Chronological
The Lord Will Punish the Edomites
1 This is the vision of Obadiah.
This is what the Lord God says about Edom [C the Edomites were descendants of Esau, Jacob’s twin brother (Gen. 25); they were often in conflict with Israel]:
We have heard a ·message [report] from the Lord.
A ·messenger [envoy] has been sent among the nations, saying,
“·Attack [L Rise up]! Let’s go ·attack [L rise to battle against] Edom!”
The Lord Speaks to the Edomites
2 “·Soon [L Look; T Behold] I will make you ·the smallest of [or weak among the] nations.
You will be greatly ·hated [despised] by everyone.
3 Your pride has ·fooled [deceived] you,
you who live in the ·hollow places of the cliff [T clefts of the rock].
Your home is ·up high [on the heights],
you who say to yourself,
‘·No one can [L Who can…?] bring me down to the ground.’
4 Even if you ·fly high [soar] like the eagle
and make your nest among the stars,
I will bring you down from there,” says the Lord.
5 “You will really be ·ruined [L cut off]!
If thieves came to you,
if ·robbers [plunderers] came by night,
they would steal only enough for themselves.
If workers came and picked the grapes from your vines,
they would leave ·a few behind [some for the poor; the gleanings].
6 But you, Edom, will ·really lose everything [be cleaned/L searched out]!
People will find all your hidden treasures!
7 All ·the people who are your friends [your allies; L the people of your covenant/treaty]
will force you ·out of the land [L to the border].
The people ·who are at peace with you [or who promised you peace; L of your peace]
will ·trick [deceive] you and ·defeat [overpower] you.
Those who eat your bread [C indicating fellowship and friendship] with you now
are planning a trap for you,
and you will ·not notice it [be taken by surprise; have no understanding].”
8 The Lord says, “On that day
I will surely destroy the wise people from Edom,
and those with understanding from the mountains of Edom.
9 Then, city of Teman, your ·best warriors [mighty men] will be ·afraid [dismayed],
and everyone from the mountains of Edom will be ·killed [L cut down in the slaughter].
10 You did violence to your ·relatives, the Israelites [L brother Jacob; verse 1; Gen. 25],
so you will be covered with shame
and destroyed forever.
11 You stood ·aside without helping [aloof]
·while [L on the day] strangers carried Israel’s ·treasures [wealth; or army] away.
When foreigners entered Israel’s city gate
and threw lots to decide ·what part of Jerusalem they would take [L for Jerusalem],
you were like one of them.
Commands That Edom Broke
12 “Edom, ·do not laugh at [or you should not have gloated over] your ·brother Israel [L brother] in his time of ·trouble [misfortune]
or ·be happy [rejoice] about the ·people [sons; descendants] of Judah ·when they are destroyed [L on the day of destruction].
Do not ·brag [boast; act with arrogance] ·when cruel things are done to them [L on the day of distress].
13 Do not enter the city gate of my people [C to plunder their goods]
in their ·time [L day] of ·trouble [disaster; C the Hebrew word for “trouble” sounds like Edom]
or ·laugh at their problems [gloat over them]
in their ·time [L day] of ·trouble [disaster].
Do not ·take their treasures [loot their wealth]
in their ·time [L day] of ·trouble [disaster].
14 Do not stand at the crossroads
to ·destroy [L cut off] ·those who are trying to escape [their fugitives].
Do not capture ·those who escape alive [their survivors] and turn them over to their enemy
in their ·time [L day] of ·trouble [adversity].
The Nations Will Be Judged
15 “The ·Lord’s day of judging [L day of the Lord] is ·coming soon [near]
to all the nations.
·The same evil things you did to other people [L As you have done]
·will happen [L it will be done] to you;
·they [L recompense; reprisal] will come back upon your own head.
16 Because you drank in my ·Temple [L holy mountain],
all the nations will drink ·on and on [continually].
They will drink and ·drink [L swallow]
·until they disappear [L and be as though they were not].
17 But on Mount Zion ·some will escape the judgment [L there will be escape],
and it will be a holy place.
The ·people [L house] of Jacob will ·take back their land
from those who ·took it from them [L possess their possessions].
18 The ·people [L house] of Jacob will be like a fire
and the ·people [L house] of Joseph [C the Israelite tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (Joseph’s sons, Jacob’s grandsons), representing the northern kingdom] like a flame.
But the ·people [L house] of Esau [C the Edomites] will be like ·dry stalks [stubble].
The ·people [L house] of Jacob will set them on fire and burn them up.
