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Obadiah
Expanded Bible
Obadiah
Expanded Bible
The Lord Will Punish the Edomites
1 This is the vision of Obadiah.
This is what the Lord God says about Edom [C the Edomites were descendants of Esau, Jacob’s twin brother (Gen. 25); they were often in conflict with Israel]:
We have heard a ·message [report] from the Lord.
A ·messenger [envoy] has been sent among the nations, saying,
“·Attack [L Rise up]! Let’s go ·attack [L rise to battle against] Edom!”
The Lord Speaks to the Edomites
2 “·Soon [L Look; T Behold] I will make you ·the smallest of [or weak among the] nations.
You will be greatly ·hated [despised] by everyone.
3 Your pride has ·fooled [deceived] you,
you who live in the ·hollow places of the cliff [T clefts of the rock].
Your home is ·up high [on the heights],
you who say to yourself,
‘·No one can [L Who can…?] bring me down to the ground.’
4 Even if you ·fly high [soar] like the eagle
and make your nest among the stars,
I will bring you down from there,” says the Lord.
5 “You will really be ·ruined [L cut off]!
If thieves came to you,
if ·robbers [plunderers] came by night,
they would steal only enough for themselves.
If workers came and picked the grapes from your vines,
they would leave ·a few behind [some for the poor; the gleanings].
6 But you, Edom, will ·really lose everything [be cleaned/L searched out]!
People will find all your hidden treasures!
7 All ·the people who are your friends [your allies; L the people of your covenant/treaty]
will force you ·out of the land [L to the border].
The people ·who are at peace with you [or who promised you peace; L of your peace]
will ·trick [deceive] you and ·defeat [overpower] you.
Those who eat your bread [C indicating fellowship and friendship] with you now
are planning a trap for you,
and you will ·not notice it [be taken by surprise; have no understanding].”
8 The Lord says, “On that day
I will surely destroy the wise people from Edom,
and those with understanding from the mountains of Edom.
9 Then, city of Teman, your ·best warriors [mighty men] will be ·afraid [dismayed],
and everyone from the mountains of Edom will be ·killed [L cut down in the slaughter].
10 You did violence to your ·relatives, the Israelites [L brother Jacob; verse 1; Gen. 25],
so you will be covered with shame
and destroyed forever.
11 You stood ·aside without helping [aloof]
·while [L on the day] strangers carried Israel’s ·treasures [wealth; or army] away.
When foreigners entered Israel’s city gate
and threw lots to decide ·what part of Jerusalem they would take [L for Jerusalem],
you were like one of them.
Commands That Edom Broke
12 “Edom, ·do not laugh at [or you should not have gloated over] your ·brother Israel [L brother] in his time of ·trouble [misfortune]
or ·be happy [rejoice] about the ·people [sons; descendants] of Judah ·when they are destroyed [L on the day of destruction].
Do not ·brag [boast; act with arrogance] ·when cruel things are done to them [L on the day of distress].
13 Do not enter the city gate of my people [C to plunder their goods]
in their ·time [L day] of ·trouble [disaster; C the Hebrew word for “trouble” sounds like Edom]
or ·laugh at their problems [gloat over them]
in their ·time [L day] of ·trouble [disaster].
Do not ·take their treasures [loot their wealth]
in their ·time [L day] of ·trouble [disaster].
14 Do not stand at the crossroads
to ·destroy [L cut off] ·those who are trying to escape [their fugitives].
Do not capture ·those who escape alive [their survivors] and turn them over to their enemy
in their ·time [L day] of ·trouble [adversity].
The Nations Will Be Judged
15 “The ·Lord’s day of judging [L day of the Lord] is ·coming soon [near]
to all the nations.
·The same evil things you did to other people [L As you have done]
·will happen [L it will be done] to you;
·they [L recompense; reprisal] will come back upon your own head.
16 Because you drank in my ·Temple [L holy mountain],
all the nations will drink ·on and on [continually].
They will drink and ·drink [L swallow]
·until they disappear [L and be as though they were not].
17 But on Mount Zion ·some will escape the judgment [L there will be escape],
and it will be a holy place.
The ·people [L house] of Jacob will ·take back their land
from those who ·took it from them [L possess their possessions].
18 The ·people [L house] of Jacob will be like a fire
and the ·people [L house] of Joseph [C the Israelite tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (Joseph’s sons, Jacob’s grandsons), representing the northern kingdom] like a flame.
But the ·people [L house] of Esau [C the Edomites] will be like ·dry stalks [stubble].
The ·people [L house] of Jacob will set them on fire and burn them up.
There will be no ·one left [survivors] of the ·people [L house] of Esau.”
