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Your warriors will be shattered, O Teman,[a]
so that[b] everyone[c] will be destroyed[d] from Esau’s mountain!

Edom’s Treachery Against Judah

10 “Because[e] you violently slaughtered[f] your relatives,[g] the people of Jacob,[h]
shame will cover you, and you will be destroyed[i] forever.
11 You stood aloof[j] while strangers took his army[k] captive,
and foreigners advanced to his gates.[l]
When they cast lots[m] over Jerusalem,
you behaved as though you were in league[n] with them.

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Footnotes

  1. Obadiah 1:9 sn Teman, like Sela, was a prominent city of Edom. The name Teman is derived from the name of a grandson of Esau (cf. Gen 36:11). Here it is a synecdoche of part for whole, standing for all of Edom.
  2. Obadiah 1:9 tn The Hebrew word used here (לְמַעַן, lemaʿan) usually expresses purpose. The sense in this context, however, is more likely that of result.
  3. Obadiah 1:9 tn Heb “a man,” meaning “every single person” here; cf. KJV “every one.”
  4. Obadiah 1:9 tn Heb “cut off” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); cf. NIV, NLT “cut down,” CEV “wiped out.”
  5. Obadiah 1:10 tn Heb “from.” The preposition is used here with a causal sense.
  6. Obadiah 1:10 tn Heb “because of the slaughter and because of the violence.” These two expressions form a hendiadys meaning “because of the violent slaughter.” Traditional understanding connects the first phrase “because of the slaughter” with the end of v. 9 (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NLT). It is preferable, however, to regard it as parallel to the reference to violence at the beginning of v. 11. Both the parallel linguistic structure of the two phrases and the metrical structure of the verse favor connecting this phrase with the beginning of v. 10 (cf. NRSV, TEV).
  7. Obadiah 1:10 tn Heb “the violence of your brother.” The genitive construction is to be understood as an objective genitive. The meaning is not that Jacob has perpetrated violence (= subjective genitive) but that violence has been committed against him (= objective genitive).
  8. Obadiah 1:10 tn Heb “your brother Jacob” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); cf. NCV “your relatives, the Israelites.”
  9. Obadiah 1:10 tn Heb “be cut off” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).
  10. Obadiah 1:11 tn Heb “in the day of your standing”; cf. NAB “On the day when you stood by.”
  11. Obadiah 1:11 tn Or perhaps, “wealth” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). The Hebrew word is somewhat ambiguous here. This word also appears in v. 13, where it clearly refers to wealth.
  12. Obadiah 1:11 tc The present translation follows the Qere, which reads the plural (“gates”) rather than the singular.
  13. Obadiah 1:11 sn Casting lots seems to be a way of deciding who would gain control over material possessions and enslaved peoples following a military victory.
  14. Obadiah 1:11 tn Heb “like one from them”; cf. NASB “You too were as one of them.”

Your warriors, Teman,(A) will be terrified,
    and everyone in Esau’s mountains
    will be cut down in the slaughter.
10 Because of the violence(B) against your brother Jacob,(C)
    you will be covered with shame;
    you will be destroyed forever.(D)
11 On the day you stood aloof
    while strangers carried off his wealth
and foreigners entered his gates
    and cast lots(E) for Jerusalem,
    you were like one of them.(F)

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