Chronological
Edom Will Be Humbled
1 The vision of Obadiah.
Thus says the Lord God concerning [a]Edom—
We have heard a report from the Lord,
And an ambassador has been sent among the nations, saying,
“[b]Arise, and let us rise up against Edom for battle [with the Lord as commander]!”(A)
2
“Behold [Edom], I shall [humiliate you and] make you small among the nations;
You are greatly despised.(B)
3
“The pride and arrogance of your heart have deceived you,
You who live in the clefts and lofty security of the rock (Sela),
Whose dwelling place is high,
Who say [boastfully] in your heart,
‘Who will bring me down to earth?’
4
“Though you build [your nest] on high like the eagle,
Though you set your nest among the stars,
I will bring you down from there,” says the Lord.
5
“If thieves came to you,
If robbers by night—
How you will be ruined!—
Would they not steal only until they had enough?
If grape gatherers came to you,
Would they not leave some grapes for gleaning?(C)
6
“How Esau (Edom) shall be ransacked [by men who come to ravage with divine approval]!
How his hidden treasures shall be searched out!
7
“All the men allied with you
Shall send you on your way to the border;
The men who were at peace with you
Shall deceive you and overpower you;
Those who eat your bread [those you trust]
Shall set a hostile ambush for you.
(There is no understanding of it.)
8
“Will I not on that day,” says the Lord,
“Destroy the wise men from Edom [removing all wisdom]
And understanding from the [c]mountain of Esau?
9
“And your mighty men shall be dismayed and demoralized, O [d]Teman,
So that everyone from the mountain of Esau may be cut off in the slaughter.
Edom Denounced
10
“Because of the violence you did against your brother Jacob,
Shame shall cover you [completely],
And you shall be cut off forever.
11
“On the day that [Jerusalem was destroyed] you stood aloof [from your brother Jacob]—
On the day that strangers took his forces captive and carried off his wealth,
And foreigners entered his gates
And cast lots for Jerusalem [dividing the city for plunder]—
You too were like one of them [collaborating with the enemy].(D)
12
“Do not gaze and gloat [in triumph] over your brother’s day,
The day when his misfortune came.
Do not rejoice over the sons of Judah
In the day of their destruction;
Do not speak arrogantly [jeering and maliciously mocking]
In the day of their distress.
13
“Do not enter the gate of My people
In the day of their disaster;
Yes, you, do not look [with delight] on their misery
In the day of their ruin,
And do not loot treasures
In the day of their ruin.
14
“Do not stand at the crossroad
To cut down those [of Judah] who escaped;
And do not hand over [to the enemy] those [of Judah] who survive
In the day of their distress.
The Day of the Lord and the Future
15
“For the [judgment] day of the Lord draws near on all the nations.
As you have done, it shall be done to you [in retribution];
Your [evil] dealings will return on your own head.(E)
16
“Because just as you [Edom] drank on My holy mountain [desecrating it in the revelry of the destroyers],
So shall all the nations drink continually [one by one, of My wrath];
Yes, they shall drink and swallow [the full measure of punishment]
And become as though they had never existed.(F)
17
“But on Mount Zion [in Jerusalem] there shall be [deliverance for] those who escape,
And it shall be holy [no pagan will defile it];
And the house of Jacob shall possess their [former] possessions.(G)
18
“Then the house of Jacob shall be a fire
And the house of Joseph a flame [in executing God’s wrath];
But the house of Esau will be like stubble.
They (Jacob) shall set them on fire and consume them (the Edomites),
So that there shall be no survivor of the house of Esau,”
For the Lord has spoken.(H)
19
Then those of the Negev shall possess the mountain of Esau,
And those of the Shephelah [shall possess] the Philistine plain;
Also, [they shall] possess the fields of Ephraim and the fields of Samaria,
And Benjamin will possess Gilead [across the Jordan River].(I)
20
And the exiles of this host of the sons (descendants) of Israel
Who are among the Canaanites as far as Zarephath,
And the exiles of Jerusalem who are in [e]Sepharad
Shall possess the cities of the Negev.
21
The deliverers shall go up on Mount Zion
To rule and judge the mountain of Esau,
And the kingdom and the kingship shall be the Lord’s.(J)
Unjust Judgments Rebuked.
A Psalm of Asaph.
82 God stands in the divine assembly;
He judges among the gods (divine beings).
2
How long will you judge unjustly
And show partiality to the wicked? Selah.
3
Vindicate the weak and fatherless;
Do justice and maintain the rights of the afflicted and destitute.
4
Rescue the weak and needy;
Rescue them from the hand of the wicked.
5
The rulers do not know nor do they understand;
They walk on in the darkness [of complacent satisfaction];
All the foundations of the earth [the fundamental principles of the administration of justice] are shaken.
6
I said, “You are [a]gods;
Indeed, all of you are sons of the Most High.(A)
7
“Nevertheless you will die like men
And fall like any one of the princes.”
8
Arise, O God, judge the earth!
For to You belong all the nations.(B)
God Implored to Confound His Enemies.
A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.
83 Do not keep silent, O God;
Do not hold Your peace or be still, O God.
2
For behold, Your enemies are in tumult,
And those who hate You have raised their heads [in hatred of You].(C)
3
They concoct crafty schemes against Your people,
And conspire together against Your hidden and precious ones.
4
They have said, “Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation;
Let the name of Israel be remembered no more.”
5
For they have conspired together with one mind;
Against You they make a covenant—
6
The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Of Moab and the Hagrites,
7
Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,
Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre.
8
Assyria also has joined with them;
They have helped the children of Lot [the Ammonites and the Moabites] and have been an arm [of strength] to them. Selah.
9
Deal with them as [You did] with Midian,
As with Sisera and Jabin at the brook of Kishon,(D)
10
Who were destroyed at En-dor,
Who became like dung for the earth.
11
Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb
And all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,(E)
12
Who said, “Let us possess for ourselves
The pastures of God.”
13
O my God, make them like [b]whirling dust,
Like chaff before the wind [worthless and without substance].
14
Like fire consumes the forest,
And like the flame sets the mountains on fire,
15
So pursue them with Your tempest
And terrify them with [the violence of] Your storm.
16
Fill their faces with shame and disgrace,
That they may [persistently] seek Your name, O Lord.
17
Let them be ashamed and dismayed forever;
Yes, let them be humiliated and perish,
18
That they may know that You alone, whose name is the Lord,
Are the Most High over all the earth.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.