Go to Related Reading
About this book

Obadiah

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. 5 “If thieves came to rob you during the night, they would steal only as much as they wanted. If grape pickers came to harvest your vineyards, they would leave some behind for the poor.⁠ But you will be totally destroyed! 6 How the people of Esau will be thoroughly plundered! Their hidden valuables will be ransacked! 7 All your allies will force you from your homeland! Your treaty partners will deceive you and overpower you.⁠ Your trusted friends will set an ambush for you that will take you by surprise!⁠ 8 “At that time,” the Lord says, “I will destroy the wise sages of Edom, the advisers from Esau’s mountain. 9 Your warriors will be shattered, O Teman, so that everyone will be destroyed from Esau’s mountain!⁠ 10 “Because you violently slaughtered your relatives, the people of Jacob,⁠ shame will cover you, and you will be destroyed forever.⁠ 11 You stood aloof while strangers took his army captive and foreigners advanced to his gates. When they cast lots over Jerusalem, you behaved as though you were in league with them.⁠ 12 You should not have gloated when your relatives suffered calamity.⁠ You should not have rejoiced over the people of Judah when they were destroyed. You should not have boasted when they suffered adversity. 13 You should not have entered the city of my people when they experienced distress. You should not have joined in gloating over their misfortune when they suffered distress. You should not have looted their wealth when they endured distress. 14 You should not have stood at the fork in the road to slaughter those trying to escape.⁠ You should not have captured their refugees when they suffered adversity. 15 “For the day of the Lord is approaching for all the nations! Just as you have done, so it will be done to you. You will get exactly what your deeds deserve.⁠ 16 For just as you have drunk on my holy mountain, so all the nations will drink continually. They will drink, and they will gulp down; they will be as though they had never been.⁠ 17 But on Mount Zion there will be a remnant of those who escape, and it will be a holy place once again.⁠ The descendants of Jacob will conquer those who had conquered them.⁠ 18 The descendants of Jacob will be a fire and the descendants of Joseph a flame. The descendants of Esau will be like stubble. They will burn them up and devour them. There will not be a single survivor of the descendants of Esau!” Indeed, the Lord has spoken it. 19 The people of the Negev will take possession of Esau’s mountain,⁠ and the people of the foothills will take possession of the land of the Philistines. They will also take possession of the territory of Ephraim and the territory of Samaria, and the people of Benjamin will take possession of Gilead. 20 The exiles of this fortress of the people of Israel will take possession of what belongs to the people of Canaan, as far as Zarephath, and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad⁠ will take possession of the towns of the Negev. 21 Those who have been delivered will go up on Mount Zion in order to rule over Esau’s mountain. Then the Lord will reign as King!

Texts in conversation

Compare Ezekiel 35:5 and Obadiah 1:13

Hebrew Bible

Share:

Summary

Ezekiel accuses Edom of helping to deliver Judeans to be killed during Jerusalem’s invasion and collapse. Obadiah echoes this charge, condemning Edom for taking advantage of the city’s disaster instead of offering help.

Passages

Ezekiel 35:5

Hebrew Bible
3 Say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “‘Look, I am against you, Mount Seir; I will stretch out my hand against you and turn you into a desolate ruin. 4 I will lay waste your cities, and you will become desolate. Then you will know that I am the Lord! 5 “‘You have shown unrelenting hostility and poured the people of Israel onto the blades of a sword at the time of their calamity, at the time of their final punishment. 6 Therefore, as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will subject you to bloodshed, and bloodshed will pursue you. Since you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you. 7 I will turn Mount Seir into a desolate ruin; I will cut off from it the one who passes through or returns.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Ezekiel

Obadiah 1:13

Hebrew Bible
11 You stood aloof while strangers took his army captive and foreigners advanced to his gates. When they cast lots over Jerusalem, you behaved as though you were in league with them. 12 You should not have gloated when your relatives suffered calamity. You should not have rejoiced over the people of Judah when they were destroyed. You should not have boasted when they suffered adversity. 13 You should not have entered the city of my people when they experienced distress. You should not have joined in gloating over their misfortune when they suffered distress. You should not have looted their wealth when they endured distress. 14 You should not have stood at the fork in the road to slaughter those trying to escape. You should not have captured their refugees when they suffered adversity. 15 “For the day of the Lord is approaching for all the nations! Just as you have done, so it will be done to you. You will get exactly what your deeds deserve.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Obadiah

References

"... The 8th-century prophet Amos inveighed against Edom for stifling natural brotherly compassion and pursuing Israel with the sword (Amos 1:11-12), and Isaiah viewed the nation as the archenemy of Israel (Isaiah 34; compare 63:1-6). Edom's expressions of hatred toward Judah apparently intensified in the latter's darkest hours. When Nebuchadrezzar razed Jerusalem, the Edomites had stood by clapping their hands with glee. Our text suggests that they played an active part in Judah's calamity, delivering her population over to the sword. The idiom 'to pour into the hands of the sword' combines the notions of violence and betrayal. Verse 5 refers to Judah's calamity with two special expressions. For the Edomites the ring of the first, at the time of their calamity, is ominous. While the etymology of 'calamity' is uncertain, the prophets capitalized on its sound to play on the name 'Edom'. Of the four occurrences relating to the fall of Jerusalem, three are found in oracles against Edom. (See Obadiah 13; Jeremiah 49:8; Ezekiel 35:5; compare Jeremiah 49:32 to Damascus) Ezekiel will maintain the play in the following verse with his fourfold reference to blood, dam. The second expression refers to Judah's fall as the time of their final punishment is a typically Ezekielian expression (compare 21:30, 34), employing not in the common sense of 'iniquity, guilt,' but as 'punishment' for guilt ..."
Daniel I. Block, The Book of Ezekiel: Chapters 25-48 (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1997), 317.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Your feedback

Ezekiel 35:5 and Obadiah 1:13

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library