Obadiah 1

1 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!

The vision of Obadiah, —Thus, saith My Lord, Yahweh, concerning Edom—A rumour, have we heard from Yahweh, and, a herald, throughout the nations, hath been sent, Up! and let us rise against her to war.

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

Lo! small, have I made thee, among the nations—Despised art thou exceedingly!

3 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?”

The insolence of thy heart, hath deceived thee, O thou that inhabitest the retreats of the crag, the height of his habitation, —that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?

4 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.

Though thou build high like an eagle, and though, among the stars, thou set thy nest, from thence, will I bring thee down, Declareth Yahweh.

5 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?

If, thieves, had come to thee, if robbers by night—how ruined thou art! Would they not have stolen what sufficed them? If, grape-gatherers, had come to thee, Would they not have left gleanings?

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

How have the things of Esau been searched out! his treasures been sought up!

7 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!

Up to the boundary, have they sent thee—All thy covenant men, they have deceived thee, prevailed against thee—the men thou wast wont to salute, —The partakers of thy bread, have put a net under thee—No understanding in him!

8 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.

Shall it not be, in that day, Demandeth Yahweh, —That I will destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of Mount Esau?

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

So shall thy mighty men, O Teman, be dismayed, —to the intent that every man, may be cut off, out of Mount Esau, by slaughter.

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

For thy violence against thy brother Jacob, shall shame, cover thee, —so shalt thou be cut off, to times age-abiding.

11 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.

In the day when thou didst take thy stand over against him, in the day when foreigners took captive his forces, —and, aliens, entered his gates, and, over Jerusalem, cast lots, even thou, wast like one of them!

12 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.

Do not, then, look with satisfaction upon the day of thy brother, upon the day of his calamity, Neither rejoice over the sons of Judah—in the day of their ruin, —nor enlarge thy mouth—in the day of distress:

13 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.

Do not enter into the gate of my people—in the day of their misfortune, Do not, thou also, look with satisfaction on his misery—in the day of his misfortune; neither do thou thrust [thy hands] on his substance—in the day of his misfortune;

14 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.

Neither do thou stand at the parting of the way, to cut off his fugitives, —neither do thou deliver up his survivors—in the day of distress.

15 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.

For, near, is the day of Yahweh, upon all the nations, —Just as thou hast done, shall it be done to thee, Thy dealing, shall come back upon thine own head.

16 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.

For, as ye have drunk on my holy mountain, all the nations shall drink continually, —Yea they shall drink and swallow down, and shall be, as though they had not been.

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

But, in Mount Zion, shall be a delivered remnant which shall be holy, —and the house of Jacob shall possess their own possessions;

18 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.

And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, with the house of Esau for stubble, So shall they kindle upon them, and devour them, —and there shall be no survivor to the house of Esau, for, Yahweh, hath spoken.

19 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.

Then shall they of the South possess Mount Esau, and they of the Lowlands, the Philistines, and they [of the Mountain] shall possess the field of Ephraim, and the field of Samaria, —and Benjamin [shall possess] Gilead;

20 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.

And, they of the captivity of this force pertaining to the sons of Israel, [shall possess] that of the Canaanites, up to Zarephath, and, they of the captivity of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the South.

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

And saviours shall come up in Mount Zion, to judge the mountain of Esau, —So shall the kingdom, belong unto Yahweh.