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Edom Will Be Punished 

1 This is the vision* of Obadiah. The Lord my Master says this about Edom:* We heard a report from the Lord God. A messenger was sent to the nations. He said, “Let’s go fight against Edom.”

The Lord Speaks to Edom

2“Edom,* I will make you the smallest nation. Everyone will hate you very much. 3Your pride has fooled you. You live in those caves high on the cliff. Your home is high in the hills. So you say to yourself, ‘No one can bring me to the ground.’”

Edom Will Be Brought Low

4The Lord God says this: “Even though you fly high like the eagle and put your nest among the stars, I will bring you down from there.” 5You really will be ruined! Thieves will come to you! Robbers will come in the night! And those thieves will take all they want! When workers gather grapes in your fields, they leave a few grapes behind. 6But the enemy will search hard for Esau’s hidden treasures. And they will find them all! 7All the people that are your friends will force you out of the land. Your allies (good friends) will trick you and convince you to do the wrong thing. Your war buddies, are planning a trap for you. {They say,} ‘He doesn’t expect a thing!’” 8The Lord says, “On that day, I will destroy the wise people from Edom.* I will destroy the intelligent people from Esau’s Mountain.* 9Teman,* your mighty men will be scared. Every person will be destroyed from the mountain of Esau.* Many, many people will be killed. 10You will be covered with shame, and you will be destroyed forever. Why? Because you were very cruel to your brother Jacob.* 11You joined the enemies of Israel. Strangers carried Israel’s treasures away. Foreigners entered Israel’s {city} gate. Those foreigners threw lots* {to decide what part of} Jerusalem {they would get}. And you were right there with them {waiting to get your share}. 12You laughed at* your brother’s trouble. You should not have done that.

You were happy when they destroyed Judah. You should not have done that. You bragged* at the time of their trouble. You should not have done that. 13You entered the city gate of my people, and laughed at* their problems. You should not have done that. At the time of their trouble, you took their treasures. You should not have done that. 14You stood where the roads cross, and destroyed the people that were trying to escape. You should not have done that. You captured the people that escaped alive. You should not have done that. 15The Day of the Lord is soon coming to all the nations. And the bad things you did to other people will happen to you. Those same bad things will come falling onto your own head. 16Why? Because you spilled* blood on my holy mountain.* So other nations will spill your blood.* You will be finished. It will be like you never existed. 17But there will be survivors on Mount Zion.* They will be my special people. The nation of Jacob* will take back the things that belong to it. 18The family of Jacob will be like a fire. The nation of Joseph will be like a flame. But the nation of Esau* {will be like} ashes. The people of Judah will burn Edom. The people of Judah will destroy Edom. Then there will be no survivors in the nation of Esau.” Why? Because the Lord God has said it. 19Then people from the Negev* will live on the mountain of Esau. And people from the foothills will take the Philistine {lands}. Those people will live in the land of Ephraim and Samaria. Gilead will belong to Benjamin. 20People from Israel were forced to leave {their homes}. But those people will take the land of Canaan {all the way to} Zarephath. People from Judah were forced to leave Jerusalem and go to live in Sepharad. But they will take the cities of the Negev.* 21The Winners* will go up onto Mount Zion* to rule the people living on Esau’s mountain. And the kingdom will belong to the Lord.

vision Something like a dream that God used to speak to people. Edom A country southeast of Judah. The people of Edom are descendants of Esau, Jacob’s twin brother. They were enemies of the Israelites. Esau’s Mountain That is, Mount Seir. Teman One of Edom’s important cities in the south, maybe its capital. mountain of Esau That is, Mount Seir. Jacob Israel was Jacob’s other name. (See Genesis 32:28.) Jacob is often used to mean Israel, the nation that descended from him. lots Sticks, stones, or pieces of bone used like dice for making decisions. See Prov. 16:33. laughed at Literally, “looked at.” bragged Literally, “made your mouth big.” laughed at Literally, “looked at.” spilled Literally, “drank.” holy mountain, Mount Zion One of the mountains Jerusalem was built on. Sometimes Zion is used to mean Jerusalem itself. spill your blood Literally, “drink and swallow.” nation of Jacob Literally, “the house of Jacob.” This could mean the people of Israel, or the leaders. nation of Esau Literally, “the house of Esau.” Negev The desert area south of Judah. Winners Or “Saviors.” People that led their people to victory in war.

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