Obadiah

The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle.

1This is what God showed Obadiah about the land of Edom. The Lord GOD says: We have heard news from the LORD. A messenger has gone out to the nations. He says, "Get up! Let us go and fight against Edom!"

NoteEdom was a nation just southeast of Israel. Its people came from Esau, who was Jacob's brother. So Israel and Edom were related. The old word "heathen" here simply means the other nations.

2Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised.

2God says to Edom: "Look, I will make you small among the nations. People will look down on you."

3The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?

3"Your proud heart has fooled you. You live in caves high up in the rocky cliffs. You say to yourself, 'Nobody can pull me down.'"

4Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD.

4"You may fly up high like an eagle. You may build your nest among the stars. Even from there I will bring you down, says the LORD."

5If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough? if the grapegatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grapes?

5"If thieves came to you at night, they would take only what they wanted. If people came to pick your grapes, they would leave some behind. But you will be stripped of everything!"

6How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things sought up!

6"Esau's people will lose it all. Even the treasures they hid away will be found and taken."

7All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and prevailed against thee; they that eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee: there is none understanding in him.

7"The nations that promised to help you will push you out to the border. Friends who were at peace with you will trick you and beat you. People who ate at your table will set a trap for you. You will never see it coming."

8Shall I not in that day, saith the LORD, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau?

8"On that day, says the LORD, I will take away the wise men of Edom. No one clever will be left in Esau's mountains."

9And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter.

9"Teman, your strongest soldiers will be filled with fear. Then everyone in Esau's mountains will be killed in the fighting."

NoteTeman was a town and district in Edom. It was known for its wise people and its soldiers.

10For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.

10"You were cruel to your brother Jacob's family. So you will be covered with shame. You will be cut off forever."

11In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them.

11"Strangers carried off Jacob's riches. Foreigners marched in through his gates. They threw lots, like drawing straws, to divide up Jerusalem. You stood on the other side and watched. You were just like one of them."

12But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress.

12"You should not have stared and gloated on your brother's bad day. You should not have been glad when Judah was ruined. You should not have bragged when they were in trouble."

13Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity;

13"You should not have marched through my people's gates on their terrible day. You should not have stared at their pain that day. You should not have grabbed their things that day."

14Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress.

14"You should not have waited where the roads cross to catch the ones running away. You should not have handed over the ones who were still alive."

15For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head.

15"The LORD's day of judging is coming soon for all the nations. What you did to others will be done to you. Your own actions will come back on your own head."

NoteIn the King James Bible, "thy reward" does not mean a prize. It means getting back exactly what you gave out.

16For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.

16"You drank on my holy mountain. In the same way, all the nations will drink and keep drinking. They will swallow it down. Then they will be gone, as if they had never lived."

NoteDrinking here is a word picture. The Bible often speaks of drinking from a cup to mean going through punishment.

17But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.

17"But on Mount Zion some people will be kept safe. That mountain will be holy, set apart for God. And Jacob's family will own their land again."

18And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it.

18"Jacob's family will be like a fire. Joseph's family will be like a flame. Esau's family will be like dry straw. The fire will burn the straw up completely. No one from Esau's family will be left. The LORD has said it."

19And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and they of the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.

19People from the dry southern land will take over Esau's mountains. People from the low hills will take the land of the Philistines. They will hold the fields of Ephraim and Samaria. Benjamin's people will take Gilead.

20And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south.

20The Israelites who were carried far from home will come back. They will own the land of Canaan as far as the town of Zarephath. The people from Jerusalem who now live in Sepharad will own the southern towns.

21And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’s.

21Rescuers will go up Mount Zion. They will rule over Esau's mountains. And the kingdom will belong to the LORD.