Obadiah 1–16

Obadiah’s Vision

1–4pp—Jer 49:14–16 5–6pp—Jer 49:9–10

¹The vision^a of Obadiah.

This is what the Sovereign Lord says about Edom^b—

We have heard a message from the Lord:

An envoy^c was sent to the nations to say,

“Rise, let us go against her for battle”^d—

²“See, I will make you small^e among the nations;

you will be utterly despised.

³The pride^f of your heart has deceived you,

you who live in the clefts of the rocks^ag

and make your home on the heights,

you who say to yourself,

‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’^h

⁴Though you soar like the eagle

and make your nestⁱ among the stars,

from there I will bring you down,”^j

declares the Lord.^k

⁵“If thieves came to you,

if robbers in the night—

oh, what a disaster awaits you!—

would they not steal only as much as they wanted?

If grape pickers came to you,

would they not leave a few grapes?^l

⁶But how Esau will be ransacked,

his hidden treasures pillaged!

⁷All your allies^m will force you to the border;

your friends will deceive and overpower you;

those who eat your breadⁿ will set a trap for you,^b

but you will not detect it.

⁸“In that day,” declares the Lord,

“will I not destroy^o the wise men of Edom,

those of understanding in the mountains of Esau?

⁹Your warriors, Teman,^p will be terrified,

and everyone in Esau’s mountains

will be cut down in the slaughter.

¹⁰Because of the violence^q against your brother Jacob,^r

you will be covered with shame;

you will be destroyed forever.^s

¹¹On the day you stood aloof

while strangers carried off his wealth

and foreigners entered his gates

and cast lots^t for Jerusalem,

you were like one of them.^u

¹²You should not gloat^v over your brother

in the day of his misfortune,^w

nor rejoice^x over the people of Judah

in the day of their destruction,^y

nor boast^z so much

in the day of their trouble.^a

¹³You should not march through the gates of my people

in the day of their disaster,

nor gloat over them in their calamity^b

in the day of their disaster,

nor seize their wealth

in the day of their disaster.

¹⁴You should not wait at the crossroads

to cut down their fugitives,^c

nor hand over their survivors

in the day of their trouble.

¹⁵“The day of the Lord is near^d

for all nations.

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

your deeds^e will return upon your own head.

¹⁶Just as you drank^f on my holy hill,^g

so all the nations will drink^h continually;

they will drink and drink

and be as if they had never been.ⁱ