The Book of the Prophet Obadiah

The Book of Obadiah is the shortest book of the Old Testament and delivers a sharp message of judgment against the nation of Edom for its pride and cruelty. The Edomites were descendants of Esau who had stood by and even gloated when their brothers in Israel were attacked. We see that God is not indifferent to the actions of nations toward one another and especially toward His own people. This book teaches us about the sovereignty of the Lord over all human history and the ultimate downfall of the arrogant.

The text concludes with a vision of the restoration of Israel and the ultimate victory of the kingdom of God on Mount Zion. We are reminded that the pride of man will be brought low and that the Lord will vindicate those who have been oppressed. This message provides comfort to those who feel vulnerable in the face of powerful and hostile enemies. The Book of Obadiah encourages us to trust that justice will eventually prevail and that the kingdom belongs to the Lord.

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Chapters

Chapter 1

¹The vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord God to Edom: We have heard a report from the Lord, and he has sent an envoy to the nations: �Arise, and let us together rise up in battle against him.� ? ²Behold, I have made you little among the nations. You are greatly contemptible. ? ³The arrogance of your heart has lifted you up, living in the clefts of the rocks, exalting your throne. You say in your heart, �Who will pull me down to the ground?� ? ⁴Though you have been lifted high like an eagle, and though you have placed your nest among the stars, from there I will pull you down, says the Lord. ? ⁵If thieves had approached you, if robbers by night, how would you have remained unnoticed? Would they not have stolen all that they wanted? If the grape-pickers had approached you, would they not have left you at least a cluster? ? ⁶In what way have they been examining Esau? They investigated his secrets. ? ⁷They have sent you out all the way to the limit. All the men of your alliance have deceived you. Your men of peace have prevailed against you. Those who eat with you will place snares under you. There is no foresight in him. ? ⁸Shall I not, in that day, says the Lord, wipe away understanding from Idumea and foresight from the mount of Esau? ? ⁹And your strong from the Meridian will be afraid, so that man may perish from the mount of Esau. ? ¹⁰Because of the execution, and because of the iniquity against your brother Jacob, confusion will cover you, and you will pass away into eternity. ? ¹¹In the day when you stood against him, when strangers seized his army, and foreigners entered into his gates, and they cast lots over Jerusalem: you also were just like one of them. ? ¹²But you shall not show disdain for the day of your brother in the day of his sojourn. And you shall not rejoice over the sons of Judah in the day of their perdition. And you shall not magnify your mouth in the day of anguish. ? ¹³And neither shall you enter into the gate of my people in the day of their ruin. And neither shall you also show disdain for his troubles in the day of his desolation. And you shall not send out against his army in the day of his desolation. ? ¹⁴Neither shall you stand at the exits to execute those who will flee. And you shall not enclose their remnant in the day of tribulation. ? ¹⁵For the day of the Lord is near, over all nations. Just as you have done, so will it be done to you. He will turn back your retribution on your own head. ? ¹⁶For in the manner that you drank on my holy mountain, so shall all nations drink continually. And they will drink, and they will absorb, and they will be as if they were not. ? ¹⁷And on mount Zion there will be salvation, and it will be holy. And the house of Jacob will possess those who had possessed them. ? ¹⁸And the house of Jacob will be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau stubble. And they will be set on fire among them, and they will devour them. And there will be no remnant of the house of Esau, for the Lord has spoken. ? ¹⁹And those who are towards the South, and who are in the camps of the Philistines, will inherit the mount of Esau. And they will possess the region of Ephraim, and the region of Samaria. And Benjamin will possess Gilead. ? ²⁰And the exiles of this army of the sons of Israel, all the places of the Canaanites all the way to Sarepta, and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Bosphoro, will possess the cities of the South. ? ²¹And the saviors will ascend to mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau. And the kingdom will be for the Lord. ?