Obadiah Chapter 1 — Judgment on Edom and Zion’s Victory
Obadiah 1 details God's judgment against the nation of Edom for their pride and their mistreatment of Israel during a time of disaster.
1The vision of Obadiah. This is what the Lord*The word translated “Lord” is “Adonai.” GOD†When rendered in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, “LORD” or “GOD” is the translation of God’s Proper Name (Hebrew “יהוה”, usually pronounced Yahweh). says about Edom. We have heard news from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the nations, saying, “Arise, and let’s rise up against her in battle.
2Behold,‡“Behold”, from “הִנֵּה”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection. I have made you small among the nations. You are greatly despised.
3The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high, who says in his heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’
4Though you mount on high as the eagle, and though your nest is set among the stars, I will bring you down from there,” says the LORD.
5“If thieves came to you, if robbers by night—oh, what disaster awaits you—wouldn’t they only steal until they had enough? If grape pickers came to you, wouldn’t they leave some gleaning grapes?
6How Esau will be ransacked! How his hidden treasures are sought out!
7All the men of your alliance have brought you on your way, even to the border. The men who were at peace with you have deceived you, and prevailed against you. Friends who eat your bread lay a snare under you. There is no understanding in him.”
8“Won’t I in that day”, says the LORD, “destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mountain of Esau?
9Your mighty men, Teman, will be dismayed, to the end that everyone may be cut off from the mountain of Esau by slaughter.
10For the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame will cover you, and you will be cut off forever.
11In the day that you stood on the other side, in the day that strangers carried away his substance and foreigners entered into his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, even you were like one of them.
12But don’t look down on your brother in the day of his disaster, and don’t rejoice over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction. Don’t speak proudly in the day of distress.
13Don’t enter into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity. Don’t look down on their affliction in the day of their calamity, neither seize their wealth on the day of their calamity.
14Don’t stand in the crossroads to cut off those of his who escape. Don’t deliver up those of his who remain in the day of distress.
15For the day of the LORD is near all the nations! As you have done, it will be done to you. Your deeds will return upon your own head.
16For as you have drunk on my holy mountain, so all the nations will drink continually. Yes, they will drink, swallow down, and will be as though they had not been.
17But in Mount Zion, there will be those who escape, and it will be holy. The house of Jacob will possess their possessions.
18The house of Jacob will be a fire, the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble. They will burn among them and devour them. There will not be any remaining to the house of Esau.” Indeed, the LORD has spoken.
19Those of the South will possess the mountain of Esau, and those of the lowland, the Philistines. They will possess the field of Ephraim, and the field of Samaria. Benjamin will possess Gilead.
20The captives of this army of the children of Israel, who are among the Canaanites, will possess even to Zarephath; and the captives of Jerusalem, who are in Sepharad, will possess the cities of the Negev.
21Saviors will go up on Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau, and the kingdom will be the LORD’s.
WEB Translation
Notable Verses
Obadiah 1:3
“The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high, who says in his heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’”
This verse highlights how Edom's geographical security led to a false sense of invulnerability and spiritual pride.
Obadiah 1:15
“For the day of the LORD is near all the nations! As you have done, it will be done to you. Your deeds will return upon your own head.”
This establishes the biblical principle of reciprocal justice, where actions return upon the head of the wrongdoer.
Obadiah 1:21
“Saviors will go up on Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau, and the kingdom will be the LORD’s.”
This concluding verse points toward the ultimate establishment of God's authority and rule over all nations.
Chapter Summary
Obadiah 1 presents a vision regarding the nation of Edom, the descendants of Esau. The prophet declares that although Edom considers itself secure in high, rocky strongholds, God will bring them down because of their arrogance. The text condemns Edom for their specific actions during the fall of Jerusalem; instead of helping their 'brother' Jacob, they stood by, rejoiced in the destruction, and even captured fugitives to hand them over to enemies. The prophecy introduces the 'Day of the LORD,' a time of universal judgment where Edom will face the same treatment they gave others. The chapter concludes with a promise of restoration for the house of Jacob. It describes a future where those who escape to Mount Zion will find holiness, and Israel will reclaim its land, eventually resulting in a kingdom that belongs entirely to the LORD.
Frequently Asked Questions
Edom refers to the nation descended from Esau, the twin brother of Jacob. The chapter addresses the historical tension between these two related peoples and God's response to Edom's hostility toward Israel.
Edom was judged for their pride and for the violence they showed toward their brother Jacob. They looked on Jerusalem’s destruction with joy and actively participated in looting and capturing survivors instead of offering aid.
In Obadiah, the 'Day of the LORD' refers to a time of reckoning for all nations. It is described as a period of justice where those who mistreated others will receive the same treatment in return.
Study Note
The reference to 'clefts of the rock' in verse 3 likely alludes to the ancient city of Petra, known for its strategic dwellings carved directly into sandstone cliffs.
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