There will be no ·one left [survivors] of the ·people [L house] of Esau.”
·This will happen because [L For] the Lord has said it.
19 ·Then God’s people will regain southern Judah from Edom;
they will take back [L The Negev shall possess] the mountains of ·Edom [L Esau].
·They will take back the western hills
from [L The Shephelah/foothills shall possess] the Philistines.
They will ·regain [possess] the ·lands [L fields] of Ephraim and Samaria,
and Benjamin will ·take over [possess] Gilead [C east of the Jordan River].
20 ·People from [L This host of the sons/T children of] Israel who once were ·forced to leave their homes [exiled]
will take the land of the Canaanites,
all the way to Zarephath [C in Phoenicia in the far northeast].
·People from Judah who once were forced to leave Jerusalem and [L The exiles of Jerusalem who] live in Sepharad [C unknown location, perhaps Sardis (in present-day Turkey)]
will take back the cities of ·southern Judah [L the Negev].
21 ·Powerful warriors [Deliverers; Saviors; or Those who have been rescued/delivered] will go up on Mount Zion,
where they will rule ·the people living on Edom’s mountains [L Mount Esau].
And the kingdom will belong to the Lord.
A Cry for Justice
A psalm of Asaph [C a Levitical musician, a descendant of Gershon, at the time of David; 1 Chr. 6:39; 15:17; 2 Chr. 5:12].
82 God ·is in charge of the great meeting [L takes his place/presides in the great assembly/or the assembly of the gods/divine council; C the angels (powers and authorities; Eph. 6:12) are here called “gods”];
he judges among the “gods” [John 10:35–36].
2 He says, “How long will you ·defend evil people [or judge unfairly]?
How long will you show ·greater kindness [favor; preference] to the wicked? ·
3 ·Defend [Judge] the ·weak [or poor] and the orphans;
·defend the rights of [vindicate] the poor and ·suffering [needy].
4 ·Save [Rescue] the ·weak [or poor] and helpless;
·free [protect] them from the ·power [L hand] of the wicked.
5 “You know nothing. You don’t understand.
You walk in the dark,
while the ·world is falling apart [L foundations of the earth are tottering].
6 I said, ‘You are “gods.”
You are all sons of God Most High.’
7 But you will die like any other person;
you will fall like all the ·leaders [princes; C God will punish these evil angels].”
8 God, ·come [rise up] and judge the earth,
because you ·own [inherit] all the nations.
A Prayer Against the Enemies
A song. A psalm of Asaph [C a Levitical musician, a descendant of Gershon, at the time of David; 1 Chr. 6:39; 15:17; 2 Chr. 5:12].
83 God, do not keep quiet;
God, do not be silent or still.
2 Your enemies are ·making noises [in tumult];
those who hate you ·are getting ready to attack [L raise up their head; 2:1].
3 They are making secret ·plans [plots] against your people;
they plot against those you ·love [cherish; treasure].
4 They say, “Come, let’s ·destroy them [wipe them out] as a nation.
Then no one will ever remember the name ‘Israel.’”
5 They ·are united in their plan [L plot with one mind/heart].
These have ·made an agreement [L cut a covenant/treaty] against you:
6 the ·families [L tents] of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites,
7 the people of Byblos, Ammon, Amalek,
Philistia, and inhabitants of Tyre.
8 Even Assyria has joined them
to ·help Ammon and Moab, the [L be the arm of the] descendants of Lot [C a list of traditional enemies of Israel]. ·
9 God, do to them what you did to Midian,
what you did to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon ·River [Wadi; Judg. 4–5].
10 They ·died [were destroyed] at Endor,
·and their bodies rotted [L like dung/manure] on the ground.
11 Do to their ·important leaders [princes; nobles] what you did to Oreb and Zeeb [Judg. 7:25].
Do to their princes what you did to Zebah and Zalmunna [Judg. 8:21].
12 They said, “Let’s take for ourselves
the pasturelands that belong to God.”
13 My God, make them like tumbleweed,
like chaff blown ·away by [before] the wind [C rootless and landless; 1:4].
14 Be like a fire that burns a forest
or like flames that blaze through the ·hills [mountains].
15 ·Chase [Pursue] them with your ·storm [tempest],
and ·frighten [terrify] them with your ·wind [hurricane].
16 ·Cover [L Fill] them with shame.
Then people will ·look for you [L seek your name], Lord.
17 Make them afraid and ashamed forever.
·Disgrace [Humiliate] them and destroy them.
18 Then they will know that ·you are the Lord [L the Lord is your name],
that only you are God Most High over all the earth.
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