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
- Obadiah 1:1 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Obadiah 1:3 Or Sela
- Obadiah 1:5 Lit devastators of the night
- Obadiah 1:5 Lit their sufficiency
- Obadiah 1:7 Lit of your covenant
- Obadiah 1:7 I.e., in Esau; or of it
- Obadiah 1:12 Lit look on
- Obadiah 1:12 Lit make your mouth large
- Obadiah 1:13 Lit look at
- Obadiah 1:16 Lit and slurp
- Obadiah 1:17 Or take possession of
- Obadiah 1:17 or inheritance
- Obadiah 1:18 I.e., the people of Esau
- Obadiah 1:18 I.e., the people of Esau
- Obadiah 1:19 I.e., South country
- Obadiah 1:19 Or take possession of
- Obadiah 1:19 I.e., the foothills
- Obadiah 1:19 Or take possession of
- Obadiah 1:20 Or take possession of
- Obadiah 1:21 Or with ancient versions Those who are rescued
Obadiah
International Standard Version
Coming Judgment against Edom
1 Obadiah’s[a] vision:
This is what the Lord God has to say about Edom.
We have heard a report from the Lord,
and a messenger has been dispatched among the nations to say[b]
“Get up! Let us rise up against her to fight!”
God’s Announcement to Edom
2 “Look! I will make you insignificant among the nations;
you will be utterly despised.
3 The arrogance in your heart has deceived you,
who inhabit hidden places on rocky cliffs,
whose dwelling is in the heights,
who say continuously to yourself,[c]
‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’
4 Though you soar high like the eagle
and make your nest among the stars,
I will bring you down even from there,”
declares the Lord.[d]
The Harvest from Edom’s Arrogance
5 “If thieves came against you,
if marauding gangs by night
—Oh, how you will be destroyed!—
Would they not steal only until they had enough?
If grape pickers came to you,
would they not leave some[e] grapes to be gleaned?
6 “Oh, how Esau is ransacked,
how his hidden treasures are thoroughly[f] searched out!
7 All your allies will force you out of the land,[g]
your associates will deceive you and prevail against you.
Your friends[h] will lay out a trap for you,
and you will[i] never understand it!
8 “In that day,” declares the Lord,
“will I not destroy the wise from Edom,
and those with understanding from Esau’s Mountain?
9 Teman, our mighty soldiers will be dismayed,
so that every man from Esau’s Mountain will be slaughtered.”[j]
Judgment for Edom’s Cruelty to Jacob
10 “Shame will overwhelm you
because of the violence you inflicted on your brother Jacob,
and you will be excluded[k] forever.
11 “On the day you just stood by,[l]
when[m] strangers carried away Jacob’s[n] wealth
and foreigners entered his gates,
casting lots for Jerusalem,
you were just like one of them.
12 “You should not have gloated over your brother,[o]
on the day of his calamity.
You should not have rejoiced
when[p] the descendants of Judah were perishing.
You should not have boasted[q]
when[r] they were in distress.
13 “You should not have entered the gate of my people
on the day of their disaster.[s]
Also, you should not have gloated over Judah’s[t] misfortune
on the day of his disaster,[u]
nor should you have plundered his wealth
on the day of his disaster.[v]
14 And you should not have taken your stand at the crossroads
to cut down his fleeing refugees,
nor should you have handed over his survivors
on the day of his distress.”
The Lord’s Judgment and Israel’s Final Victory
15 “Indeed, the Day of the Lord approaches all nations.
As you have done it will be done to you—
your deeds will return to haunt you![w]
16 Just as you have drunk from the cup of my wrath[x] upon my holy mountain,
so will all nations drink from the cup of my wrath[y] perpetually.
They will drink, they will gulp it down,
and they will be as if they had never existed!
17 “But there will be a delivered remnant on Mount Zion.
There will be holiness,
and the house of Jacob will take back their possessions.
18 “The house of Jacob will be a fire,
and the house of Joseph a flame,
but the house of Esau will be kindling.
Then Jacob and Joseph[z] will burn and consume Esau,[aa]
and no survivor will remain from the house of Esau.”
Indeed, the Lord has spoken it.
19 “Those in the Negev[ab] will possess Esau’s Mountain,
and those in the Shephelah[ac] the Philistines.
They will possess the fields of Ephraim
and the fields of Samaria,
while Benjamin will possess the territory of[ad] Gilead.
20 The exiles, the Israeli host,
will possess the territory of the[ae] Canaanites all the way to Zarephath.
The exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad[af]
will possess the cities of the Negev.[ag]
21 Deliverers will assemble on Mount Zion to judge Esau’s Mountain,
and to the Lord will the kingdom belong!”
Footnotes
- Obadiah 1:1 The Heb. name Obadiah means Servant of the Lord
- Obadiah 1:1 The Heb. lacks to say
- Obadiah 1:3 Lit. continually in your heart
- Obadiah 1:4 Cf. Jer 49:14-16
- Obadiah 1:5 The Heb. lacks some
- Obadiah 1:6 The Heb. lacks thoroughly
- Obadiah 1:7 Lit. out to the border
- Obadiah 1:7 Lit. Your bread; i.e. those who eat your bread
- Obadiah 1:7 The Heb. lacks you will
- Obadiah 1:9 Lit. will be cut off by slaughter
- Obadiah 1:10 Lit. cut off
- Obadiah 1:11 Or stood in opposition
- Obadiah 1:11 Lit. in the day
- Obadiah 1:11 Lit. his
- Obadiah 1:12 Lit. in the day of your brother
- Obadiah 1:12 Lit. in the day
- Obadiah 1:12 Lit. have let your mouth boast
- Obadiah 1:12 Lit. in the day
- Obadiah 1:13 The Heb. words their disaster may be a word play on the Heb. word Edom
- Obadiah 1:13 Lit. his
- Obadiah 1:13 The Heb. words his disaster may be a word play on the Heb. word Edom
- Obadiah 1:13 The Heb. words his disaster may be a word play on the Heb. word Edom
- Obadiah 1:15 Lit. return on your own head
- Obadiah 1:16 The Heb. lacks from the cup of my wrath
- Obadiah 1:16 The Heb. lacks from the cup of my wrath
- Obadiah 1:18 Lit. They
- Obadiah 1:18 Lit. them
- Obadiah 1:19 I.e. southern region of Israel; cf. Josh 10:40
- Obadiah 1:19 I.e. the verdant central lowlands of Israel; cf. Josh 10:40
- Obadiah 1:19 The Heb. lacks will possess the territory of
- Obadiah 1:20 The Heb. lacks the territory of
- Obadiah 1:20 I.e. perhaps Sardis, capital of Lydia, Saparda in eastern Assyria, Sparta in Greece, or a location in Spain (so Targ of Jonathan)
- Obadiah 1:20 I.e. southern region of Israel; cf. Josh 10:40
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