Obadiah
Evangelical Heritage Version
The vision of Obadiah. This is what the Lord God says about[a] Edom.
A Message Spreads to the Nations
We have heard news from the Lord, and an envoy has been sent among the nations:
“Get up. Let us rise up against her in battle.”
The Lord’s Message to Edom
2 Listen, I will make you insignificant among the nations. You will be completely despised.
3 You who live in the clefts of the rocky cliff,[b] the pride of your heart has deceived you. Your dwelling is so high that you say in your heart, “Who can bring me down to the ground?” 4 Even if you would soar as high as an eagle, and even if your nest is set among the stars, I will bring you down from there, declares the Lord.
5 If thieves came to you, if robbers came by night—oh, what disaster awaits you!—wouldn’t they steal only until they had enough? If grape pickers came to you, wouldn’t they leave some grapes for gleaning? 6 Oh, how completely Esau will be ransacked! His hidden treasures will be searched out and looted!
7 All your allies will push you back to your border.
Those who were at peace with you will deceive you and overpower you.
Those who eat bread with you will lay a trap for you.
There is no understanding left in Edom.[c]
8 Will I not destroy the wise men of Edom on that day, declares the Lord? Will I not take away from the mountain of Esau those who have understanding? 9 Your strong warrior, Teman,[d] will be shattered by terror, so that everyone from the mountain of Esau will be cut down by the massacre.
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 when you stood by and watched, on the day when strangers carried away Jacob’s wealth,[e] and foreigners entered his gate and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were just like one of them.
12 But do not look down on your brother on the day of his misfortune.
Do not rejoice over the people of Judah on the day when they are destroyed.
Do not speak proudly on the day of distress.
13 Do not enter the gate of my people on the day of their disaster.
Do not look down on their affliction on the day of their calamity.
Do not seize their wealth on the day of their disaster.
14 Do not stand in the crossroads to cut off those who have escaped.
Do not imprison his survivors on the day of distress.
A Message to All Nations
15 Yes, the Day of the Lord is near for all the nations! As you have done, it will be done to you. Your deeds will return upon your own head. 16 For just as you Edomites[f] have drunk on my holy mountain, so also all the nations will drink continually. Yes, they will drink and guzzle it down, and it will be as though the Edomites never existed.
17 But on Mount Zion, there will be some who escape, and it will be holy. The house of Jacob will recapture its territory. 18 The house of Jacob will be a fire, the house of Joseph a flame, but the house of Esau will be stubble. The Israelites[g] set them on fire and consume them. There will not be any survivors for the house of Esau.
Yes, the Lord has spoken.
19 People from the Negev[h] will take possession of the mountains of Esau, and those from the Shephelah[i] will take possession of the land of the Philistines. They will take possession of the territory[j] of Ephraim and the territory of Samaria. Benjamin will take possession of Gilead. 20 Those from the army of the people of Israel who have been exiles[k] will take possession of the territory of the Canaanites as far as Zarephath,[l] and the exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sepharad[m] will take possession of the cities of the Negev. 21 Saviors[n] will go up on Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau, and the kingdom will belong to the Lord.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Obadiah 1:1 Or to
- Obadiah 1:3 Hebrew sela, also the name of an Edomite city
- Obadiah 1:7 Or, taking the phrase with the preceding sentence, and you will not even realize it
- Obadiah 1:9 Teman is a city in Edom.
- Obadiah 1:11 Or captured Jacob’s army
- Obadiah 1:16 The antecedents of the Hebrew pronouns you and they in this verse are uncertain. The translation twice supplies Edomites as the subjects.
- Obadiah 1:18 The subject the Israelites is supplied for clarity. The Hebrew text reads they.
- Obadiah 1:19 The dry southern wilderness of Judah
- Obadiah 1:19 The western foothills of Judah
- Obadiah 1:19 Literally fields
- Obadiah 1:20 The Hebrew of this verse is difficult.
- Obadiah 1:20 A city near the northern border of Israel
- Obadiah 1:20 An unknown distant location, perhaps as far away as Spain
- Obadiah 1:21 Or, following the ancient versions, those who have been saved
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.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 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”
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