Abdias
La Bible du Semeur
1 Révélation reçue par Abdias.
Le Seigneur, l’Eternel ╵déclare sur Edom[a] :
j’ai entendu[b] ╵une nouvelle
venant de l’Eternel,
et un héraut ╵a été envoyé ╵parmi les autres peuples :
Levez-vous, leur dit-il.
Partons en guerre contre Edom[c].
Le jugement d’Edom
La ruine d’Edom
2 Je vais te rendre ╵petit parmi les peuples
et tu seras très méprisé.
3 Car ton orgueil t’égare,
toi qui as ta demeure ╵dans les creux du rocher[d].
Toi dont l’habitation ╵est haut perchée,
tu te dis en toi-même :
« Qui m’en fera descendre ? »
4 Si comme l’aigle ╵tu t’élevais,
et quand bien même ╵ton nid serait placé ╵au milieu des étoiles,
je t’en ferais descendre,
l’Eternel le déclare.
5 Si des voleurs ╵ou des pillards ╵viennent chez toi ╵pendant la nuit,
ils saccageront tout.
Ne s’empareront-ils pas de tes biens ╵jusqu’à ce qu’ils en aient assez ?
Si des vendangeurs pénètrent chez toi,
ne laisseront-ils pas ╵que ce qui se grappille ?
6 O ! Esaü, ╵comme on te fouille !
On met à jour ╵tous tes trésors cachés.
7 Tous tes alliés ╵t’ont refoulé ╵jusque sur ta frontière.
Tous tes amis te trompent ╵et te réduisent ╵en leur pouvoir.
Tes associés ╵tendent[e] des pièges sous tes pas.
Il n’y a en Edom ╵aucun discernement.
8 En ce jour-là,
l’Eternel le déclare,
je vais faire périr ╵tous les sages d’Edom,
je ferai disparaître ╵tout le discernement ╵de la montagne d’Esaü.
9 Tes guerriers, ô Témân[f], ╵seront pris de panique
si bien qu’au grand massacre,
tout homme sera retranché ╵de la montagne d’Esaü.
Contre ceux qui profitent du malheur d’autrui
10 Tu t’es montré violent ╵envers Jacob ton frère,
c’est pourquoi tu seras ╵couvert de honte
et tu disparaîtras ╵à tout jamais[g].
11 Car tu étais présent[h]
en ce jour où des étrangers ╵emportaient ses richesses,
lorsque des étrangers ╵pénétraient dans sa ville,
et, en tirant au sort, ╵se partageaient entre eux ╵le butin de Jérusalem.
Oui, toi aussi, ╵tu as agi comme eux.
12 Non, tu n’aurais pas dû ╵te complaire au spectacle ╵au jour du malheur de ton frère,
au jour de sa détresse.
Non, tu n’aurais pas dû ╵te réjouir ╵au détriment des Judéens
au jour de leur désastre,
ni ouvrir grand la bouche ╵pour insulter et te moquer
au jour de leur angoisse.
13 Et tu n’aurais pas dû ╵pénétrer dans la ville de mon peuple
au jour de son malheur,
ni te complaire, ╵oui, toi aussi, ╵à la vue de ses maux,
ni t’emparer ╵de toutes ses richesses
au jour de son malheur !
14 Non, tu ne devais pas
te tenir là ╵au carrefour des routes[i]
pour massacrer ses rescapés
et pour livrer ╵les derniers survivants
au jour de leur détresse !
Le jour de l’Eternel
15 Le jour est proche ╵où l’Eternel jugera tous les peuples
et l’on te traitera ╵comme tu as traité les autres :
le mal que tu as fait ╵retombera sur toi.
16 Vous avez bu ╵la coupe de l’orgie[j] ╵sur ma sainte montagne :
De même, tous les peuples étrangers ╵ne cesseront de boire ╵la coupe de colère[k].
Ils la boiront, ╵et ils l’avaleront,
puis ils seront anéantis.
17 Mais sur le mont Sion ╵il y aura des rescapés :
ce sera un lieu saint.
