Obadiah 1
1
The Humbling of Edom
1 #
Isa 34.5-17; 63.1-6; Jer 49.7-22; Ezek 25.12-14; 35.1-15; Amos 1.11,12; Mal 1.2-5. The vision of Obadi´ah.
Thus saith the Lord God concerning Edom; We have heard a rumor from the Lord, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle. 2Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised. 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? 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.
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 grape gatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grapes? 6How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things sought up! 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. 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? 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. 10For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever. 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. 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. 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; 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.
The Exalting of Israel
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. 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. 17But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. 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. 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 E´phra-im, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin shall possess Gil´e-ad. 20And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zar´ephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem, which is in Sepha´rad, shall possess the cities of the south. 21And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Lord's.
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Obadiah 1: KJVAAE
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.
Obadiah 1
1
1The vision of Obadiah.
Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom:
We have heard a message from the Lord,
and a herald has been sent among the nations:
“Rise up, so we may go to war against it!”#Jer 49:14–16.
2Now I make you least among the nations;
you are utterly contemptible.
3The pride of your heart has deceived you—
you who dwell in mountain crevices,
in your lofty home,#3] Edom occupied the mountains southeast of Israel and the Dead Sea.
Who say in your heart,
“Who will bring me down to earth?”
4Though you soar like the eagle,
and your nest is set among the stars,
From there I will bring you down—
oracle of the Lord.
5If thieves came to you, robbers by night
—how you have been destroyed!—
would they not steal merely till they had enough?
If grape pickers came to you,
would they not leave some gleanings?#5] Something of value may escape the thief, and the grape picker always leaves something for the gleaners, but God’s devastation of Edom will be complete. #Jer 49:9.
6#6] With the past tense in vv. 5–7, the prophet presents a future event as if it had already happened. How Esau has been searched out,
his treasures hunted down!
7To the border they have driven you—
all your allies;
Your partners have deceived you,
they have overpowered you;
Those who eat your bread#7] Those who eat your bread: alliances were often established by covenant meals (cf. Gn 31:44–46). When Edom is destroyed, foreigners will replace the Edomites, who were known for wisdom (cf. v. 8; Jer 49:7; Jb 2:11).
will replace you with foreigners,
who have no understanding.
Edom’s Betrayal of Judah
8On that day—oracle of the Lord—will I not
make the wise disappear from Edom,
and understanding from Mount Esau?#Is 29:14; 1 Cor 1:19.
9Teman,#9] Teman: a synonym for Edom; perhaps the name of a region or a city, the part representing the whole. Mount Esau: whatever its geographic reference, the phrase is an effective representation of Edom’s arrogance. your warriors will be terror-stricken,
so that everyone on Mount Esau will be cut down.
10Because of violence to your brother#10] Your brother: used with a double meaning referring to the common lineage of Israel and Edom, in which their ancestors were brothers, Jacob and Esau (Gn 25:19–26), and referring also to their political alliance, in which allies were called brothers (cf. Am 1:9, 11). Jacob,
disgrace will cover you,
you will be done away with forever!#Gn 27:41–45; Ez 25:12–14.
11On the day you stood by,
the day strangers carried off his possessions,
And foreigners entered his gates
and cast lots for Jerusalem,
you too were like one of them.#11] In 587 B.C., Edomites joined the invading Babylonian forces (v. 13) and captured escaping Judahites. The destruction of Jerusalem strengthened and expanded Edom’s hold on Judah’s southern territory. #Ps 137:7.
12#12–14] The commands in vv. 12–14 are not to be understood as future prohibitions but as descriptions of crimes Edom in fact already committed on the day of Jerusalem’s fall described in v. 11. Do not gloat over the day of your brother,
the day of his disaster;
Do not exult over the people of Judah
on the day of their ruin;
Do not speak haughtily
on the day of distress!
13Do not enter the gate of my people
on the day of their calamity;
Do not gloat—especially you—over his misfortune
on the day of his calamity;
Do not lay hands upon his possessions
on the day of his calamity!
14Do not stand at the crossroads
to cut down his survivors;
Do not hand over his fugitives
on the day of distress!
Edom’s Fall and Judah’s Restoration
15Near is the day of the Lord#Jl 4:11–12, 14.
against all the nations!
As you have done, so will it be done to you,
your conduct will come back upon your own head;
16As you drank#16] As you drank: i.e., Judah has suffered the punishment of divine wrath in 587 B.C. The oracle promises a similar fate for the nations, especially Edom (v. 18). The metaphor “drinking the cup of God’s wrath” occurs often in the Bible; cf. Jb 21:20; Is 51:17–23; Jer 25:15–16; Rev 14:10. upon my holy mountain,
so will all the nations drink continually.
Yes, they will drink and swallow,
and will become as though they had not been.
17But on Mount Zion there will be some who escape;#17–19] The Israelites will be restored and will occupy the lands of those who oppressed them. The survivors of Judah will be rejoined by the returned exiles from northern Israel.
the mountain will be holy,
And the house of Jacob will take possession
of those who dispossessed them.#Jer 49:2.
18The house of Jacob will be a fire,
the house of Joseph a flame,
and the house of Esau stubble.
They will set it ablaze and devour it;
none will survive of the house of Esau,
for the Lord has spoken.
19They will take possession of the Negeb,#19] Negeb: the area south of Judah and west of Edom. Gilead: east of the Jordan River. Mount Esau, the Shephelah, and Philistia, possess the countryside of Ephraim, the countryside of Samaria, Benjamin, and Gilead.#Jer 50:19. 20The exiles of this Israelite army will possess the Canaanite land as far as Zarephath,#20] Zarephath: a town in Phoenicia, north of Tyre; cf. 1 Kgs 17:10. Sepharad: perhaps Sardis in western Asia Minor. The later rabbis thought it was Spain. and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad will possess the cities of the Negeb. 21And deliverers#21] Deliverers: the victorious Israelites who will rule over their enemies, as the ancient judges did; cf. Jgs 3:9, 15, 31; 10:1. will ascend Mount Zion to rule Mount Esau, and the kingship shall be the Lord’s.
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc