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Obadiah chapter 1

English Standard Version

New International Version

New American Standard Bible

2'Behold, I will make you small among the nations; You are greatly despised. 3The arrogance of your heart has deceived you, The one who lives in the clefts of the rock, On the height of his dwelling place, Who says in his heart, ‘Who will bring me down to earth?’ 4Though you make your home high like the eagle, Though you set your nest among the stars, From there I will bring you down,' declares the Lord. 5'If thieves came to you, If robbers by night— Oh how you will be ruined!— Would they not steal only until they had enough? If grape-pickers came to you, Would they not leave some gleanings? 6Oh how Esau will be searched, And his hidden treasures searched out! 7All the people allied with you Will send you to the border, And the people at peace with you Will deceive you and overpower you. They who eat your bread Will set an ambush for you. (There is no understanding in him.) 8Will I not on that day,' declares the Lord, 'Eliminate wise men from Edom, And understanding from the mountain of Esau? 9Then your warriors will be filled with terror, Teman, So that everyone will be eliminated from the mountain of Esau by murder. 10'Because of violence to your brother Jacob, Shame will cover you, And you will be eliminated forever. 11On the day that you stood aloof, On the day that strangers carried off his wealth, And foreigners entered his gate And cast lots for Jerusalem— You too were as one of them. 12Do not gloat over your brother’s day, The day of his misfortune. And do not rejoice over the sons of Judah On the day of their destruction; Yes, do not boast On the day of their distress. 13Do not enter the gate of My people On the day of their disaster. You indeed, do not gloat over their catastrophe On the day of their disaster. And do not lay a hand on their wealth On the day of their disaster. 14Do not stand at the crossroads To eliminate their survivors; And do not hand over their refugees On the day of their distress. 15'For the day of the Lord is near for all the nations. Just as you have done, it will be done to you. Your dealings will return on your own head. 16For just as you drank on My holy mountain, All the nations will drink continually. They will drink to the last drop, And become as if they had never existed. 17But on Mount Zion there will be those who escape, And it will be holy. And the house of Jacob will possess their property. 18Then the house of Jacob will be a fire, And the house of Joseph a flame; But the house of Esau will be like stubble. And they will set them on fire and consume them, So that there will be no survivor of the house of Esau,' For the Lord has spoken. 19Then those of the Negev will possess the mountain of Esau, And those of the Shephelah the Philistine plain; Also, they will possess the territory of Ephraim and the territory of Samaria, And Benjamin the territory of Gilead. 20And the exiles of this army of the sons of Israel, Who are among the Canaanites as far as Zarephath, And the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad, Will possess the cities of the Negev. 21 The deliverers will ascend Mount Zion To judge the mountain of Esau, And the kingdom will be the Lord’S.
Christian Standard Bible

8In that day— this is the Lord’s declaration— will I not eliminate the wise ones of Edom and those who understand from the hill country of Esau? 9Teman, your warriors will be terrified so that everyone from the hill country of Esau will be destroyed by slaughter. 10You will be covered with shame and destroyed forever because of violence done to your brother Jacob. 11On the day you stood aloof, on the day strangers captured his wealth, while foreigners entered his city gate and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were just like one of them. 12Do not gloat over your brother in the day of his calamity; do not rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their destruction; do not boastfully mock in the day of distress. 13Do not enter my people’s city gate in the day of their disaster. Yes, you—do not gloat over their misery in the day of their disaster, and do not appropriate their possessions in the day of their disaster. 14Do not stand at the crossroads to cut off their fugitives, and do not hand over their survivors in the day of distress. 15For the day of the Lord is near, against all the nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; what you deserve will return on your own head. 16As you have drunk on my holy mountain, so all the nations will drink continually. They will drink and gulp down and be as though they had never been. 17But there will be a deliverance on Mount Zion, and it will be holy; the house of Jacob will dispossess those who dispossessed them. 18Then the house of Jacob will be a blazing fire, and the house of Joseph, a burning flame, but the house of Esau will be stubble; Jacob will set them on fire and consume Edom. Therefore no survivor will remain of the house of Esau, for the Lord has spoken. 19People from the Negev will possess the hill country of Esau; those from the Judean foothills will possess the land of the Philistines. They will possess the territories of Ephraim and Samaria, while Benjamin will possess Gilead. 20The exiles of the Israelites who are in Halah and who are among the Canaanites as far as Zarephath as well as the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad will possess the cities of the Negev. 21Saviors will ascend Mount Zion to rule over the hill country of Esau, but the kingdom will be the Lord’s.
New Living Translation

