Obadiah 1

1 This is the vision [a prophetic revelation, a divine message] of Obadiah: This is what the Lord [Adonai, the sovereign Master] GOD [Yehovah] says about Edom [the region of Esau’s descendants]— We have heard a message [a report, tidings] from the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God]; an envoy [a messenger, ambassador] has been sent among the nations [Gentiles, non-Hebrew peoples] to say, “Rise up [stand, take action], and let us go to battle [war, conflict] against her [Edom, the enemy]!”— word study 2 “Behold [look, see], I will make you small [insignificant, little] among the nations [Gentiles, heathen]; you [as a nation] will be deeply [greatly, utterly] despised [held in contempt, looked down on]. word study 3 The pride [arrogance, insolence] of your heart [the seat of feelings, will, and intellect] has deceived [led astray, misled] you, O dwellers [inhabitants, residents] in the clefts [cracks, fissures] of the rocks [craggy cliffs, strongholds] whose habitation [dwelling place, abode] is the heights [high places, lofty areas], who say [declare, affirm] in your heart [the center of thoughts and emotions], ‘Who [what person, which one] can bring me down [cause me to descend, lower me] to the ground [the earth, the land]?’ word study 4 Though you soar [like an eagle, to a great height] like the eagle and make your nest [set your dwelling, establish your home] among the stars [the celestial bodies, heavenly hosts], even from there [that lofty place, that high position] I will bring you down [cause you to descend, lower you],” declares [says, utters] the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God]. word study 5 “If thieves [robbers, those who take by stealth] came to you, if robbers [those who plunder and pillage] by night— oh, how you will be ruined [destroyed, cut off]— would they not steal [take secretly, plunder] only what they wanted [desired, needed]? If grape gatherers [those who harvest, vintagers] came to you, would they not leave [spare, reserve] some gleanings [leftover grapes, remnants]? word study 6 But how [in what manner, to what extent] Esau [the hairy one] will be pillaged [plundered, thoroughly ransacked], his hidden [secret, concealed] treasures [valuables, precious stores] sought out [searched, thoroughly investigated]! word study 7 All the men allied [those in covenant with you] with you will drive you to the border [boundary, edge of the land]; the men at peace [shalom, harmony] with you will deceive [lead astray, betray] and overpower you. Those who eat your bread [food, sustenance] will set a trap [snare, net] for you without your awareness of it. word study 8 In that day [before all time, from the very first], declares the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God], will I not [absolutely not, in no way] destroy [to perish, be lost] the wise men [intelligent, skilled, having understanding] of Edom [the region of Esau’s descendants] and the men of understanding [having discretion, reason, wisdom] in the mountains [hills] of Esau [the son of Isaac, twin brother of Jacob]? word study 9 Then your mighty men [strong warriors, valiant ones], O Teman [a region in Edom], will be terrified [dismayed, completely broken], so that everyone [each individual, all people] in the mountains [hills, high places] of Esau [the ancestor of the Edomites, hairy] will be cut down [destroyed, slaughtered] in the slaughter [violent death, massacre]. word study 10 Because of the violence [cruelty, injustice] against your brother [close relative, kin] Jacob, you will be covered [overwhelmed, filled] with shame [guilt, embarrassment] and cut off [destroyed, severed] forever [for all eternity, always]. word study 11 On the day [of great calamity, a time of distress] you stood aloof [at a distance, uninvolved] while strangers [foreigners, non-relatives] carried off his wealth [substance, riches] and foreigners [those from other lands, strangers] entered his gate [city entrance, place of access] and cast lots [threw small stones, made decisions by chance] for Jerusalem [the city of peace, the capital], you were just like [similar to, equivalent to] one of them [the strangers, the foreigners]. word study 12 But you should not gloat [rejoice with pride, look on with pleasure] in that day, your brother’s [close relative, fellow Israelite] day of misfortune [disaster, calamity], nor rejoice [be glad, celebrate] over the people of Judah [the tribe of Judah, God’s chosen