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
Legacy Standard Bible
Edom Will Be Brought Down
1 The vision of Obadiah.
Thus says Lord [a]Yahweh concerning (A)Edom—
(B)We have heard a report from Yahweh,
And an (C)envoy has been sent among the nations saying,
“(D)Arise! And let us arise 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,
You who dwell in the clefts of [b]the (G)cliff,
In the height of your habitation,
Who says in his heart,
‘(H)Who will bring me down to earth?’
4 Though you (I)build loftily like the eagle,
Though you set your nest among the (J)stars,
From there I will bring you down,” declares Yahweh.
5 “If (K)thieves came to you,
If [c]robbers by night—
Oh how you will be ruined!—
Would they not thieve only [d]until they had enough?
If grape gatherers came to you,
(L)Would they not allow some gleanings to remain?
6 Oh how Esau will be (M)searched out
And his hidden treasures ransacked!
7 All the (N)men who have [e]a covenant with you
Will send you forth to the border,
And the men 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 discernment [f]in him.)
8 Will I not on that day,” declares Yahweh,
“(Q)Cause the wise men to perish from Edom
And discernment from the mountain of Esau?
9 Then your (R)mighty men will be dismayed, O (S)Teman,
So that each one may be (T)cut off from the mountain of Esau by slaughter.
10 “Because of (U)violence to your brother Jacob,
[g]You will be covered with shame,
(V)And you will be cut off forever.
11 On the day that you (W)stood aloof,
On the day that strangers took his wealth captive
And foreigners entered his gate
And (X)cast lots for Jerusalem—
(Y)You too were as one of them.
12 (Z)Now do not look on your brother’s day with triumph,
The day of his misfortune.
And (AA)do not be glad over the sons of Judah
In the day when they perish;
And (AB)do not [h]let your mouth speak great things
In the day of their distress.
13 Do not enter the gate of My people
In the (AC)day of their disaster.
Indeed, you, do not look on their calamity with triumph
In the day of their disaster.
And do not (AD)send out for their wealth
In the day of their disaster.
14 Do not (AE)stand at the fork of the road
To cut down those among them who escape;
And do not deliver over their survivors
In the day of their distress.
The Day of Yahweh Is Near
15 “For the (AF)day of Yahweh draws near on all the nations.
(AG)As you have done, it will be done to you.
Your (AH)dealings will return on your own head.
16 Because just as you all (AI)drank on (AJ)My holy mountain,
All the nations (AK)will drink continually.
They will drink and [i]swallow,
And they will be as if they never were.
17 But on Mount (AL)Zion there will be those who escape,
And it will be holy.
And the house of Jacob will (AM)possess their possessions.
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 as stubble.
And they will set [j]them on fire and consume [k]them
So that there will be (AO)no survivor of the house of Esau,”
For Yahweh has spoken.
The Kingdom of Yahweh
19 Then those of the [l]Negev will (AP)possess the mountain of Esau,
And those of the [m]Shephelah, the (AQ)Philistine plain;
And they will (AR)possess the territory of Ephraim and the territory of Samaria,
And Benjamin will possess Gilead.
20 And the exiles of this [n]military force 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 possess the (AT)cities of the Negev.
21 And the (AU)saviors will ascend Mount Zion
To judge the mountain of Esau,
And the (AV)kingdom will belong to Yahweh.
Footnotes
- Obadiah 1:1 The personal covenant name of God, a form of I AM WHO I AM, cf. Ex 3:14-15
- Obadiah 1:3 Or Sela
- Obadiah 1:5 Lit devastators of the night
- Obadiah 1:5 Lit their sufficiency
- Obadiah 1:7 Lit your covenant
- Obadiah 1:7 In Esau; or of it
- Obadiah 1:10 Lit Shame will cover you
- Obadiah 1:12 Lit make your mouth large
- Obadiah 1:16 Or stagger
- Obadiah 1:18 The people of Esau
- Obadiah 1:18 The people of Esau
- Obadiah 1:19 South country
- Obadiah 1:19 Or lowland
- Obadiah 1:20 Or rampart
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