Obadiah

Obadiah’s prophecy was a warning to the country of Edom, a nation bordering Judah. He announced that God would judge the nation and destroy it because the Edomites had invaded and plundered Jerusalem several times.

Obadiah’s Vision

1–4pp—Jer 49:14–16
5–6pp—Jer 49:9–10

1 The visiona of Obadiah.

This is what the Sovereign Lord says about Edomb—

We have heard a message from the Lord:

An envoyc was sent to the nations to say,

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

2 “See, I will make you smalle among the nations;

you will be utterly despised.

3 The pridef of your heart has deceived you,

you who live in the clefts of the rocksa g

and make your home on the heights,

you who say to yourself,

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

4 Though 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

6 But how Esau will be ransacked,

his hidden treasures pillaged!

7 All your alliesm 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 destroyo the wise men of Edom,

those of understanding in the mountains of Esau?

9 Your warriors, Teman,p will be terrified,

and everyone in Esau’s mountains

will be cut down in the slaughter.

10 Because of the violenceq against your brother Jacob,r

you will be covered with shame;

you will be destroyed forever.s

11 On the day you stood aloof

while strangers carried off his wealth

and foreigners entered his gates

and cast lotst for Jerusalem,

you were like one of them.u

12 You should not gloatv over your brother

in the day of his misfortune,w

nor rejoicex over the people of Judah

in the day of their destruction,y

nor boastz so much

in the day of their trouble.a

13 You should not march through the gates of my people

in the day of their disaster,

nor gloat over them in their calamityb

in the day of their disaster,

nor seize their wealth

in the day of their disaster.

14 You 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 neard

for all nations.

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

your deedse will return upon your own head.

16 Just as you drankf on my holy hill,g

so all the nations will drinkh continually;

they will drink and drink

and be as if they had never been.i

17 But on Mount Zion will be deliverance;j

it will be holy,k

and Jacob will possess his inheritance.l

18 Jacob will be a fire

and Joseph a flame;

Esau will be stubble,

and they will set him on firem and destroyn him.

There will be no survivorso

from Esau.”

The Lord has spoken.

19 People from the Negev will occupy

the mountains of Esau,

and people from the foothills will possess

the land of the Philistines.p

They will occupy the fields of Ephraim and Samaria,q

and Benjaminr will possess Gilead.

20 This company of Israelite exiles who are in Canaan

will possess the land as far as Zarephath;s

the exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sepharad

will possess the towns of the Negev.t

21 Deliverersu will go up onc Mount Zion

to govern the mountains of Esau.

And the kingdom will be the Lord’s.v