people] in the day of their destruction [perishing, being lost], nor boast [speak proudly, magnify yourself] proudly [with arrogance, in a haughty manner] in the day of their distress [trouble, vexation]. word study 13 You should not enter [nor come, or march through] the gate [city entrance, or doorway] of My people [nation, or community] in the day [time, or period] of their disaster [calamity, or affliction], nor gloat [look on with pleasure, or rejoice] over their affliction [trouble, or misfortune] in the day [time, or period] of their disaster [calamity, or oppression], nor loot [take away, or seize] their wealth [substance, or possessions] in the day [time, or period] of their disaster [calamity, or misfortune]. word study 14 Nor should you stand [in the way of escape] at the crossroads to cut off their fugitives [those trying to escape, survivors], nor deliver up [hand over, surrender] their survivors [remnant, those who remain] in the day [time of trouble, period of distress] of their distress [hardship, tribulation]. word study 15 For [because of, as a result of] the Day [a time of reckoning, a period of judgment] of the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God] is near [at hand, approaching quickly] for [upon, to] all [every, the whole of] the nations [Gentiles, non-Hebrew peoples]. As [just as, in the same way] you have done [acted, performed], it will be done [happen, occur] to you; your [the reward for your actions, the consequences of your deeds] recompense [reward, payment] will return [come back, be repaid] upon [on, to] your own [your personal, your individual] head [the topmost part of the body]. word study 16 For as you drank [upon my sacred hill] on My holy [set-apart] mountain, so all the nations [Gentiles, non-Hebrew peoples] will drink continually [without end]. They will drink [feasting, indulging] and gulp [swallow, consume] it down; they will be as if they had never existed [come into being]. word study 17 But on Mount Zion there will be deliverance [a place of escape, salvation], and it will be holy [set apart, a sacred place], and the house [a dwelling place, family] of Jacob [the son of Isaac and Rebekah] will reclaim [take control of, possess] their possession [something owned, a delight]. word study 18 Then the house [dwelling place, family] of Jacob will be a blazing fire [burning, flame], and the house [dwelling place, family] of Joseph a burning flame [the tip of a weapon]; but the house [dwelling place, family] of Esau will be stubble [dry straw, worthless]— Jacob will set it ablaze [to burn, pursue] and consume [to eat, devour] it. Therefore no survivor [one who remains alive] will remain from the house [dwelling place, family] of Esau [hairy, the son of Isaac].” For the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] has spoken [to communicate, to promise]. word study 19 Those from the Negev [southern district of Judah] will possess [take control of, occupy] the mountains of Esau [hairy, referring to the son of Isaac]; those from the foothills [lowlands, Shephelah] will possess [inherit, take over] the land of the Philistines [immigrants from other places]. They will occupy [dwell in, inhabit] the fields [flat areas of land, countryside] of Ephraim [doubly fruitful, referring to Joseph’s son] and Samaria [watch mountain, capital city of northern Israel], and Benjamin [son of the right hand] will possess [inherit, have as their own] Gilead [rocky region, mountainous area east of the Jordan]. word study 20 And the exiles [captives, those taken away] of this host [army, force] of the Israelites [sons of Israel, descendants of Jacob] will possess [take control of, inherit] the land [territory, region] of the Canaanites [inhabitants of Canaan, native peoples] as far as [till, up to] Zarephath [a city of refuge, a place of safety]; and the exiles [those in captivity, prisoners of war] from Jerusalem [the city of peace, the capital of Israel] who are in Sepharad [a place of exile, a region of dispersion] will possess [occupy, settle in] the cities [towns, villages] of the Negev [the southern district, the desert region]. word study 21 The deliverers [saviours, rescuers] will ascend [go up, rise] Mount Zion [the city of God, Jerusalem] to rule [judge, govern] over the mountains [hills] of Esau [the nation descended from Esau]. And the kingdom [kingship, realm] will belong [be, come into being] to the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God]. word study