עבדיה 1

1 חזון עבדיה כה אמר אדני יהוה לאדום שמועה שמענו מאת יהוה וציר בגוים שלח--קומו ונקומה עליה למלחמה

This is a message that Yahweh our God gave to me, Obadiah, about the Edom [people-group]. Yahweh our God has told me this about [the people of] Edom: “I, Yahweh, have sent a messenger to other nations, telling them to prepare to go and attack Edom.”

2 הנה קטן נתתיך בגוים בזוי אתה מאד

And Yahweh says this to the people of Edom: “I will soon cause you to become the weakest and most despised nation [on the earth].

3 זדון לבך השיאך שכני בחגוי סלע מרום שבתו אמר בלבו מי יורדני ארץ

Your [capital city] is high in the rocky cliffs, and you are very proud; you think that you are safe from being attacked by your enemies [RHQ], but you [IDM] have deceived yourselves.

4 אם תגביה כנשר ואם בין כוכבים שים קנך--משם אורידך נאם יהוה

And I tell you that even if [you had wings and] could fly higher than eagles fly, and if you could make your homes among the stars, I would bring you [crashing] down from there.

5 אם גנבים באו לך אם שודדי לילה--איך נדמיתה הלוא יגנבו דים אם בצרים באו לך הלוא ישאירו עללות

When thieves break into someone’s house during the night, they certainly [RHQ] steal only the things that they want. And people who pick grapes always [RHQ] leave a few grapes on the vines. But your country will be completely destroyed!

6 איך נחפשו עשו נבעו מצפניו

Everything that is valuable will be taken away. [Your enemies] will find and take away even the valuable things that you have hidden.

7 עד הגבול שלחוך כל אנשי בריתך--השיאוך יכלו לך אנשי שלמך לחמך ישימו מזור תחתיך--אין תבונה בו

All (your allies/nations who promised to help you) will turn against you, and they will force you to leave your country/land. Those with whom you have peace now will trick/deceive you and defeat you. Those who eat meals with you now are planning to trap you, and [then they will say to you], ‘You are not [RHQ] as clever [as you thought you were]!’

8 הלוא ביום ההוא נאם יהוה והאבדתי חכמים מאדום ותבונה מהר עשו

I, Yahweh, declare that at the time that I destroy Edom, I will punish the men who live in those cliffs who [thought that they] were wise.

9 וחתו גבוריך תימן למען יכרת איש מהר עשו מקטל

The soldiers from Teman [town] will become terrified; all you people who are descendants of Esau will be (wiped out/killed).

10 מחמס אחיך יעקב תכסך בושה ונכרת לעולם

You acted cruel in a cruel way toward your relatives who are descendants of Jacob, [the twin brother of your ancestor Esau]. So now you will be disgraced forever; you will be completely destroyed.

11 ביום עמדך מנגד ביום שבות זרים חילו ונכרים באו שערו ועל ירושלם ידו גורל--גם אתה כאחד מהם

Foreigners entered the gates of Jerusalem and (cast lots/threw small stones that were marked) to decide what valuable things they would take away; but you were as bad as those foreigners, because you just stood there [and did not help the Israelis].

12 ואל תרא ביום אחיך ביום נכרו ואל תשמח לבני יהודה ביום אבדם ואל תגדל פיך ביום צרה

You should not have (gloated/been happy) about the disaster that the Israelis were experiencing. You should not have been happy when their towns were ruined. You should not have made fun [of them] when they were suffering.

13 אל תבוא בשער עמי ביום אידם אל תרא גם אתה ברעתו ביום אידו ואל תשלחנה בחילו ביום אידו

They are my people, so you should not have entered their [city] gates when they were experiencing those disasters and you should not have laughed at them. And you should not have taken away their [valuable] possessions.

14 ואל תעמד על הפרק להכרית את פליטיו ואל תסגר שרידיו ביום צרה

You should not have stood at crossroads to catch those who were [trying to] escape. You should not have [captured them and] put them into the hands of [their enemies] when they were experiencing those disasters.”

15 כי קרוב יום יהוה על כל הגוים כאשר עשית יעשה לך גמלך ישוב בראשך

“There will soon be the time when I, Yahweh, will judge [and punish] all the nations. And you [people of Edom] will experience the same [disasters] that you caused [others to experience]. The same evil things that you have done to others will happen to you.

16 כי כאשר שתיתם על הר קדשי ישתו כל הגוים תמיד ושתו ולעו והיו כלוא היו

[My people in Jerusalem have been punished] because I was very angry with them. [It is as though] [MET] they drank [a cup of very bitter liquid] on Zion, my sacred hill. But [I] will punish [MET] all the other nations even more severely, and cause them to disappear completely.

17 ובהר ציון תהיה פליטה והיה קדש וירשו בית יעקב את מורשיהם

But some [people in Jerusalem will escape], and Jerusalem will become a very holy/sacred place. Then the descendants of Jacob will [conquer and] possess again the land that truly belongs to them.

18 והיה בית יעקב אש ובית יוסף להבה ובית עשו לקש ודלקו בהם ואכלום ולא יהיה שריד לבית עשו כי יהוה דבר

The descendants [MTY] of Jacob and his son Joseph will be like [MET] a fire, and the people [MTY] of Edom will be like [MET] stubble that will be completely burned in that fire. Not one person will remain alive. [That will surely happen because] I, Yahweh, have said it.”

19 וירשו הנגב את הר עשו והשפלה את פלשתים וירשו את שדה אפרים ואת שדה שמרון ובנימן את הגלעד

The Israeli people [who live] in the southern desert are the ones who will capture Edom. And those [who live in] the western foothills will capture the Phoenicia [region] and the areas of Ephraim and Samaria. And people of the tribe of Benjamin will conquer the Gilead [region].

20 וגלת החל הזה לבני ישראל אשר כנענים עד צרפת וגלת ירושלם אשר בספרד--ירשו את ערי הנגב

Those who were (exiled in/forced to go to) [Babylon] will [return to their land] [and] capture the Phoenicia [region] as far north as Zarephath [on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea]. People of Jerusalem who were captured and taken to Sardis, [the capital city of the Lydia region], will capture the towns in the southern desert.

21 ועלו מושעים בהר ציון לשפט את הר עשו והיתה ליהוה המלוכה

The army of Jerusalem will attack Edom and conquer it, and Yahweh will be their king.