ll take the farms of Ephraim and Samaria,
    and Benjamin will take Gilead.
Earlier, Israelite exiles will come back
    and take Canaanite land to the north at Zarephath.
Jerusalem exiles from the far northwest in Sepharad
    will come back and take the cities in the south.
The remnant of the saved in Mount Zion
    will go into the mountains of Esau
And rule justly and fairly,
    a rule that honors God’s kingdom.

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