Obdias 1

1 The vision of Obdias. Thus saith the Lord God to Idumea; I have heard a report from the Lord, and he has sent forth a message to the nations.

Obadiah's vision. This is what the Lord says about the land of Edom. We have heard from the Lord that a messenger was sent to tell the nations: Get ready! Let's go to war against Edom!

2 Arise ye, and let us rise up against her to war.

I will make you insignificant among the nations. You will be totally despised.

3 Behold, I have made thee small among the Gentiles: thou art greatly dishonoured. The pride of thine heart has elated thee, dwelling [as thou dost] in the holes of the rocks, [as one that] exalts his habitation, saying in his heart, Who will bring me down to the ground?

Your heart's pride has deceived you—you who live in a secure fortress of rock in the high mountains, saying to yourselves, “Who can ever bring us down?”

4 If thou shouldest mount up as the eagle, and if thou shouldest make thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord.

But even though you soar like an eagle, even though you make your nest among the stars, I will bring you down from there, declares the Lord.

5 If thieves came in to thee, or robbers by night, where wouldest thou have been cast away? would they not have stolen [just] enough for themselves? and if grape-gatherers went in to thee, would they not leave a gleaning?

You will be completely destroyed! If thieves came to you, if robbers came at night, wouldn't they steal only what they wanted? If those who harvest grapes came to you, wouldn't they leave some behind?

6 How has Esau been searched out, and [how] have his hidden things been detected?

But how Esau will be plundered and their hidden treasures looted!

7 They sent thee to thy coasts: all the men of thy covenant have withstood thee; thine allies have prevailed against thee, they have set snares under thee: they have no understanding.

All your allies will drive you out, past the borders of your land. Those who were at peace with you will deceive you, and conquer you. Those who ate with you have ambushed you. You don't understand a thing!

8 In that day, saith the Lord, I will destroy the wise men out of Idumea, and understanding out of the mount of Esau.

On that day, declares the Lord, I will destroy the wise men of Edom—there will be no more wisdom in the mountains of Esau.

9 And thy warriors from Thaeman shall be dismayed, to the end that man may be cut off from the mount of Esau.

Teman, your fighting men will be terrified, so that everyone of the mountains of Esau will be cut down in the massacre.

10 Because of the slaughter and the sin [committed against] thy brother Jacob, shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.

Because of the violence you committed against your brothers, the descendants of Jacob, you will be totally ashamed of yourselves, and destroyed forever.

11 From the day that thou stoodest in opposition [to him], in the days when foreigners were taking captive his forces, and strangers entered into his gates, and cast lots on Jerusalem, thou also wast as one of them.

On that day you stood aside, on that day strangers plundered their wealth and foreigners entered their gates, and divided up Jerusalem by casting lots—and you were like one of them.

12 And thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day of strangers; nor shouldest thou have rejoiced against the children of Juda in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have boasted in the day of [their] affliction.

You should not have gloated over your brother's day of disaster. You should not have rejoiced over the day of destruction of the sons of Judah. You should not have boasted over the day of their distress.

13 Neither shouldest thou have gone into the gates of the people in the day of their troubles; nor yet shouldest thou have looked upon their gathering in the day of their destruction, nor shouldest thou have attacked their host in the day of their perishing.

You should not have marched through the city gates of my people on their day of disaster. You should not have gloated over them on the day of their disaster. You should not have looted their wealth on the day of their disaster.

14 Neither shouldest thou have stood at the opening of their passages, to destroy utterly those of them that were escaping; neither shouldest thou have shut up his fugitives in the day of affliction.

You should not have stood at the crossroads, cutting down those trying to escape. You should not have handed over those who survived on the day of their distress.

15 For the day of the Lord is near upon all the Gentiles: as thou have done, so shall it be [done] to thee: thy recompense shall be returned on thine [own] head.

For the day of the Lord is near for all nations. What you have done will be done to you; your actions will fall back on your own heads.

16 For as thou hast drunk upon my holy mountain, [so] shall all the nations drink wine; they shall drink, and go down, and be as if they were not.

For as you drank on my holy mountain, so will all the nations continually drink, and swallow, and they shall be as if they never existed.

17 But on mount Sion there shall be deliverance, and there shall be a sanctuary; and the house of Jacob shall take for an inheritance those that took them for an inheritance.

But on Mount Zion there will be a place of escape, a holy place, and the descendants of Jacob will reclaim their inheritance.

18 And the house of Jacob shall be fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau [shall be] for stubble; and [Israel] shall flame forth against them, and shall devour them, and there shall not be a corn-field [left] to the house of Esau; because the Lord has spoken.

The descendants of Jacob will become a fire, and the descendants of Joseph a flame, and they shall burn up the descendants of Esau like stubble, consuming them completely, so that there will be not a single survivor of the descendants of Esau. For the Lord has spoken.

19 And they [that dwell] in the south shall inherit the mount of Esau, and they in the plain the Philistines: and they shall inherit the mount of Ephraim, and the plain of Samaria, and Benjamin, and the land of Galaad.

Those living in the Negev will occupy the mountains of Esau; those from the foothills of Judah will occupy the land of the Philistines, and possess the fields of Ephraim and Samaria; those from the tribe of Benjamin will occupy Gilead.

20 And this [shall be] the domain of the captivity of the children of Israel, the land of the Chananites as far as Sarepta; and the captives of Jerusalem [shall inherit] as far as Ephratha; they shall inherit the cities of the south.

The army of exiles of the people of Israel shall possess the land of the Canaanites as far as Zarephath, and the exiles of Jerusalem from Sepharad shall possess the cities of the Negev.

21 And they that escape shall come up from mount Sion, to take vengeance on the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Lord's.

Those who have been saved will go up Mount Zion and rule the mountains of Esau. And the kingdom shall be the Lord's.