Le peuple de Jacob ╵spoliera à son tour
ceux qui l’auront spolié.
18 Le peuple de Jacob ╵sera semblable au feu,
les enfants de Joseph ╵seront comme une flamme ;
les enfants d’Esaü, par contre, ╵seront comme du chaume :
ceux-ci embraseront ceux-là ╵et les consumeront ;
il ne réchappera ╵pas un seul survivant ╵parmi les enfants d’Esaü :
l’Eternel le déclare.
A l’Eternel appartiendra le règne
19 Ceux du Néguev s’empareront ╵de la montagne d’Esaü
et ceux qui vivent dans la plaine ╵posséderont la Philistie.
Ils viendront occuper[l] ╵le territoire d’Ephraïm,
qui est celui de Samarie.
Les gens de Benjamin ╵s’empareront de Galaad[m],
20 et les déportés d’Israël ╵ – toute une armée –
posséderont ╵le pays des Cananéens ╵jusque vers Sarepta.
Les exilés à Sardes[n], ╵déportés de Jérusalem,
posséderont ╵les villes du Néguev.
21 Des sauvés[o] graviront ╵le mont Sion
pour dominer ╵sur les monts d’Esaü[p].
Alors l’Eternel régnera !
Footnotes
- 1 Peuple descendant d’Esaü (Gn 25.19-26 ; 36.1-43) installé au sud-est de la mer Morte, très souvent hostile à Israël (voir v. 10 et note ; Nb 20.21 ; Dt 23.8).
- 1 j’ai entendu: d’après l’ancienne version grecque et Jr 49.14.
- 1 Les v. 1-4 ont leur parallèle en Jr 49.14-16 ; les v. 5-6 en Jr 49.9-10. L’idée du v. 8 se retrouve en Jr 49.7.
- 3 rocher, en hébreu séla, est peut-être une allusion à la ville du même nom, taillée dans le roc, capitale d’Edom (2 R 14.7). Séla était peut-être sur le même site que la Pétra ultérieure des Nabatéens, qui elle est bien connue ; elle se situait en tout cas dans la même région.
- 7 Tes associés tendent. Autre traduction : ils profitent de ton hospitalité pour tendre.
- 9 Ville ou région d’Edom qui représente ici tout le pays (voir Jr 49.7 ; Am 1.12).
- 10 Voir v. 10-14 : Abdias fait référence à une participation édomite soit lors du sac de Jérusalem sous Yoram, vers 845 av. J.-C. (voir 2 Ch 21.8-10, 16-17) soit lors de la prise de Jérusalem par les Babyloniens en 587 av. J.-C. (2 R 25.8-12 ; Ps 137.7 ; Ez 25.12-14 ; 35).
- 11 D’autres comprennent : tu te tenais à l’écart.
- 14 au carrefour des routes. Autre traduction : après avoir brisé son joug (voir Gn 27.40).
- 16 D’autres comprennent : vous, les Judéens, vous avez bu la coupe de colère.
- 16 Voir Jr 25.15-29.
- 19 Ils viendront occuper: une modification légère du texte hébreu traditionnel permet de lire : Jérusalem possédera.
- 19 Galaad, à l’est du Jourdain, région rattachée au royaume du Nord.
- 20 Sarepta: entre Tyr et Sidon (voir 1 R 17.9), sur la côte de la Méditerranée. Sardes: en hébreu, Sepharad. Très certainement Sardes en Asie Mineure. Selon d’autres, Sparte en Grèce.
- 21 D’après les versions. Le texte hébreu traditionnel a : des sauveurs.
- 21 graviront le mont Sion… d’Esaü. Autre traduction : sur le mont Sion, iront exercer leur domination sur la montagne d’Esaü.
Obadiah
Contemporary English Version
Edom's Pride and Punishment
1 (A) The Lord God gave Obadiah
a message[a] about Edom,
and this is what we heard:
“I, the Lord, have sent
a messenger
with orders for the nations
to attack Edom.”
2 The Lord said to Edom:
I will make you the weakest
and most despised nation.
