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Edom’s Fall(A)

This 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.”

“Edom, I will make you the smallest of nations.
Others will despise you.
Your 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.’
Even though you fly high like an eagle
and build your nest among the stars,
I will bring you down from there,” declares the Lord.

“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?
But you, Esau,[a] will lose everything.
Even your hidden treasures will be looted.
All 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.

“On that day I will destroy the wise people in Edom
and take wisdom away from Esau’s mountain,” declares the Lord.
“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.
11 While 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.
12 Don’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.
13 Don’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.
14 Don’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.
16 As 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.

17 “But refugees will live on Mount Zion.
It will be holy.
The descendants of Jacob will get back their possessions.
18 The descendants of Jacob will be like a fire.
The descendants of Joseph will be like a flame.
But the descendants of Esau will be like straw.
They will be burned and destroyed.
There will be no one left among the descendants of Esau.”
The Lord has spoken.

19 “People from the Negev will take possession of Esau’s mountain.
People from the foothills will take possession of Philistia.
They will take possession of the lands of Ephraim and Samaria,
and ⌞the descendants of⌟ Benjamin will take possession of Gilead.
20 Exiles from Israel will take possession of Canaan.
They will possess land as far as Zarephath.
Exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
will take possession of the cities in the Negev.
21 Those who are victorious will come from Mount Zion
to rule Esau’s mountain.
The kingdom will belong to the Lord.”

Footnotes

  1. 6 Esau   was the son of Isaac and the ancestor of the people of Edom.

Obadiah’s Vision(A)(B)

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)

“See, I will make you small(G) among the nations;
    you will be utterly despised.
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)
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)
“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)
But how Esau will be ransacked,
    his hidden treasures pillaged!
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.

“In that day,” declares the Lord,
    “will I not destroy(Q) the wise men of Edom,
    those of understanding in the mountains of Esau?
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

  1. Obadiah 1:3 Or of Sela
  2. Obadiah 1:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
  3. Obadiah 1:21 Or from