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My people are determined to turn away from me.
    Even if they call to the Most High,
        he will not pardon them.

“How can I give you up, Ephraim?
    How can I hand you over, Israel?
    How can I make you like Admah?
    How can I treat you like Zeboim?
    I have changed my mind.
        I am deeply moved.
I will not act on my burning anger.
    I will not destroy Ephraim again.
    I am El, not a human.
    I am the Holy One among you,
        and I will not come to you in anger.

10 “My people will follow Yahweh when I roar like a lion.
    When I roar, my children will come trembling from the west.
11 They will come trembling like birds from Egypt
    and like doves from Assyria.
        I will settle them in their own homes,”
            declares Yahweh.[a]

12 “Ephraim surrounds me with lies.
    The nation of Israel surrounds me with deceit.”
    Judah rebels against El, against the Holy One who is faithful.

The People of Israel Ignored What the Lord Had Done for Them

12 [b]The people of Ephraim try to catch the wind
    and try to chase the east wind all day.
    They are very violent and destructive.
    They make treaties with Assyria and take olive oil to Egypt.

Yahweh brings charges against Judah and punishes Jacob
    because of the way their people act.
    He will pay them back for what they have done.
Their ancestor Jacob held on to his brother’s heel
    while the two of them were in their mother’s womb.
    When Jacob became a man, he struggled with Elohim.
He struggled with the Messenger and won.
    Jacob cried and pleaded with him.
        Jacob found him at Bethel,
            and he talked with him there.
Yahweh is the God of Armies.
    Yahweh is the name by which he is remembered.
Return to your Elohim.
    Be loyal and fair, and always wait with hope for your Elohim.

The Lord says, “The merchants use dishonest scales.
    They love to cheat people.
The people of Ephraim say, ‘We’re rich. We’ve made a fortune.
    With all this wealth, no one will find us guilty of any sin.’
I am Yahweh your Elohim.
    I brought you out of Egypt.
    I will make you live in tents again
    as you did during your appointed festivals.
10 I spoke to the prophets and gave them many visions.
    I taught lessons through the prophets.”[c]

11 The people of Gilead are evil.
    They are worthless.
    They sacrifice bulls in Gilgal.
        But their altars will become like piles of rubble
            beside a plowed field.
12 Jacob fled to the country of Syria.
    Israel worked to get a wife; he took care of sheep to pay for her.

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 11:11 Hosea 11:12 in English Bibles is Hosea 12:1 in the Hebrew Bible.
  2. Hosea 12:1 Hosea 12:1–14 in English Bibles is Hosea 12:2–15 in the Hebrew Bible.
  3. Hosea 12:10 Or “I brought destruction through the prophets.”

My people are determined to turn(A) from me.(B)
    Even though they call me God Most High,
    I will by no means exalt them.

“How can I give you up,(C) Ephraim?(D)
    How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I treat you like Admah?
    How can I make you like Zeboyim?(E)
My heart is changed within me;
    all my compassion(F) is aroused.(G)
I will not carry out my fierce anger,(H)
    nor will I devastate(I) Ephraim again.
For I am God, and not a man(J)
    the Holy One(K) among you.
    I will not come against their cities.
10 They will follow the Lord;
    he will roar(L) like a lion.(M)
When he roars,
    his children will come trembling(N) from the west.(O)
11 They will come from Egypt,
    trembling like sparrows,
    from Assyria,(P) fluttering like doves.(Q)
I will settle them in their homes,”(R)
    declares the Lord.

Israel’s Sin

12 Ephraim has surrounded me with lies,(S)
    Israel with deceit.
And Judah is unruly against God,
    even against the faithful(T) Holy One.[a](U)

12 [b]Ephraim(V) feeds on the wind;(W)
    he pursues the east wind all day
    and multiplies lies and violence.(X)
He makes a treaty with Assyria(Y)
    and sends olive oil to Egypt.(Z)
The Lord has a charge(AA) to bring against Judah;(AB)
    he will punish(AC) Jacob[c] according to his ways
    and repay him according to his deeds.(AD)
In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel;(AE)
    as a man he struggled(AF) with God.
He struggled with the angel and overcame him;
    he wept and begged for his favor.
He found him at Bethel(AG)
    and talked with him there—
the Lord God Almighty,
    the Lord is his name!(AH)
But you must return(AI) to your God;
    maintain love and justice,(AJ)
    and wait for your God always.(AK)

The merchant uses dishonest scales(AL)
    and loves to defraud.
Ephraim boasts,(AM)
    “I am very rich; I have become wealthy.(AN)
With all my wealth they will not find in me
    any iniquity or sin.”

