Obadiah 1

Edom’s Pride and Punishment

1 *Is 34.5-17;63.1-6;Jr 49.7-22;Ez 25.12-14;35.1-15;Am 1.11,12;Ml 1.2-5. The Lord God gave Obadiah

a message*1 message: Or "vision." about Edom,

and this is what we heard:

"I, the Lord, have sent

a messenger

with orders for the nations

to attack Edom."

2 The Lord said to Edom:

I will make you the weakest

and most despised nation.

3 You live in a mountain fortress,*3 mountain fortress: The Hebrew text has "rocky cliff," which sounds like "Sela," the capital of Edom, a fortress city built on a mountain.

because your pride

makes you feel safe from attack,

but you are mistaken.

4 I will still bring you down,

even if you fly higher

than an eagle

or nest among the stars.

I, the Lord, have spoken!

5 If thieves break in at night,

they steal

only what they want.

And people who harvest grapes

always leave some unpicked.

But, Edom, you are doomed!

6 Everything you treasure most

will be taken from you.

7 Your allies can’t be trusted.

They will force you out

of your own country.

And your best friends

will trick and trap you,

even before you know it.

8 Edom, when this happens,

I, the Lord, will destroy

all your marvelous wisdom.

9 Warriors from the city of Teman*9 Teman: A famous city in Edom.

will be terrified,

and you descendants of Esau*9 descendants of Esau: The people of Edom were descendants of Esau, the brother of Jacob (Israel).

will be wiped out.

The Lord Condemns Edom’s Cruelty

10 You were cruel to your relatives,

the descendants of Jacob.*10 descendants of Jacob: Jacob and Esau were brothers (see the note on Esau at verse 9).

Now you will be destroyed,

disgraced forever.

11 You stood there and watched

as foreigners entered Jerusalem

and took what they wanted.

In fact, you were no better

than those foreigners.

12 Why did you celebrate

when such a dreadful disaster

struck your relatives?

Why were you so pleased

when everyone in Judah

was suffering?

13 They are my people,

and you were cruel to them.

You went through their towns,

sneering and stealing

whatever was left.

14 In their time of torment,

you ambushed refugees

and handed them over

to their attackers.

The Lord Will Judge the Nations

15 The day is coming

when I, the Lord,

will judge the nations.

And, Edom, you will pay in full

for what you have done.

16 I forced the people of Judah*16 I forced … Judah: Or "I will force the people of Edom."

to drink the wine of my anger

on my sacred mountain.

Soon the neighboring nations

must drink their fill—

then vanish without a trace.

Victory for Israel

17 The Lord's people who escape

will go to Mount Zion,

and it will be holy.

Then Jacob’s descendants

will capture the land of those

who took their land.

18 Israel*18 Israel: Hebrew "The descendants of Jacob and of Joseph." will be a fire,

and Edom will be straw

going up in flames.

The Lord has spoken!

19 The people of Israel

who live in the Southern Desert

will take the land of Edom.

Those who live in the hills

will capture Philistia,

Ephraim, and Samaria.

And the tribe of Benjamin

will conquer Gilead.

20 Those who return from captivity

will control Phoenicia

as far as Zarephath.*20 Those who return … Zarephath: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

Captives from Jerusalem

who were taken to Sepharad*20 Sepharad: Possibly the city of Sardis, the capital of Lydia, a country north and west of Media. This would refer to those captives from Judah who had been taken beyond the kingdom of Babylonia.

will capture the towns

of the Southern Desert.

21 Those the Lord has saved

will live on Mount Zion

and rule over Edom.*21 Those the Lord … Edom: Or "Leaders on (from) Mount Zion will save the people and rule over Edom."

Then the kingdom will belong

to the Lord.