Obadiah
International Children’s Bible
The Lord Will Punish the Edomites
1 This is the vision of Obadiah.
This is what the Lord God says about Edom:[a]
We have heard a message from the Lord.
A messenger has been sent among the nations, saying
“Let’s go attack Edom!”
The Lord Speaks to the Edomites
2 “Look, I have made you only a small nation.
Others do not respect you.
3 But your pride has fooled you.
You live in the hollow places of the cliff.
Your home is up high.
And you say to yourself,
‘No one can bring me down to the ground.’
4 You fly high like the eagle.
You make your nest among the stars.
But I will bring you down from there,” says the Lord.
5 “You will really be ruined!
It would be better if thieves come to you,
if robbers come by night.
They would steal only enough for themselves.
Workers come and pick the grapes from your vines.
But they would leave a few grapes behind.
6 But you, Edom, will really lose everything!
People will find even your hidden treasures!
7 All the people who are your friends
will force you out of the land.
The people who are at peace with you
will trick you and defeat you.
They eat your bread with you now.
But they are planning a trap for you.
And you will not notice it.”
8 The Lord says, “On that day
I will surely destroy the wise men from Edom.
I will destroy these men of understanding from the mountains of Edom.
9 Then, city of Teman, your mighty men will be afraid.
And everyone from the mountains of Edom will be killed.
10 You did violence against your relatives, the people of Israel.
So you will be covered with shame.
You will be destroyed forever.
11 You stood aside without helping
while strangers carried Israel’s treasures away.
Foreigners entered Israel’s city gate.
They threw lots to decide what part of Jerusalem they would take.
At that time you were like one of those foreigners.
Commands That Edom Broke
12 “Do not laugh at your brothers’ trouble.
Do not be happy when people destroy Judah.
Do not brag about the cruel things done to them.
13 Do not enter the city gate of my people
in their time of trouble.
Do not laugh at their problems
in their time of trouble.
Do not take their treasures
in their time of trouble.
14 Do not stand at the crossroads
to destroy those who are trying to escape.
Do not capture those who escape alive
in a time of trouble.
The Nations Will Be Judged
15 “The Lord’s day of judging is coming soon
to all the nations.
You did evil things to other people.
Those same things will happen to you.
They will come back upon your own head.
16 Because you joined the nations in robbing my Temple,
you drank my anger.
So all the nations will drink my anger.
They will be punished so much that they will disappear.
17 But on Mount Zion some will be left alive.
The mountain will be a holy place.
The people of Jacob will take back their land.
They will take it from those who took it from them.
18 The people of Jacob, the Israelites, will be like a fire.
And the people of Joseph will be like a flame.
But the people of Esau, the Edomites, will be like dry stalks.
The people of Jacob will set these stalks on fire.
They will burn up the Edomites.
Then there will be no one left of the people of Esau.”
This will happen because the Lord has said it.
19 Then God’s people will regain southern Judah from Edom,
the mountain of Esau.
They will take back the western mountain slopes
from the Philistines.
They will regain the lands of Ephraim and Samaria.
And Benjamin will take over Gilead.
20 People from Israel once were forced to leave their homes.
But at that time they will take the land of the Canaanites.
They will take it all the way to Zarephath.
People from Judah were once forced to leave Jerusalem
and live in Sepharad.
But at that time they will take back
the cities of southern Judah.
21 Powerful warriors will go up on Mount Zion.
There they will rule the people living on Edom’s mountain.
And the kingdom will belong to the Lord.
Footnotes
- 1 Edom The Edomites were the people who came from Esau, Jacob’s twin brother. They were enemies of the Israelites.
Obadiah
New American Standard Bible 1995
Edom Will Be Humbled
1 The vision of Obadiah.
Thus says the Lord [a]God concerning (A)Edom—
(B)We have heard a report from the Lord,
And an (C)envoy has been sent among the nations saying,
“(D)Arise and let us go 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 live in the clefts of [b]the (G)rock,
In the loftiness of your dwelling place,
Who say in your heart,
‘(H)Who will bring me down to earth?’
4 “Though you (I)build high like the eagle,
Though you set your nest among the (J)stars,
From there I will bring you down,” declares the Lord.
5 “If (K)thieves came to you,
If [c]robbers by night—
O how you will be ruined!—
Would they not steal only [d]until they had enough?
If grape gatherers came to you,
(L)Would they not leave some gleanings?
6 “O how Esau will be (M)ransacked,
And his hidden treasures searched out!
7 “All the (N)men [e]allied 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 understanding [f]in him.)
8 “Will I not on that day,” declares the Lord,
“(Q)Destroy wise men from Edom
And understanding from the mountain of Esau?
9 “Then your (R)mighty men will be dismayed, O (S)Teman,
So that everyone 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 carried off his wealth,
And foreigners entered his gate
And (X)cast lots for Jerusalem—
(Y)You too were as one of them.
12 “(Z)Do not [h]gloat over your brother’s day,
The day of his misfortune.
And (AA)do not rejoice over the sons of Judah
In the day of their destruction;
Yes, (AB)do not [i]boast
In the day of their distress.
13 “Do not enter the gate of My people
In the (AC)day of their disaster.
Yes, you, do not [j]gloat over their calamity
In the day of their disaster.
And do not (AD)loot their wealth
In the day of their disaster.
14 “Do not (AE)stand at the fork of the road
To cut down their fugitives;
And do not imprison their survivors
In the day of their distress.
The Day of the Lord and the Future
15 “For the (AF)day of the Lord 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 (AI)drank on (AJ)My holy mountain,
All the nations (AK)will drink continually.
They will drink and [k]swallow
And become as if they had never existed.
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 [l]them on fire and consume [m]them,
So that there will be (AO)no survivor of the house of Esau,”
For the Lord has spoken.
19 Then those of the [n]Negev will (AP)possess the mountain of Esau,
And those of the [o]Shephelah the (AQ)Philistine plain;
Also, (AR)possess the territory of Ephraim and the territory of Samaria,
And Benjamin will possess Gilead.
20 And the exiles of this host 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 The (AU)deliverers will ascend Mount Zion
To judge the mountain of Esau,
And the (AV)kingdom will be the Lord’s.
Footnotes
- Obadiah 1:1 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Obadiah 1:3 Or Sela
- Obadiah 1:5 Lit devastators of the night
- Obadiah 1:5 Lit their sufficiency
- Obadiah 1:7 Lit of your covenant
- Obadiah 1:7 I.e. in Esau; or of it
- Obadiah 1:10 Lit Shame will cover you
- Obadiah 1:12 Lit look on
- Obadiah 1:12 Lit make your mouth large
- Obadiah 1:13 Lit look on
- Obadiah 1:16 Or stagger
- Obadiah 1:18 I.e. the people of Esau
- Obadiah 1:18 I.e. the people of Esau
- Obadiah 1:19 I.e. South country
- Obadiah 1:19 I.e. the foothills
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
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.