·This will happen because [L For] the Lord has said it.
19 ·Then God’s people will regain southern Judah from Edom;
they will take back [L The Negev shall possess] the mountains of ·Edom [L Esau].
·They will take back the western hills
from [L The Shephelah/foothills shall possess] the Philistines.
They will ·regain [possess] the ·lands [L fields] of Ephraim and Samaria,
and Benjamin will ·take over [possess] Gilead [C east of the Jordan River].
20 ·People from [L This host of the sons/T children of] Israel who once were ·forced to leave their homes [exiled]
will take the land of the Canaanites,
all the way to Zarephath [C in Phoenicia in the far northeast].
·People from Judah who once were forced to leave Jerusalem and [L The exiles of Jerusalem who] live in Sepharad [C unknown location, perhaps Sardis (in present-day Turkey)]
will take back the cities of ·southern Judah [L the Negev].
21 ·Powerful warriors [Deliverers; Saviors; or Those who have been rescued/delivered] will go up on Mount Zion,
where they will rule ·the people living on Edom’s mountains [L Mount Esau].
And the kingdom will belong to the Lord.
Obadiah
New International Version
Obadiah
New International Version
Obadiah’s Vision(A)(B)
1 The vision(C) of Obadiah.
This is what the Sovereign Lord says about Edom(D)—
We have heard a message from the Lord:
An envoy(E) was sent to the nations to say,
“Rise, let us go against her for battle”(F)—
2 “See, I will make you small(G) among the nations;
you will be utterly despised.
3 The pride(H) of your heart has deceived you,
you who live in the clefts of the rocks[a](I)
and make your home on the heights,
you who say to yourself,
‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’(J)
4 Though you soar like the eagle
and make your nest(K) among the stars,
from there I will bring you down,”(L)
declares the Lord.(M)
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?(N)
6 But how Esau will be ransacked,
his hidden treasures pillaged!
7 All your allies(O) will force you to the border;
your friends will deceive and overpower you;
those who eat your bread(P) will set a trap for you,[b]
but you will not detect it.
8 “In that day,” declares the Lord,
“will I not destroy(Q) the wise men of Edom,
those of understanding in the mountains of Esau?
9 Your warriors, Teman,(R) will be terrified,
and everyone in Esau’s mountains
will be cut down in the slaughter.
10 Because of the violence(S) against your brother Jacob,(T)
you will be covered with shame;
you will be destroyed forever.(U)
11 On the day you stood aloof
while strangers carried off his wealth
and foreigners entered his gates
and cast lots(V) for Jerusalem,
you were like one of them.(W)
12 You should not gloat(X) over your brother
in the day of his misfortune,(Y)
nor rejoice(Z) over the people of Judah
in the day of their destruction,(AA)
nor boast(AB) so much
in the day of their trouble.(AC)
13 You should not march through the gates of my people
in the day of their disaster,
nor gloat over them in their calamity(AD)
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,(AE)
nor hand over their survivors
in the day of their trouble.
15 “The day of the Lord is near(AF)
for all nations.
As you have done, it will be done to you;
your deeds(AG) will return upon your own head.
16 Just as you drank(AH) on my holy hill,(AI)
so all the nations will drink(AJ) continually;
they will drink and drink
and be as if they had never been.(AK)
17 But on Mount Zion will be deliverance;(AL)
it will be holy,(AM)
and Jacob will possess his inheritance.(AN)
18 Jacob will be a fire
and Joseph a flame;
Esau will be stubble,
and they will set him on fire(AO) and destroy(AP) him.
There will be no survivors(AQ)
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.(AR)
They will occupy the fields of Ephraim and Samaria,(AS)
and Benjamin(AT) will possess Gilead.
20 This company of Israelite exiles who are in Canaan
will possess the land as far as Zarephath;(AU)
the exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
will possess the towns of the Negev.(AV)
21 Deliverers(AW) will go up on[c] Mount Zion
to govern the mountains of Esau.
And the kingdom will be the Lord’s.(AX)
Footnotes
- Obadiah 1:3 Or of Sela
- Obadiah 1:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
- Obadiah 1:21 Or from
Obadiah
King James Version
Obadiah
King James Version
1 The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord God concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the Lord, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle.
2 Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised.
3 The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?
4 Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord.
5 If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough? if the grapegatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grapes?
6 How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things sought up!
7 All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and prevailed against thee; they that eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee: there is none understanding in him.
8 Shall I not in that day, saith the Lord, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau?
9 And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter.
10 For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.
11 In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them.
12 But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress.
13 Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity;
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.
19 And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and they of the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
20 And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south.
21 And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Lord's.
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