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Obadiah
New International Version
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
Holman Christian Standard Bible
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
- Obadiah 1:1 = Edom
- Obadiah 1:3 Or in Sela; probably = Petra
- Obadiah 1:3 Probably Petra
- Obadiah 1:4 Or to build high
- Obadiah 1:7 Some LXX mss, Sym, Tg, Vg; MT reads They will set your bread as
- Obadiah 1:9 = a region or city in Edom
- Obadiah 1:11 Or forces
- Obadiah 1:12 Or You should not throughout vv. 12-14
- Obadiah 1:12 Lit not make your mouth big
- Obadiah 1:14 Hb obscure
- Obadiah 1:17 DSS, LXX, Syr, Vg, Tg; MT reads Jacob will possess its inheritance
- Obadiah 1:18 Lit they
- Obadiah 1:18 Lit them
- Obadiah 1:19 = The house of Jacob
- Obadiah 1:20 Or of this host of the Israelites; Hb obscure
- Obadiah 1:21 Or Those who have been delivered
Obadiah
New Living Translation
Obadiah
New Living Translation
1 This is the vision that the Sovereign Lord revealed to Obadiah concerning the land of Edom.
Edom’s Judgment Announced
We have heard a message from the Lord
that an ambassador was sent to the nations to say,
“Get ready, everyone!
Let’s assemble our armies and attack Edom!”
2 The Lord says to Edom,
“I will cut you down to size among the nations;
you will be greatly despised.
3 You have been deceived by your own pride
because you live in a rock fortress
and make your home high in the mountains.
‘Who can ever reach us way up here?’
you ask boastfully.
4 But even if you soar as high as eagles
and build your nest among the stars,
I will bring you crashing down,”
says the Lord.
5 “If thieves came at night and robbed you
(what a disaster awaits you!),
they would not take everything.
Those who harvest grapes
always leave a few for the poor.
But your enemies will wipe you out completely!
6 Every nook and cranny of Edom[a]
will be searched and looted.
Every treasure will be found and taken.
7 “All your allies will turn against you.
They will help to chase you from your land.
They will promise you peace
while plotting to deceive and destroy you.
Your trusted friends will set traps for you,
and you won’t even know about it.
8 At that time not a single wise person
will be left in the whole land of Edom,”
says the Lord.
“For on the mountains of Edom
I will destroy everyone who has understanding.
9 The mightiest warriors of Teman
will be terrified,
and everyone on the mountains of Edom
will be cut down in the slaughter.
Reasons for Edom’s Punishment
10 “Because of the violence you did
to your close relatives in Israel,[b]
you will be filled with shame
and destroyed forever.
11 When they were invaded,
you stood aloof, refusing to help them.
Foreign invaders carried off their wealth
and cast lots to divide up Jerusalem,
but you acted like one of Israel’s enemies.
12 “You should not have gloated
when they exiled your relatives to distant lands.
You should not have rejoiced
when the people of Judah suffered such misfortune.
You should not have spoken arrogantly
in that terrible time of trouble.
13 You should not have plundered the land of Israel
when they were suffering such calamity.
You should not have gloated over their destruction
when they were suffering such calamity.
You should not have seized their wealth
when they were suffering such calamity.
14 You should not have stood at the crossroads,
killing those who tried to escape.
You should not have captured the survivors
and handed them over in their terrible time of trouble.
Edom Destroyed, Israel Restored
15 “The day is near when I, the Lord,
will judge all godless nations!
As you have done to Israel,
so it will be done to you.
All your evil deeds
will fall back on your own heads.
16 Just as you swallowed up my people
on my holy mountain,
so you and the surrounding nations
will swallow the punishment I pour out on you.
Yes, all you nations will drink and stagger
and disappear from history.
17 “But Jerusalem[c] will become a refuge for those who escape;
it will be a holy place.
And the people of Israel[d] will come back
to reclaim their inheritance.
18 The people of Israel will be a raging fire,
and Edom a field of dry stubble.
The descendants of Joseph will be a flame
roaring across the field, devouring everything.
There will be no survivors in Edom.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
19 “Then my people living in the Negev
will occupy the mountains of Edom.
Those living in the foothills of Judah[e]
will possess the Philistine plains
and take over the fields of Ephraim and Samaria.
And the people of Benjamin
will occupy the land of Gilead.
20 The exiles of Israel will return to their land
and occupy the Phoenician coast as far north as Zarephath.
The captives from Jerusalem exiled in the north[f]
will return home and resettle the towns of the Negev.