3 You live in a mountain fortress,[b]
because your pride
makes you feel safe from attack,
but you are mistaken.
4 I will still bring you down,
even if you fly higher
than an eagle
or nest among the stars.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
5 If thieves break in at night,
they steal
only what they want.
And people who harvest grapes
always leave some unpicked.
But, Edom, you are doomed!
6 Everything you treasure most
will be taken from you.
7 Your allies can't be trusted.
They will force you out
of your own country.
And your best friends
will trick and trap you,
even before you know it.
8 Edom, when this happens,
I, the Lord, will destroy
all your marvelous wisdom.
9 Warriors from the city of Teman[c]
will be terrified,
and you descendants of Esau[d]
will be wiped out.
The Lord Condemns Edom's Cruelty
10 You were cruel to your relatives,
the descendants of Jacob.[e]
Now you will be destroyed,
disgraced forever.
11 You stood there and watched
as foreigners entered Jerusalem
and took what they wanted.
In fact, you were no better
than those foreigners.
12 Why did you celebrate
when such a dreadful disaster
struck your relatives?
Why were you so pleased
when everyone in Judah
was suffering?
13 They are my people,
and you were cruel to them.
You went through their towns,
sneering and stealing
whatever was left.
14 In their time of torment,
you ambushed refugees
and handed them over
to their attackers.
The Lord Will Judge the Nations
15 The day is coming
when I, the Lord,
will judge the nations.
And, Edom, you will pay in full
for what you have done.
16 I forced the people of Judah[f]
to drink the wine of my anger
on my sacred mountain.
Soon the neighboring nations
must drink their fill—
then vanish without a trace.
Victory for Israel
17 The Lord's people who escape
will go to Mount Zion,
and it will be holy.
Then Jacob's descendants
will capture the land of those
who took their land.
18 Israel[g] will be a fire,
and Edom will be straw
going up in flames.
The Lord has spoken!
19 The people of Israel
who live in the Southern Desert
will take the land of Edom.
Those who live in the hills
will capture Philistia,
Ephraim, and Samaria.
And the tribe of Benjamin
will conquer Gilead.
20 Those who return from captivity
will control Phoenicia
as far as Zarephath.[h]
Captives from Jerusalem
who were taken to Sepharad[i]
will capture the towns
of the Southern Desert.
21 Those the Lord has saved
will live on Mount Zion
and rule over Edom.[j]
Then the kingdom will belong
to the Lord.
Footnotes
- 1 message: Or “vision.”
- 3 mountain fortress: The Hebrew text has “rocky cliff,” which sounds like “Sela,” the capital of Edom, a fortress city built on a mountain.
- 9 Teman: A famous city in Edom.
- 9 descendants of Esau: The people of Edom were descendants of Esau, the brother of Jacob (Israel).
- 10 descendants of Jacob: Jacob and Esau were brothers (see the note on Esau at verse 9).
- 16 I forced … Judah: Or “I will force the people of Edom.”
- 18 Israel: Hebrew “The descendants of Jacob and of Joseph.”
- 20 Those who return … Zarephath: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 20 Sepharad: Possibly the city of Sardis, the capital of Lydia, a country north and west of Media. This would refer to those captives from Judah who had been taken beyond the kingdom of Babylonia.
- 21 Those the Lord … Edom: Or “Leaders on (from) Mount Zion will save the people and rule over Edom.”
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
- Obadiah 1:3 Or of Sela
- Obadiah 1:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
- Obadiah 1:21 Or from
Obadiah
King James Version
1 The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord God concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the Lord, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle.
2 Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised.
3 The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?
4 Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord.
5 If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough? if the grapegatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grapes?
6 How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things sought up!
7 All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and prevailed against thee; they that eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee: there is none understanding in him.
8 Shall I not in that day, saith the Lord, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau?
9 And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter.
10 For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.
11 In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them.
12 But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress.
13 Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity;
14 Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress.
15 For the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head.
16 For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.
17 But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.
18 And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the Lord hath spoken it.
19 And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and they of the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
20 And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south.
21 And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Lord's.
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