Obadiah
Lexham English Bible
God’s Judgment on Edom
1 The vision of Obadiah. Thus says my Lord Yahweh concerning Edom:
Edom’s Approaching Destruction
We have heard a report from Yahweh, and a messenger has been sent among the nations: “Rise up and let us rise against it[a] for battle.” 2 “Look, I will[b] make you insignificant among the nations. You will be utterly despised! 3 The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of a rock, the heights of its dwelling, you who say in your heart: ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’ 4 Even if you soar like the eagle, even if your nest is set among the stars, from there I will bring you down!” declares[c] Yahweh: 5 “If thieves came to you, if plunderers of the night—How you have been destroyed!—would they not steal what they wanted?[d] If grape gatherers came, would they not leave gleanings? 6 How Esau has been pillaged; his treasures have been ransacked! 7 All of your allies[e] have driven you up to the boundary; your confederates[f] have deceived you and have prevailed against you. Those who eat your bread have set an ambush for you, there is no[g] understanding of it.[h] 8 On that day,” declares[i] Yahweh, “will I not destroy the wise men from Edom, and understanding from the mountain of Esau? 9 And your warriors will be shattered, O Teman, so that everyone[j] from the mountain of Esau will be cut off because of the slaughter!
Edom’s Treachery against Judah
10 “Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame will cover you and you will be cut off forever. 11 On the day you stood nearby,[k] on the day strangers took[l] his wealth, and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots over Jerusalem, you were also like one of them. 12 But you should not have gloated[m] over your brother’s day, on the day of his misfortune, and you should not have rejoiced over the people[n] of Judah on the day of their perishing, and you should not have opened your mouth wide on the day of distress. 13 You should not have entered the gate of my people on the day of their disaster. You also should not have gloated over his misery on the day of his disaster, and you should not have stretched out your hands on the day of his disaster. 14 And you should not have stood at the crossroads to cut off his fugitives and you should not have handed over his survivors on the day of distress.
Future Judgment of the Nations
15 “For the day of Yahweh is near against all the nations! Just as you have done, it will be done to you. Your deeds will return on your own head. 16 For just as you have drunk on my holy mountain,[o] all the nations will drink continually. They will drink and they will slurp, and they will be as if they had never been. 17 But on Mount Zion there will be an escape, and it will be holy, and the house of Jacob will take possession of their dispossessors. 18 And the house of Jacob will be a fire and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau stubble; and they will set them on fire and will consume them. And there will not be a survivor for the house of Esau,” for Yahweh has spoken.
Future Blessing for Israel
19 Those of the Negev will take possession of the mountain of Esau, and those of the Shephelah will possess the land of the Philistines, and they shall take possession of the territory of Ephraim and the territory of Samaria, and Benjamin will take possession of Gilead. 20 And the exiles[p] of this army of the people of Israel will possess Canaan up to Zarephath, and the exiles[q] of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad will take possession of the cities of the Negev. 21 And those who have been saved will go up on Mount Zion to rule the mountain of Esau. And the kingdom will belong to[r] Yahweh.
Footnotes
- Obadiah 1:1 That is, Edom
- Obadiah 1:2 The NET Bible note for this verse points out: “The Hebrew perfect verb form used here usually describes past events. However, here and several times in the following verses it is best understood as portraying certain fulfillment of events that at the time of writing were still future. It is the perfect of certitude”
- Obadiah 1:4 Literally “a declaration of”
- Obadiah 1:5 Literally “their sufficiency”
- Obadiah 1:7 Literally “men of your covenant”
- Obadiah 1:7 Literally “men of your peace”
- Obadiah 1:7 The preposition בּ plus אֵין indicates the absence of a thing within a location
- Obadiah 1:7 Or “in him”
- Obadiah 1:8 Literally “a declaration of”
- Obadiah 1:9 Literally “each”
- Obadiah 1:11 Literally “the day of your standing nearby”
- Obadiah 1:11 Literally “the day of the taking captive by strangers”
- Obadiah 1:12 The Hebrew expression “to look upon” often has the sense of “to feast the eyes upon” or “to gloat over”
- Obadiah 1:12 Literally “son”
- Obadiah 1:16 Literally “the mountain of my holiness”
- Obadiah 1:20 Hebrew “exile”
- Obadiah 1:20 Hebrew “exile”
- Obadiah 1:21 Literally “will be for”
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.
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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.
