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
Christian Standard Bible
1 The vision of Obadiah.
Edom’s Certain Judgment
This is what the Lord God has said about Edom:(A)
We have heard a message from the Lord;(B)
an envoy has been sent(C) among the nations:
“Rise up,(D) and let’s go to war against her.”[a]
2 Look, I will make you insignificant(E)
among the nations;
you will be deeply despised.
3 Your arrogant heart has deceived you,(F)
you who live in clefts of the rock[b][c](G)
in your home on the heights,
who say to yourself,
“Who can bring me down to the ground?” (H)
4 Though you seem to soar[d] like an eagle(I)
and make your nest among the stars,(J)
even from there I will bring you down.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
5 If thieves came to you,(K)
if marauders by night—
how ravaged you would be!—
wouldn’t they steal only what they wanted?
If grape harvesters came to you,
wouldn’t they leave a few grapes?(L)
6 How Esau will be pillaged,(M)
his hidden treasures searched out!(N)
7 Everyone who has a treaty with you(O)
will drive you to the border;
everyone at peace with you
will deceive and conquer you.
Those who eat your bread(P)
will set[e] a trap for you.
He will be unaware of it.(Q)
8 In that day—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
will I not eliminate the wise ones of Edom(R)
and those who understand
from the hill country of Esau?
9 Teman,[f](S) your warriors(T) will be terrified
so that everyone from the hill country of Esau
will be destroyed by slaughter.(U)
Edom’s Sins against Judah
10 You will be covered with shame
and destroyed forever
because of violence done to your brother Jacob.(V)
11 On the day you stood aloof,(W)
on the day strangers captured his wealth,[g]
while foreigners entered his city gate
and cast lots for Jerusalem,(X)
you were just like one of them.(Y)
12 Do not[h] gloat over your brother(Z)
in the day of his calamity;
do not rejoice over the people of Judah(AA)
in the day of their destruction;
do not boastfully mock[i](AB)
in the day of distress.(AC)
13 Do not enter my people’s city gate
in the day of their disaster.(AD)
Yes, you—do not gloat over their misery
in the day of their disaster,
and do not appropriate their possessions(AE)
in the day of their disaster.
14 Do not stand at the crossroads[j](AF)
to cut off their fugitives,
and do not hand over their survivors
in the day of distress.
Judgment of the Nations
15 For the day of the Lord(AG) is near,
against all the nations.(AH)
As you have done,(AI) it will be done to you;
what you deserve will return on your own head.(AJ)
16 As you have drunk on my holy mountain,(AK)
so all the nations will drink continually.(AL)
They will drink and gulp down
and be as though they had never been.
17 But there will be a deliverance on Mount Zion,(AM)
and it will be holy;(AN)
the house of Jacob will dispossess(AO)
those who dispossessed them.[k](AP)
18 Then the house of Jacob will be a blazing fire,(AQ)
and the house of Joseph, a burning flame,
but the house of Esau will be stubble;
Jacob[l] will set them on fire and consume Edom.[m]
Therefore no survivor will remain(AR)
of the house of Esau,
for the Lord has spoken.
Future Blessing for Israel
19 People from the Negev will possess(AS)
the hill country of Esau;(AT)
those from the Judean foothills will possess
the land of the Philistines.(AU)
They[n] will possess
the territories of Ephraim and Samaria,(AV)
while Benjamin will possess Gilead.
20 The exiles of the Israelites who are in Halah[o]
and who are among the Canaanites as far as Zarephath(AW)
as well as the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
will possess the cities of the Negev.(AX)
21 Saviors[p] will ascend Mount Zion(AY)
to rule over the hill country of Esau,
and the kingdom will be the Lord’s.(AZ)
Footnotes
- 1 = Edom
- 3 Or in Sela; probably = Petra
- 3 Probably Petra
- 4 Or to build high
- 7 Some LXX mss, Sym, Tg, Vg; MT reads They will set your bread as
- 9 = a region or city in Edom
- 11 Or forces
- 12–14 Or You should not throughout vv. 12–14
- 12 Lit not make your mouth big
- 14 Hb obscure
- 17 DSS, LXX, Syr, Vg, Tg; MT reads Jacob will possess its inheritance
- 18 Lit they
- 18 Lit them
- 19 = The house of Jacob
- 20 Or of this host of the Israelites; Hb obscure
- 21 Or Those who have been delivered
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.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.