Obadiah 1

1 The vision of 'Obadiah: Thus hath said the Lord Eternal concerning Edom, A rumor have we heard from the Lord, and an ambassador is sent among the nations, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her to war.

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 Behold, I make thee small among the nations: thou shalt be greatly despised.

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

3 The presumption of thy heart hath beguiled 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?

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 Though thou wert to rise as high as the eagle, and though thou set 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 How? are thieves come to thee? or night-prowling robbers? how destroyed art thou! would they not have stolen till they had enough? if grape-gatherers had come to thee, would they not have left some gleanings?

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 are [the treasures] of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things laid open!

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

7 Up to the border have accompanied thee all the men of thy confederacy; beguiled, overcome thee have the men that were at peace with thee: [they that eat] thy bread have struck thee secretly a wound. There is no understanding in him.

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 Shall I not on that same day, saith the Lord, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, 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 mighty men, O Theman, shall be dismayed, in order that every one from the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter.

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 thy violence against thy brother Jacob shall shame 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 On the day that thou stoodest on the other side, on the day that strangers carried away captive his army, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots over Jerusalem, also thou wast as any 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 But thou shouldst not have looked on [pleased] at the day of thy brother, on the day that he was delivered up to strangers; neither shouldst thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah on the day of their destruction; nor should thou have spoken proudly on the day of distress.

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 Thou shouldst not have entered into the gate of my people on the day of their calamity; yea, thou too shouldst not have looked [pleased] on their affliction on the day of their calamity; nor have laid hands on their army on the day of their calamity;

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 shouldst thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldst thou have delivered up those of his that did remain on the day of distress.

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 near is the day of the Lord over all the nations: as thou hast done, shall it be done unto thee; thy deeds shall return upon thy 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 ye have drunk upon my holy mount, so shall all the nations drink continually; yea, they shall drink, and they shall reel about, and they shall be as though they had not been.

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 upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and it shall be holy: and the house of Jacob shall again possess their inheritances.

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 a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau become stubble, and they shall set them on fire, and devour them; and there shall not be any one remaining of the house of Esau; for the Lord hath spoken it.

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 of the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and they of the lowlands, the Philistines; and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin [shall possess] Gil'ad.

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 the exiles of this host of the children of Israel that are [with] the Canaanites, as far as Zarephath, and the exiles of Jerusalem, who are in Sepharad, shall possess 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 deliverers shall go up on mount Zion to judge 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.