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¶ The vision of Obadiah. Thus hath the Lord GOD said concerning Edom: We have heard the message from the LORD, and a messenger is sent to the Gentiles, Arise, and let us rise up against her in battle.

Behold, I have made thee small among the Gentiles: thou shalt be greatly humbled.

The 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?

Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle and though thou set thy nest among the stars, from there I will bring thee down, said the LORD.

Did thieves come to thee, or robbers by night? (how art thou destroyed!) would they not have stolen until they had enough? if the grapegatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grapes?

How were the things of Esau searched out! His hidden things were sought after!

All 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; those that eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee; there is no intelligence in this.

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

And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed because every man shall be cut off from mount of Esau by the slaughter.

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

11 In the day that thou didst stand 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.

12 But thou should not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither should thou have rejoiced over the sons of Judah in the day they were lost; neither should thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress.

13 Thou should not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; thou should 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;

14 neither should thou have stood in the crossway, to kill those of his that did escape; neither should thou have delivered up those of his that remained in the day of distress.

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

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

17 ¶ But in Mount Zion shall be deliverance, and it shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.

18 And 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.

19 And those of the south shall possess the mount of Esau and the plains of the Palestinians, and they shall also possess the fields of Ephraim and the fields of Samaria; and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.

20 And the captives of this host of the sons of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath; and the captives of Jerusalem, who shall be in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south.

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

Obadiah’s Vision(A)(B)

The vision(C) of Obadiah.

This is what the Sovereign Lord says about Edom(D)

We have heard a message from the Lord:
    An envoy(E) was sent to the nations to say,
“Rise, let us go against her for battle”(F)

“See, I will make you small(G) among the nations;
    you will be utterly despised.
The pride(H) of your heart has deceived you,
    you who live in the clefts of the rocks[a](I)
    and make your home on the heights,
you who say to yourself,
    ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’(J)
Though you soar like the eagle
    and make your nest(K) among the stars,
    from there I will bring you down,”(L)
declares the Lord.(M)
“If thieves came to you,
    if robbers in the night—
oh, what a disaster awaits you!—
    would they not steal only as much as they wanted?
If grape pickers came to you,
    would they not leave a few grapes?(N)
But how Esau will be ransacked,
    his hidden treasures pillaged!
All your allies(O) will force you to the border;
    your friends will deceive and overpower you;
those who eat your bread(P) will set a trap for you,[b]
    but you will not detect it.

“In that day,” declares the Lord,
    “will I not destroy(Q) the wise men of Edom,
    those of understanding in the mountains of Esau?
Your warriors, Teman,(R) will be terrified,
    and everyone in Esau’s mountains
    will be cut down in the slaughter.
10 Because of the violence(S) against your brother Jacob,(T)
    you will be covered with shame;
    you will be destroyed forever.(U)
11 On the day you stood aloof
    while strangers carried off his wealth
and foreigners entered his gates
    and cast lots(V) for Jerusalem,
    you were like one of them.(W)
12 You should not gloat(X) over your brother
    in the day of his misfortune,(Y)
nor rejoice(Z) over the people of Judah
    in the day of their destruction,(AA)
nor boast(AB) so much
    in the day of their trouble.(AC)
13 You should not march through the gates of my people
    in the day of their disaster,
nor gloat over them in their calamity(AD)
    in the day of their disaster,
nor seize their wealth
    in the day of their disaster.
14 You should not wait at the crossroads
    to cut down their fugitives,(AE)
nor hand over their survivors
    in the day of their trouble.

15 “The day of the Lord is near(AF)
    for all nations.
As you have done, it will be done to you;
    your deeds(AG) will return upon your own head.
16 Just as you drank(AH) on my holy hill,(AI)
    so all the nations will drink(AJ) continually;
they will drink and drink
    and be as if they had never been.(AK)
17 But on Mount Zion will be deliverance;(AL)
    it will be holy,(AM)
    and Jacob will possess his inheritance.(AN)
18 Jacob will be a fire
    and Joseph a flame;
Esau will be stubble,
    and they will set him on fire(AO) and destroy(AP) him.
There will be no survivors(AQ)
    from Esau.”
The Lord has spoken.

19 People from the Negev will occupy
    the mountains of Esau,
and people from the foothills will possess
    the land of the Philistines.(AR)
They will occupy the fields of Ephraim and Samaria,(AS)
    and Benjamin(AT) will possess Gilead.
20 This company of Israelite exiles who are in Canaan
    will possess the land as far as Zarephath;(AU)
the exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
    will possess the towns of the Negev.(AV)
21 Deliverers(AW) will go up on[c] Mount Zion
    to govern the mountains of Esau.
    And the kingdom will be the Lord’s.(AX)

Footnotes

  1. Obadiah 1:3 Or of Sela
  2. Obadiah 1:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
  3. Obadiah 1:21 Or from