“I have been the Lord your God
    ever since you came out of Egypt;(AO)
I will make you live in tents(AP) again,
    as in the days of your appointed festivals.
10 I spoke to the prophets,
    gave them many visions
    and told parables(AQ) through them.”(AR)

11 Is Gilead wicked?(AS)
    Its people are worthless!
Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal?(AT)
    Their altars will be like piles of stones
    on a plowed field.(AU)
12 Jacob fled to the country of Aram[d];(AV)
    Israel served to get a wife,
    and to pay for her he tended sheep.(AW)

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 11:12 In Hebrew texts this verse (11:12) is numbered 12:1.
  2. Hosea 12:1 In Hebrew texts 12:1-14 is numbered 12:2-15.
  3. Hosea 12:2 Jacob means he grasps the heel, a Hebrew idiom for he takes advantage of or he deceives.
  4. Hosea 12:12 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia

Edom’s Fall(A)

This is the vision of Obadiah.

This is what Adonay Yahweh says about Edom:

We have heard a message from Yahweh.
    A messenger was sent among the nations to say,
        “Get ready! Let’s go to war against Edom.”

“Edom, I will make you the smallest of nations.
    Others will despise you.
        Your arrogance has deceived you.
            You live on rocky cliffs.
            You make your home up high.
            You say to yourself,
                ‘No one can bring me down to earth.’
Even though you fly high like an eagle
    and build your nest among the stars,
        I will bring you down from there,” declares Yahweh.

“If thieves or looters come to you during the night,
    won’t they steal only until they’ve had enough?
        You will be ruined!
    If people come to pick your grapes,
    won’t they leave a few grapes behind?
        But you, Esau,[a] will lose everything.
            Even your hidden treasures will be looted.
All your allies will force you to leave your land.
    The people who are at peace with you will deceive you.
    Those who eat food with you will set traps for you,
        and you won’t even know about it.

“On that day I will destroy the wise people in Edom
    and take wisdom away from Esau’s mountain,” declares Yahweh.
“Teman, your warriors will be terrified.
    Everyone on Esau’s mountain will be slaughtered.

Why Edom Will Be Destroyed

10 “Because of the violence you did to Jacob, your relative,
    you will be covered with shame.
    You will be destroyed forever.
11 While you stood there doing nothing,
    strangers carried off Jacob’s wealth.
        Foreigners entered his gates and threw dice for Jerusalem.
            You acted like one of them.
12 Don’t gloat over your relative’s misfortune
    or be happy when the people of Judah are destroyed.
    Don’t brag so much when they’re in distress.
13 Don’t march through the gates of my people when disaster strikes
    or gloat over their misery when disaster strikes.
    Don’t take their wealth when disaster strikes.
14 Don’t stand at the crossroads to kill their refugees.
    Don’t hand over their survivors when they’re in distress.

The Day of the Lord

15 “The day of Yahweh is near for all nations.
    Edom, you will be treated as you have treated others.
        You will get back what you have given.
16 As you, Israel, drank on my holy mountain,
    so all nations will drink in turn.
        They will drink and guzzle down everything in it.
        They will be like those who have never existed.

17 “But refugees will live on Mount Zion.
    It will be holy.
    The descendants of Jacob will get back their possessions.
18 The descendants of Jacob will be like a fire.
    The descendants of Joseph will be like a flame.
    But the descendants of Esau will be like straw.
        They will be burned and destroyed.
            There will be no one left among the descendants of Esau.”
                Yahweh has spoken.

19 “People from the Negev will take possession of Esau’s mountain.
    People from the foothills will take possession of Philistia.
    They will take possession of the lands of Ephraim and Samaria,
        and the descendants of Benjamin will take possession of Gilead.
20 Exiles from Israel will take possession of Canaan.
    They will possess land as far as Zarephath.
    Exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
    will take possession of the cities in the Negev.
21 Those who are victorious will come from Mount Zion
    to rule Esau’s mountain.
        The kingdom will belong to Yahweh.”

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Footnotes

  1. Obadiah 1:6 Esau was the son of Isaac and the ancestor of the people of Edom.

Obadiah’s Vision(A)(B)

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)

“See, I will make you small(G) among the nations;
    you will be utterly despised.
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)
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)
“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)
But how Esau will be ransacked,
    his hidden treasures pillaged!
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.

“In that day,” declares the Lord,
    “will I not destroy(Q) the wise men of Edom,
    those of understanding in the mountains of Esau?
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)

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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