Obadiah 8-14
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Edom’s Betrayal of Judah
8 On that day—oracle of the Lord—will I not
make the wise disappear from Edom,
and understanding from Mount Esau?(A)
9 Teman,[a] your warriors will be terror-stricken,
so that everyone on Mount Esau will be cut down.
10 Because of violence to your brother[b] Jacob,
disgrace will cover you,
you will be done away with forever!(B)
11 On the day you stood by,
the day strangers carried off his possessions,
And foreigners entered his gates
and cast lots for Jerusalem,
you too were like one of them.[c](C)
12 [d]Do not gloat over the day of your brother,
the day of his disaster;
Do not exult over the people of Judah
on the day of their ruin;
Do not speak haughtily
on the day of distress!
13 Do not enter the gate of my people
on the day of their calamity;
Do not gloat—especially you—over his misfortune
on the day of his calamity;
Do not lay hands upon his possessions
on the day of his calamity!
14 Do not stand at the crossroads
to cut down his survivors;
Do not hand over his fugitives
on the day of distress!
Footnotes
- 9 Teman: a synonym for Edom; perhaps the name of a region or a city, the part representing the whole. Mount Esau: whatever its geographic reference, the phrase is an effective representation of Edom’s arrogance.
- 10 Your brother: used with a double meaning referring to the common lineage of Israel and Edom, in which their ancestors were brothers, Jacob and Esau (Gn 25:19–26), and referring also to their political alliance, in which allies were called brothers (cf. Am 1:9, 11).
- 11 In 587 B.C., Edomites joined the invading Babylonian forces (v. 13) and captured escaping Judahites. The destruction of Jerusalem strengthened and expanded Edom’s hold on Judah’s southern territory.
- 12–14 The commands in vv. 12–14 are not to be understood as future prohibitions but as descriptions of crimes Edom in fact already committed on the day of Jerusalem’s fall described in v. 11.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.