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
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
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.
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