Obadiah 14–18

14 You should not wait at the crossroads

to cut down their fugitives,

nor hand over their survivors

in the day of their trouble.

15 “The day of the Lord is near

for all nations.

As you have done, it will be done to you;

your deeds will return upon your own head.

16 Just as you drank on my holy hill,

so all the nations will drink continually;

they will drink and drink

and be as if they had never been.

17 But on Mount Zion will be deliverance;

it will be holy,

and Jacob will possess his inheritance.

18 Jacob will be a fire

and Joseph a flame;

Esau will be stubble,

and they will set him on fire and destroy him.

There will be no survivors

from Esau.”

The Lord has spoken.

14 Neither 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.

15 For 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.

16 For 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.

17 But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there 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.

14 You should not have stood at the crossroads,

killing those who tried to escape.

You should not have captured the survivors

and handed them over in their terrible time of trouble.

15 “The day is near when I, the Lord,

will judge all godless nations!

As you have done to Israel,

so it will be done to you.

All your evil deeds

will fall back on your own heads.

16 Just as you swallowed up my people

on my holy mountain,

so you and the surrounding nations

will swallow the punishment I pour out on you.

Yes, all you nations will drink and stagger

and disappear from history.

17 “But Jerusalem will become a refuge for those who escape;

it will be a holy place.

And the people of Israel will come back

to reclaim their inheritance.

18 The people of Israel will be a raging fire,

and Edom a field of dry stubble.

The descendants of Joseph will be a flame

roaring across the field, devouring everything.

There will be no survivors in Edom.

I, the Lord, have spoken!

14 You 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.

18 The 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.

14 Do not stand at the crossroads

to destroy those who are trying to escape.

Do not capture those who escape alive and turn them over to their enemy

in their time of trouble.

15 “The Lord’s day of judging is coming soon

to all the nations.

The same evil things you did to other people

will happen to you;

they will come back upon your own head.

16 Because you drank in my Temple,

all the nations will drink on and on.

They will drink and drink

until they disappear.

17 But on Mount Zion some will escape the judgment,

and it will be a holy place.

The people of Jacob will take back their land

from those who took it from them.

18 The people of Jacob will be like a fire

and the people of Joseph like a flame.

But the people of Esau will be like dry stalks.

The people of Jacob will set them on fire and burn them up.

There will be no one left of the people of Esau.”

This will happen because the Lord has said it.

14 And stand thou not in the crossway, to cut off those of his that escape; and deliver not up those of his that remain in the day of distress.

15 For the day of Jehovah is near upon all the nations: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee; thy dealing shall return upon thine own head. 16 For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the nations drink continually; yea, they shall drink, and swallow down, and shall be as though they had not been.

17 But in mount Zion there shall be those that escape, and it shall be holy; 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 burn among them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining to the house of Esau; for Jehovah hath spoken it.

14 and thou shouldest not have stood on the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape, nor have delivered up those remaining of him in the day of distress. 15 For the day of Jehovah is near upon all the nations: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy recompence shall return upon thine own head. 16 For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the nations drink continually; yea, they shall drink, and shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.

17 But upon mount Zion shall there be deliverance, and it shall be holy; 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 Jehovah hath spoken it.

14 Don’t stand at the crossroads to kill their refugees. 

Don’t hand over their survivors when they’re in distress. 

15 “The day of the Lord is near for all nations. 

Edom, you will be treated as you have treated others. 

You will get back what you have given. 

16 As you, Israel, drank on my holy mountain, 

so all nations will drink in turn. 

They will drink and guzzle down everything in it. 

They will be like those who have never existed. 

17 “But refugees will live on Mount Zion. 

It will be holy. 

The descendants of Jacob will get back their possessions. 

18 The descendants of Jacob will be like a fire. 

The descendants of Joseph will be like a flame. 

But the descendants of Esau will be like straw. 

They will be burned and destroyed. 

There will be no one left among the descendants of Esau.” 

The Lord has spoken. 

14 Do not stand at the crossroads

to cut off their fugitives,

and do not hand over their survivors

in the day of distress.

15 For the Day of the Lord is near,

against all the nations.

As you have done, so it will be done to you;

what you deserve will return on your own head.

16 As 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.

17 But there will be a deliverance on Mount Zion,

and it will be holy;

the house of Jacob will dispossess

those who dispossessed them.

18 Then 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.

14 You should not have stood at the crossings

to cut off his fugitives;

you should not have handed over his survivors

on the day of distress.

15 For the day of the Lord is near against all the nations.

As you have done, it shall be done to you;

your deeds shall return on your own head.

16 For as you have drunk on my holy mountain,

all the nations shall drink continually;

they shall drink and gulp down

and shall be as though they had never been.

17 But on Mount Zion there shall be those who escape,

and it shall be holy,

and the house of Jacob shall take possession of those who dispossessed them.

18 The house of Jacob shall be a fire,

the house of Joseph a flame,

and the house of Esau stubble;

they shall burn them and consume them,

and there shall be no survivor of the house of Esau,

for the Lord has spoken.

14 And you should not have stood at the crossroads to cut off his fugitives and you should not have handed over his survivors on the day of distress.

15 “For the day of Yahweh is near against all the nations! Just as you have done, it will be done to you. Your deeds will return on your own head. 16 For just as you have drunk on my holy mountain, all the nations will drink continually. They will drink and they will slurp, and they will be as if they had never been. 17 But on Mount Zion there will be an escape, and it will be holy, and the house of Jacob will take possession of their dispossessors. 18 And the house of Jacob will be a fire and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau stubble; and they will set them on fire and will consume them. And there will not be a survivor for the house of Esau,” for Yahweh has spoken.

14 You waited where the roads cross.

You wanted to cut down those who were running away.

You should not have done that.

You handed over to their enemies

those who were still left alive.

You should not have done that.

They were in trouble.

15 “The day of the Lord is near

for all of the nations.

Others will do to you

what you have done to them.

You will be paid back

for what you have done.

16 You Edomites polluted my holy mountain of Zion

by drinking and celebrating there.

So all of the nations will drink

from the cup of my anger.

And they will keep on drinking from it.

They will vanish.

It will be as if they had never existed.

17 But on Mount Zion some of my people will be left alive.

I will save them.

Zion will be my holy mountain once again.

And the people of Jacob

will again receive the land as their own.

18 They will be like a fire.

Joseph’s people will be like a flame.

The nation of Esau will be like straw.

Jacob’s people will set Edom on fire and burn it up.

No one will be left alive

among Esau’s people.”

The Lord has spoken.

14 “Do not stand at the fork of the road

To cut down their fugitives;

And do not imprison their survivors

In the day of their distress.

15 “For the day of the Lord draws near on all the nations.

As you have done, it will be done to you.

Your dealings will return on your own head.

16 “Because just as you drank on My holy mountain,

All the nations will drink continually.

They will drink and swallow

And become as if they had never existed.

17 “But on Mount Zion there will be those who escape,

And it will be holy.

And the house of Jacob will possess their possessions.

18 “Then the house of Jacob will be a fire

And the house of Joseph a flame;

But the house of Esau will be as 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.