King James Version

New King James Version

1The vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom (We have heard a report from the Lord, And a messenger has been sent among the nations, saying, “Arise, and let us rise up against her for battle”): 2“Behold, I will make you small among the nations; You shall be greatly despised. 3The pride of your heart has deceived you, You who dwell in the clefts of the rock, Whose habitation is high; You who say in your heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’ 4 Though you ascend as high as the eagle, And though you set your nest among the stars, From there I will bring you down,” says the Lord. 5“If thieves had come to you, If robbers by night— Oh, how you will be cut off!— Would they not have stolen till they had enough? If grape-gatherers had come to you, Would they not have left some gleanings? 6“Oh, how Esau shall be searched out! How his hidden treasures shall be sought after! 7All the men in your confederacy Shall force you to the border; The men at peace with you Shall deceive you and prevail against you. Those who eat your bread shall lay a trap for you. No one is aware of it. 8“Will I not in that day,” says the Lord, “Even destroy the wise men from Edom, And understanding from the mountains of Esau? 9Then your mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, To the end that everyone from the mountains of Esau May be cut off by slaughter. 10“For violence against your brother Jacob, Shame shall cover you, And you shall be cut off forever. 11In the day that you stood on the other side— In the day that strangers carried captive his forces, When foreigners entered his gates And cast lots for Jerusalem— Even you were as one of them. 12“But you should not have gazed on the day of your brother In the day of his captivity; Nor should you have rejoiced over the children of Judah In the day of their destruction; Nor should you have spoken proudly In the day of distress. 13You should not have entered the gate of My people In the day of their calamity. Indeed, you should not have gazed on their affliction In the day of their calamity, Nor laid hands on their substance In the day of their calamity. 14You should not have stood at the crossroads To cut off those among them who escaped; Nor should you have delivered up those among them who remained In the day of distress. 15“For the day of the Lord upon all the nations is near; As you have done, it shall be done to you; Your reprisal shall return upon your own head. 16 For as you drank on My holy mountain, So shall all the nations drink continually; Yes, they shall drink, and swallow, And they shall be as though they had never been. 17“But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance, And there shall be holiness; The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. 18The house of Jacob shall be a fire, And the house of Joseph a flame; But the house of Esau shall be stubble; They shall kindle them and devour them, And no survivor shall remain of the house of Esau,” For the Lord has spoken. 19The South shall possess the mountains of Esau, And the Lowland shall possess Philistia. They shall possess the fields of Ephraim And the fields of Samaria. Benjamin shall possess Gilead. 20And the captives of this host of the children of Israel Shall possess the land of the Canaanites As far as Zarephath. The captives of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad Shall possess the cities of the South. 21Then saviors shall come to Mount Zion To judge the mountains of Esau, And the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.

What does Obadiah chapter 1 mean?

The tiny book of Obadiah introduces itself as a message from God, in the same way as Nahum, Isaiah, and Micah: this is a "vision." The common name "Obadiah" is the Hebrew 'Obadyah, literally meaning, "a worshipper of Yahweh." Nothing in this book connects the author to any other biblical figure.

Obadiah is unique in several ways. It is the shortest book in the Old Testament, at only 21 verses. Unlike most prophets, Obadiah does not speak to Israel. Instead, he gives his message to one of Israel's hated enemies: the nation of Edom. Despite being so short, and directed at a foreign people, it still covers all of the basic themes of Old Testament prophecy. If the prophets of Israel had spoken through movies, instead of writings, Obadiah would be a teaser trailer!

Since the book is so short, the historical context is critical. The father of the nation of Israel, Jacob, had a rocky relationship with his brother, Esau (Genesis 27:41). Esau's descendants became the Edomites, who settled in the mountains of Seir, southeast of the Dead Sea. References to Esau, Mount Esau, Mount Seir, and so forth are all references to the people of Edom. For centuries prior to Obadiah's prophecy, Edom had harassed Israel. They blocked Israel's Exodus from Egypt (Numbers 20:17–21), and warred with Israel off and on under many different kings (2 Samuel 8:14; 2 Kings 8:20–22). Partly because of their constant hostility, no other nation is threatened with judgment in the Old Testament as often as Edom.

The nation of Edom was blessed with terrain, resources, and trade. The mountains and cliffs made for easy defense. Abundant minerals meant there was plenty of mining for wealth. Edom was also located along major trade routes, so they had friendly relations with many of the surrounding nations. This success seems to have gone to the Edomites' heads: they are often accused of arrogance and pride, as well as treachery and violence.

Obadiah's prophecy was probably written around 586 BC, during an especially dark time for Israel. Around 588 or 587 BC, the Babylonian empire, under Nebuchadnezzar, attacked for the third time in as many decades (Daniel 1:1–4; 2 Kings 24:8–20; 2 Kings 25:1–7). This time, they not only took many of the people as captives, they also sacked Jerusalem and burnt the temple. Edom did not come to help their "brother" nation. In fact, they actually helped the Babylonians. Edom blocked the road and caught Jewish fugitives, handing them over to Babylon. In payment, they were allowed to loot Jerusalem along with the other invaders. Most of the specific accusations made in the book of Obadiah revolve around this incident.

Unfortunately for Edom, Obadiah's prophecy would be fulfilled fairly quickly. Not long after, one of Edom's supposed allies, the Nabateans, sprang a trap. While supposedly attending a banquet, the Nabateans surprised the Edomite soldiers and routed them. The nation which had been so strong, and laughed at Israel's misery, was suddenly destitute and driven from their homes. The book of Malachi, written after Israel had returned home from the Babylonian captivity, describes the cities of Edom as ghost towns (Malachi 1:2–5).

Edomites who survived this invasion settled south of Hebron, where they faded into obscurity. Known later as Idumeans, they were bullied by most other nations, including Israel, and later Rome. Herod the Great, who tried to have Jesus killed as an infant (Matthew 2:16–18), was Idumean—an Edomite. The remaining Edomites joined with Jews in rebellion against Rome in AD 70, and were essentially obliterated. As a nation, they became extinct.

The very end of Obadiah includes predictions which look forward to the end times, when the territory of Edom will be occupied by Israel, and ruled directly by God.

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