Obadiah 1
1
Your World Will Collapse
1Obadiah’s Message to Edom
from God, the Master.
We got the news straight from God
by a special messenger sent out to the godless nations:
“On your feet, prepare for battle;
get ready to make war on Edom!
* * *
2-4“Listen to this, Edom:
I’m turning you to a no-account,
the runt of the godless nations, despised.
You thought you were so great,
perched high among the rocks, king of the mountain,
Thinking to yourself,
‘Nobody can get to me! Nobody can touch me!’
Think again. Even if, like an eagle,
you hang out on a high cliff-face,
Even if you build your nest in the stars,
I’ll bring you down to earth.”
God’s sure Word.
5-14“If thieves crept up on you,
they’d rob you blind—isn’t that so?
If they mugged you on the streets at night,
they’d pick you clean—isn’t that so?
Oh, they’ll take Esau apart, piece by piece,
empty his purse and pockets.
All your old partners will drive you to the edge.
Your old friends will lie to your face.
Your old drinking buddies will stab you in the back.
Your world will collapse. You won’t know what hit you.
So don’t be surprised”—it’s God’s sure Word!—
“when I wipe out all sages from Edom
and rid the Esau mountains of its famous wise men.
Your great heroes will desert you, Teman.
There’ll be nobody left in Esau’s mountains.
Because of the murderous history compiled
against your brother Jacob,
You will be looked down on by everyone.
You’ll lose your place in history.
On that day you stood there and didn’t do anything.
Strangers took your brother’s army into exile.
Godless foreigners invaded and pillaged Jerusalem.
You stood there and watched.
You were as bad as they were.
You shouldn’t have gloated over your brother
when he was down-and-out.
You shouldn’t have laughed and joked at Judah’s sons
when they were facedown in the mud.
You shouldn’t have talked so big
when everything was so bad.
You shouldn’t have taken advantage of my people
when their lives had fallen apart.
You of all people should not have been amused
by their troubles, their wrecked nation.
You shouldn’t have taken the shirt off their back
when they were knocked flat, defenseless.
And you shouldn’t have stood waiting at the outskirts
and cut off refugees,
And traitorously turned in helpless survivors
who had lost everything.
* * *
15-18“God’s Judgment Day is near
for all the godless nations.
As you have done, it will be done to you.
What you did will boomerang back
and hit your own head.
Just as you partied on my holy mountain,
all the godless nations will drink God’s wrath.
They’ll drink and drink and drink—
they’ll drink themselves to death.
But not so on Mount Zion—there’s respite there!
a safe and holy place!
The family of Jacob will take back their possessions
from those who took them from them.
That’s when the family of Jacob will catch fire,
the family of Joseph become fierce flame,
while the family of Esau will be straw.
Esau will go up in flames,
nothing left of Esau but a pile of ashes.”
God said it, and it is so.
* * *
19-21People from the south will take over the Esau mountains;
people from the foothills will overrun the Philistines.
They’ll take the farms of Ephraim and Samaria,
and Benjamin will take Gilead.
Earlier, Israelite exiles will come back
and take Canaanite land to the north at Zarephath.
Jerusalem exiles from the far northwest in Sepharad
will come back and take the cities in the south.
The remnant of the saved in Mount Zion
will go into the mountains of Esau
And rule justly and fairly,
a rule that honors God’s kingdom.
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Obadiah 1: MSG
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.
Obadiah 1
1
Edom Will Be Punished
1This is the vision of Obadiah. This is what the Lord GOD says about Edom:
We heard a report from the Lord.
A messenger was sent to the nations.
He said, “Let’s go fight against Edom.”
The Lord Speaks to Edom
2“Edom, I will make you the smallest nation.
Everyone will hate you very much.
3Your pride has fooled you.
You live in those caves high on the cliff.
Your home is high in the hills.
So you say to yourself,
‘No one can bring me to the ground.’”
Edom Will Be Brought Low
4This is what the Lord says:
“Even though you fly high like the eagle
and put your nest among the stars,
I will bring you down from there.
5You really will be ruined!
Thieves will come to you.
Robbers will come in the night,
and they will take all they want.
When workers gather grapes in your vineyards,
they will leave a few grapes behind.
6But the enemy will search hard for Esau’s hidden treasures,
and they will find them all.
7All those who are your friends
will force you out of the land.
Those who were at peace with you will trick you,
and they will defeat you.
The soldiers who fought by your side
are planning a trap for you.
They say, ‘He doesn’t expect a thing!’”
8The Lord says, “On that day
I will destroy the wise people from Edom.
I will destroy the intelligent people from the mountain of Esau.#1:8 mountain of Esau That is, Mount Seir.
9Teman, your brave soldiers will be afraid.
Everyone will be destroyed from the mountain of Esau.
Many people will be killed.
10You will be covered with shame
because you were very cruel to your brother Jacob.
So you will be destroyed completely.
11You joined the enemies of Israel.
Strangers carried Israel’s treasures away.
Foreigners entered Israel’s city gate.
They threw lots to decide what part of Jerusalem they would get.
And you were right there with them, waiting to get your share.
12You should not have laughed#1:12 laughed Literally, “looked.” Also in verse 13.
at your brother’s trouble.
You should not have been happy
when they destroyed Judah.
You should not have bragged#1:12 bragged Literally, “made your mouth big.”
at the time of their trouble.
13You should not have entered the city gate of my people
and laughed at their problems.
You should not have taken their treasures
in the time of their trouble.
14You should not have stood where the roads cross
and destroyed those who were trying to escape.
You should not have captured those who escaped alive.
15The Day of the Lord is coming soon
to all the nations.
And the evil you did to others will happen to you.
The same bad things will fall down on your own head.
16You spilled#1:16 spilled Literally, “drank.” blood on my holy mountain,#1:16 holy mountain One of the mountains Jerusalem was built on. Sometimes Zion is used to mean Jerusalem itself. Also in verses 17, 21.
so other nations will spill your blood.#1:16 spill your blood Literally, “drink and swallow.”
You will be finished.
It will be as if you never existed.
17But there will be survivors on Mount Zion.
They will be my special people.
The nation of Jacob#1:17 nation of Jacob Literally, “the house of Jacob.” This could mean the people of Israel or only its leaders. will take back
what belongs to it.
18The family of Jacob will be like a fire.
The nation of Joseph will be like a flame.
But the nation of Esau#1:18 nation of Esau Literally, “the house of Esau.” will be like ashes.
The people of Judah will burn Edom,
and they will destroy it.
Then there will be no survivors in the nation of Esau.”
This will happen because the Lord said it would.
19Then people from the Negev will live on the mountain of Esau.
And people from the foothills will take the Philistine lands.
They will live in the land of Ephraim and Samaria.
Gilead will belong to Benjamin.
20People from Israel were forced to leave their homes,
but they will take back the land of Canaan, all the way to Zarephath.
People from Judah were forced to leave Jerusalem and live in Sepharad.#1:20 Sepharad This is probably Spain.
But they will take back the cities of the Negev.
21The winners#1:21 winners Or “saviors.” Those who led their people to victory in war. will go up on Mount Zion
to rule the people who live on Esau’s mountain.
And the kingdom will belong to the Lord.
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