21 Those who have been rescued[g] will go up to[h] Mount Zion in Jerusalem
to rule over the mountains of Edom.
And the Lord himself will be king!”
Footnotes
- 6 Hebrew Esau; also in 8b, 9, 18, 19, 21.
- 10 Hebrew your brother Jacob. The names “Jacob” and “Israel” are often interchanged throughout the Old Testament, referring sometimes to the individual patriarch and sometimes to the nation.
- 17a Hebrew Mount Zion.
- 17b Hebrew house of Jacob; also in 18. See note on 10.
- 19 Hebrew the Shephelah.
- 20 Hebrew in Sepharad.
- 21a As in Greek and Syriac versions; Hebrew reads Rescuers.
- 21b Or from.
Obadiah
New King James Version
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
- Obadiah 1:7 Or wound or plot
- Obadiah 1:7 Or There is no understanding in him
- Obadiah 1:12 Gloated over
- Obadiah 1:12 Lit. On the day he became a foreigner
- Obadiah 1:13 Gloated over
- Obadiah 1:14 Handed over to the enemy
- Obadiah 1:15 Or reward
- Obadiah 1:17 Or salvation
- Obadiah 1:19 Heb. Negev
- Obadiah 1:20 Heb. Negev
- Obadiah 1:21 deliverers
Obadiah
Good News Translation
Obadiah
Good News Translation
1 This is the prophecy of Obadiah—what the Sovereign Lord said about the nation of Edom.
The Lord Will Punish Edom
The Lord has sent his messenger to the nations,
and we have heard his message:
“Get ready! Let us go to war against Edom!”
2 The Lord says to Edom,
“I will make you weak;
everyone will despise you.
3 Your pride has deceived you.
Your capital is a fortress of solid rock;
your home is high in the mountains,
and so you say to yourself,
‘Who can ever pull me down?’
4 Even though you make your home
as high as an eagle's nest,
so that it seems to be among the stars,
yet I will pull you down.
5 “When thieves come at night,
they take only what they want.
When people gather grapes,
they always leave a few.
But your enemies have wiped you out completely.
6 Descendants of Esau, your treasures have been looted.
7 Your allies have deceived you;
they have driven you from your country.
People who were at peace with you have now conquered you.
Those friends who ate with you have laid a trap for you;
they say of you, ‘Where is all that cleverness he had?’
8 “On the day I punish Edom,
I will destroy their clever men
and wipe out all their wisdom.
9 The fighting men of Teman will be terrified,
and every soldier in Edom will be killed.
Reasons for Edom's Punishment
10 “Because you robbed and killed
your relatives,[a] the descendants of Jacob,
you will be destroyed and dishonored forever.
11 You stood aside on that day
when enemies broke down their gates.
You were as bad as those strangers
who carried off Jerusalem's wealth
and divided it among themselves.
12 You should not have gloated
over the misfortune of your relatives in Judah.
You should not have been glad
on the day of their ruin.
You should not have laughed at them
in their distress.
13 You should not have entered the city of my people
to gloat over their suffering
and to seize their riches
on the day of their disaster.
14 (A)You should not have stood at the crossroads
to catch those trying to escape.
You should not have handed them over to the enemy
on the day of their distress.
God Will Judge the Nations
15 “The day is near when I, the Lord,
will judge all nations.
Edom, what you have done
will be done to you.
You will get back what you have given.
16 My people have drunk a bitter cup of punishment
on my sacred hill.[b]
But all the surrounding nations will drink
a still more bitter cup of punishment;
they will drink it all and vanish away.
The Victory of Israel
17 “But on Mount Zion some will escape,
and it will be a sacred place.
The people of Jacob will possess
the land that is theirs by right.
18 The people of Jacob and of Joseph will be like fire;
they will destroy the people of Esau
as fire burns stubble.
No descendant of Esau will survive.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
19 “People from southern Judah will occupy Edom;
those from the western foothills will capture Philistia.
Israelites will possess the territory of Ephraim and Samaria;
the people of Benjamin will take Gilead.
20 The army of exiles from northern Israel
will return and conquer Phoenicia as far north as Zarephath.
The exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sardis
will capture the towns of southern Judah.
21 The victorious men of Jerusalem
will attack Edom and rule over it.
And the Lord himself will be king.”
Footnotes
- Obadiah 1:10 The Israelites were descended from Jacob, who was the brother of Esau, the ancestor of the Edomites.
- Obadiah 1:16 Mount Zion (see Zion in Word List).
New International Version (NIV) 
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Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Good News Translation (GNT) 
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.