Obadiah 1–16

¹This is the vision of Obadiah. 

This is what the Almighty Lord says about Edom: 

We have heard a message from the Lord. 

A messenger was sent among the nations to say, 

“Get ready! Let’s go to war against Edom.” 

²“Edom, I will make you the smallest of nations. 

Others will despise you. 

³Your arrogance has deceived you. 

You live on rocky cliffs. 

You make your home up high. 

You say to yourself, 

‘No one can bring me down to earth.’ 

⁴Even though you fly high like an eagle 

and build your nest among the stars, 

I will bring you down from there,” declares the Lord. 

⁵“If thieves or looters come to you during the night, 

won’t they steal only until they’ve had enough? 

You will be ruined! 

If people come to pick your grapes, 

won’t they leave a few grapes behind? 

⁶But you, Esau,^awill lose everything. 

Even your hidden treasures will be looted. 

⁷All your allies will force you to leave your land. 

The people who are at peace with you will deceive you. 

Those who eat food with you will set traps for you, 

and you won’t even know about it. 

⁸“On that day I will destroy the wise people in Edom 

and take wisdom away from Esau’s mountain,” declares the Lord. 

⁹“Teman, your warriors will be terrified. 

Everyone on Esau’s mountain will be slaughtered. 

Why Edom Will Be Destroyed

¹⁰“Because of the violence you did to Jacob, your relative, 

you will be covered with shame. 

You will be destroyed forever. 

¹¹While you stood there doing nothing, 

strangers carried off Jacob’s wealth. 

Foreigners entered his gates and threw dice for Jerusalem. 

You acted like one of them. 

¹²Don’t gloat over your relative’s misfortune 

or be happy when the people of Judah are destroyed. 

Don’t brag so much when they’re in distress. 

¹³Don’t march through the gates of my people when disaster strikes 

or gloat over their misery when disaster strikes. 

Don’t take their wealth when disaster strikes. 

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

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

The Day of the Lord

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. 

¹⁶As 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.