Jeremiah 49:15
13 For I solemnly swear,” says the Lord, “that Bozrah will become a pile of ruins. It will become an object of horror and ridicule, an example to be used in curses. All the towns around it will lie in ruins forever.” 14 I said, “I have heard a message from the Lord. A messenger has been sent among the nations to say, ‘Gather your armies and march out against her! Prepare to do battle with her!’” 15 The Lord says to Edom, “I will certainly make you small among nations. I will make you despised by all humankind. 16 The terror you inspire in others and the arrogance of your heart have deceived you. You may make your home in the clefts of the rocks; you may occupy the highest places in the hills. But even if you made your home where the eagles nest, I would bring you down from there,” says the Lord. 17 “Edom will become an object of horror. All who pass by it will be filled with horror; they will hiss out their scorn because of all the disasters that have happened to it.
Obadiah 1:2
1 The vision that Obadiah saw. The Sovereign Lord says this concerning Edom: We have heard a report from the Lord. An envoy was sent among the nations, saying, “Arise! Let us make war against Edom!” 2 The Lord says, “Look! I will make you a weak nation; you will be greatly despised! 3 Your presumptuous heart has deceived you—you who reside in the safety of the rocky cliffs, whose home is high in the mountains. You think to yourself, ‘No one can bring me down to the ground!’ 4 Even if you were to soar high like an eagle, even if you were to make your nest among the stars, I can bring you down even from there!” says the Lord.
Notes and References
"... Obadiah also utilizes the language of family - “For the slaughter and violence done to your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever” (Obadiah 10), and “But you should not have gloated over your brother on the day of his misfortune” (Obadiah 12). The prophet uses familial language to highlight the incomprehensible nature of Edom’s crimes. Here too Esau and Jacob are juxtaposed, as the prophet draws on familiar remnant language: “The house of Jacob shall be a fire, the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau stubble; they shall burn them and consume them, and there shall be no survivor of the house of Esau; for the Lord has spoken” (Obadiah 18). According to Zakovitch, it is not merely that no survivor is left in Esau’s house - it is also that Esau’s name is “most despised” (Obadiah 2). Zakovitch views the prophet’s use of (“very”) as a not-so-subtle link to Edom, with the same letters rearranged. Obadiah believes the Edomites’ status as “most despised” is intended as a permanent attribute, tied to their name (see Jeremiah 49:15). For Zakovitch, Jeremiah’s prophecy that Edom will be (“little”) demonstrates that God was responsible for reversing the order of the brothers, transforming Jacob, who is described as Rebekah’s younger son (Genesis42), into the firstborn ..."
Forlini Burt, Noel Encounters in the Dark: Identity Formation in the Jacob Story (pp. 140-141) Society of Biblical Literature, 2020