Obadiah
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Proud Edom Will Be Brought Low
1 The vision of Obadiah.
Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom:
We have heard a report from the Lord,
and a messenger has been sent among the nations:
“Rise up! Let us rise against it for battle!”(A)
2 I will surely make you least among the nations;
you shall be utterly despised.
3 Your proud heart has deceived you,
you who live in the clefts of the rock,[a]
whose dwelling is in the heights.
You say in your heart,
“Who will bring me down to the ground?”(B)
4 Though you soar aloft like the eagle,
though your nest is set among the stars,
from there I will bring you down,
says the Lord.(C)
Pillage and Slaughter Will Repay Edom’s Cruelty
5 If thieves came to you,
if plunderers by night
—how you have been destroyed!—
would they not steal only what they wanted?
If grape gatherers came to you,
would they not leave gleanings?(D)
6 How Esau has been pillaged,
his treasures searched out!
7 All your allies have deceived you;
they have driven you to the border;
your confederates have prevailed against you;
those who ate your food have set a trap for you—
there is no understanding.(E)
8 On that day, says the Lord,
I will destroy the wise out of Edom
and understanding out of Mount Esau.(F)
9 Your warriors shall be shattered, O Teman,
so that everyone from Mount Esau will be cut off.(G)
Edom Mistreated His Brother
10 For the slaughter and violence done to your brother Jacob,
shame shall cover you,
and you shall be cut off forever.(H)
11 On the day that you stood aside,
on the day that strangers carried off his wealth
and foreigners entered his gates
and cast lots for Jerusalem,
you, too, were one of them.(I)
12 But you should not have gloated over[b] your brother
on the day of his misfortune;
you should not have rejoiced over the people of Judah
on the day of their ruin;
you should not have boasted
on the day of distress.(J)
13 You should not have entered the gate of my people
on the day of their calamity;
you should not have joined in the gloating over Judah’s[c] disaster
on the day of his calamity;
you should not have stolen his goods
on the day of his calamity.(K)
14 You should not have stood at the crossings
to cut off his fugitives;
you should not have handed over his survivors
on the day of distress.
15 For the day of the Lord is near against all the nations.
As you have done, it shall be done to you;
your deeds shall return on your own head.(L)
16 For as you have drunk on my holy mountain,
all the nations shall drink continually;
they shall drink and gulp down[d]
and shall be as though they had never been.(M)
Israel’s Final Triumph
17 But on Mount Zion there shall be those who escape,
and it shall be holy,
and the house of Jacob shall take possession of those who dispossessed them.(N)
18 The house of Jacob shall be a fire,
the house of Joseph a flame,
and the house of Esau stubble;
they shall burn them and consume them,
and there shall be no survivor of the house of Esau,
for the Lord has spoken.(O)
19 Those of the Negeb shall possess Mount Esau,
and those of the Shephelah the land of the Philistines;
they shall possess the land of Ephraim and the land of Samaria,
and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.(P)
20 The exiles of the Israelites who are in Halah[e]
shall possess[f] Phoenicia as far as Zarephath,
and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
shall possess the towns of the Negeb.(Q)
21 Those who have been saved[g] shall go up to Mount Zion
to rule Mount Esau,
and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.(R)
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
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
