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Edom's Pride and Punishment
1 (A) The Lord God gave Obadiah
a message[a] about Edom,
and this is what we heard:
“I, the Lord, have sent
a messenger
with orders for the nations
to attack Edom.”
2 The Lord said to Edom:
I will make you the weakest
and most despised nation.
3 You live in a mountain fortress,[b]
because your pride
makes you feel safe from attack,
but you are mistaken.
4 I will still bring you down,
even if you fly higher
than an eagle
or nest among the stars.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
5 If thieves break in at night,
they steal
only what they want.
And people who harvest grapes
always leave some unpicked.
But, Edom, you are doomed!
6 Everything you treasure most
will be taken from you.
7 Your allies can't be trusted.
They will force you out
of your own country.
And your best friends
will trick and trap you,
even before you know it.
8 Edom, when this happens,
I, the Lord, will destroy
all your marvelous wisdom.
9 Warriors from the city of Teman[c]
will be terrified,
and you descendants of Esau[d]
will be wiped out.
The Lord Condemns Edom's Cruelty
10 You were cruel to your relatives,
the descendants of Jacob.[e]
Now you will be destroyed,
disgraced forever.
11 You stood there and watched
as foreigners entered Jerusalem
and took what they wanted.
In fact, you were no better
than those foreigners.
12 Why did you celebrate
when such a dreadful disaster
struck your relatives?
Why were you so pleased
when everyone in Judah
was suffering?
13 They are my people,
and you were cruel to them.
You went through their towns,
sneering and stealing
whatever was left.
14 In their time of torment,
you ambushed refugees
and handed them over
to their attackers.
The Lord Will Judge the Nations
15 The day is coming
when I, the Lord,
will judge the nations.
And, Edom, you will pay in full
for what you have done.
16 I forced the people of Judah[f]
to drink the wine of my anger
on my sacred mountain.
Soon the neighboring nations
must drink their fill—
then vanish without a trace.
Victory for Israel
17 The Lord's people who escape
will go to Mount Zion,
and it will be holy.
Then Jacob's descendants
will capture the land of those
who took their land.
18 Israel[g] will be a fire,
and Edom will be straw
going up in flames.
The Lord has spoken!
19 The people of Israel
who live in the Southern Desert
will take the land of Edom.
Those who live in the hills
will capture Philistia,
Ephraim, and Samaria.
And the tribe of Benjamin
will conquer Gilead.
Worship in Heaven
4 After this, I looked and saw a door that opened into heaven. Then the voice that had spoken to me at first and that sounded like a trumpet said, “Come up here! I will show you what must happen next.” 2 (A) Right then the Spirit took control of me, and there in heaven I saw a throne and someone sitting on it. 3 The one who was sitting there sparkled like precious stones of jasper[a] and carnelian.[b] A rainbow that looked like an emerald[c] surrounded the throne.
4 Twenty-four other thrones were in a circle around that throne. And on each of these thrones there was an elder dressed in white clothes and wearing a gold crown. 5 (B) Flashes of lightning and roars of thunder came out from the throne in the center of the circle. Seven torches, which are the seven spirits of God, were burning in front of the throne. 6 (C)(D) Also in front of the throne was something that looked like a glass sea, clear as crystal.
Around the throne in the center were four living creatures covered front and back with eyes. 7 The first creature was like a lion, the second one was like a bull, the third one had the face of a human, and the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8 (E) Each of the four living creatures had six wings, and their bodies were covered with eyes. Day and night they never stopped singing,
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord,
the all-powerful God,
who was and is
and is coming!”
9 The living creatures kept praising, honoring, and thanking the one who sits on the throne and who lives forever and ever. 10 At the same time the 24 elders knelt down before the one sitting on the throne. And as they worshiped the one who lives forever, they placed their crowns in front of the throne and said,
11 (F) “Our Lord and God,
you are worthy
to receive glory,
honor, and power.
You created all things,
and by your decision they are
and were created.”
(A song for worship.)
The Lord Is Always with His People
1 Our Lord, don't forget David
and how he suffered.
2 Mighty God of Jacob,
remember how he promised:
3 “I won't go home
or crawl into bed
4 or close my eyelids,
5 until I find a home for you,
the mighty Lord God of Jacob.”
6 (A) When we were in Ephrath,
we heard that the sacred chest
was somewhere near Jaar.
7 Then we said, “Let's go
to the throne of the Lord
and worship at his feet.”
8 Come to your new home, Lord,
you and the sacred chest
with all its power.
9 Let victory be like robes
for the priests;
let your faithful people
celebrate and shout.
10 David is your chosen one,
so don't reject him.
11 (B) You made a solemn promise
to David, when you said,
“I, the Lord, promise
that someone in your family
will always be king.
12 If they keep our agreement
and follow my teachings,
then someone in your family
will rule forever.”
13 You have gladly chosen Zion
as your home, our Lord.
14 You said, “This is my home!
I will live here forever.
15 I will bless Zion with food,
and even the poor will eat
until they are full.
16 Victory will be like robes
for the priests,
and its faithful people
will celebrate and shout.
17 (C) I will give mighty power
to the kingdom of David.
Each of my chosen kings
will shine like a lamp
18 and wear a sparkling crown.
But I will disgrace
their enemies.”
24 If you take part in a crime
you are your worst enemy,
because even under oath
you can't tell the truth.
25 Don't fall into the trap
of being a coward—
trust the Lord,
and you will be safe.
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