Obadiah 1

1 The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle.

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 Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised.

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 The pride of thine heart hath deceived 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 [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 Though thou exalt [thyself] as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD.

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 If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough? if the grapegatherers came to thee, would they not leave [some] grapes?

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 How are [the things] of Esau searched out! [how] are his hidden things sought up!

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

7 All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee [even] to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, [and] prevailed against thee; [they that eat] thy bread have laid a wound under thee: [there is] none understanding in him.

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 Shall I not in that day, saith the LORD, even destroy the wise [men] out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau?

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 And thy mighty [men], O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter.

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

10 For [thy] violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.

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 In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou [wast] as one of them.

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 But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress.

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 Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid [hands] on their substance in the day of their calamity;

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

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 For the day of the LORD [is] near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head.

“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 For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, [so] shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.

[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 But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.

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 And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be [any] remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken [it].

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 And [they of] the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and [they of] the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin [shall possess] Gilead.

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 And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel [shall possess] that of the Canaanites, [even] unto Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem, which [is] in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south.

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 And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’s.

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