Obadiah, chapter 1
God's Judgment on Edom and the Nations
Obadiah announces God's plan to judge Edom, and then lists Edom's sins. Obadiah sees God's judgment on both Edom and Judah (God's own people), as a warning to every nation: Those who remain disobedient will face the judgment of God.
Edom's Pride and Punishment
he Lord God gave Obadiah a message about Edom,
and this is what we heard:
“I, the Lord, have sent a messenger
with orders for the nations to attack Edom.”
2The Lord said to Edom: I will make you the weakest
and most despised nation.
3You live in a mountain fortress,
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!
5If 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!
6Everything you treasure most will be taken from you.
7Your 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.
8Edom, when this happens, I, the Lord,
will destroy all your marvelous wisdom.
9Warriors from the city of Teman will be terrified,
and you descendants of Esau will be wiped out.
The Lord Condemns Edom's Cruelty
10You were cruel to your relatives, the descendants of Jacob.
Now you will be destroyed, disgraced forever.
11You stood there and watched
as foreigners entered Jerusalem and took what they wanted.
In fact, you were no better than those foreigners.
12Why did you celebrate
when such a dreadful disaster struck your relatives?
Why were you so pleased
when everyone in Judah was suffering?
13They are my people, and you were cruel to them.
You went through their towns, sneering
and stealing whatever was left.
14In their time of torment, you ambushed refugees
and handed them over to their attackers.
The Lord Will Judge the Nations
15The day is coming when I, the Lord,
will judge the nations.
And, Edom, you will pay in full for what you have done.
The day is coming when I, the Lord, will judge the nations. And, Edom, you will pay in full for what you have done.
— Obad 15
16I forced the people of Judah to drink the wine of my anger
on my sacred mountain.
Soon the neighboring nations must drink their fill—
then vanish without a trace.
Israel's Expansion and Victory
Edom's judgment will come at the hands of Israel, which will not only conquer the land of Edom to the south, but other surrounding lands. Jerusalem will become the center of God's new kingdom.
Victory for Israel
17The 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.
18Israel will be a fire,
and Edom will be straw going up in flames.
The Lord has spoken!
19The 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.
20Those who return from captivity will control Phoenicia
as far as Zarephath.
Captives from Jerusalem who were taken to Sepharad
will capture the towns of the Southern Desert.
21Those the Lord has saved will live on Mount Zion
and rule over Edom.
Then the kingdom will belong to the Lord.