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Thus said the Lord Jehovah to Edom, A report we have heard from Jehovah, And an ambassador among nations was sent, `Rise, yea, let us rise against her for battle.'

Lo, little I have made thee among nations, Despised [art] thou exceedingly.

The pride of thy heart hath lifted thee up, O dweller in clifts of a rock, (A high place [is] his habitation, He is saying in his heart, `Who doth bring me down [to] earth?')

If thou dost go up high as an eagle, And if between stars thou dost set thy nest, From thence I bring thee down, An affirmation of Jehovah.

If thieves have come in to thee, If spoilers of the night, How hast thou been cut off! Do they not steal their sufficiency? If gatherers have come in to thee, Do they not leave gleanings?

How hath Esau been searched out! Flowed out have his hidden things,

Unto the border sent thee have all thine allies, Forgotten thee, prevailed over thee, have thy friends, Thy bread they make a snare under thee, There is no understanding in him!

Is it not in that day -- an affirmation of Jehovah, That I have destroyed the wise out of Edom, And understanding out of the mount of Esau?

And broken down have been thy mighty ones, O Teman, So that every one of the mount of Esau is cut off.

10 For slaughter, for violence [to] thy brother Jacob, Cover thee doth shame, And thou hast been cut off -- to the age.

11 In the day of thy standing over-against, In the day of strangers taking captive his force, And foreigners have entered his gates, And for Jerusalem have cast a lot, Even thou [art] as one of them!

12 And -- thou dost not look on the day of thy brother, On the day of his alienation, Nor dost thou rejoice over sons of Judah, In the day of their destruction, Nor make great thy mouth in a day of distress.

13 Nor come into a gate of My people in a day of their calamity, Nor look, even thou, on its misfortune in a day of its calamity, Nor send forth against its force in a day of its calamity,

14 Nor stand by the breach to cut off its escaped, Nor deliver up its remnant in a day of distress.

15 For near [is] the day of Jehovah, on all the nations, As thou hast done, it is done to thee, Thy deed doth turn back on thine own head.

16 For -- as ye have drunk on My holy mount, Drink do all the nations continually, And they have drunk and have swallowed, And they have been as they have not been.

17 And in mount Zion there is an escape, And it hath been holy, And the house of Jacob have possessed their possessions.

18 And the house of Jacob hath been a fire, And the house of Joseph a flame, And the house of Esau for stubble, And they have burned among them, And they have consumed them, And there is not a remnant to the house of Esau, For Jehovah hath spoken.

19 And they have possessed the south with the mount of Esau, And the low country with the Philistines, And they have possessed the field of Ephraim, And the field of Samaria, And Benjamin with Gilead.

20 And the removed of this force of the sons of Israel, That [is with] the Canaanites unto Zarephat, And the removed of Jerusalem that [is] with the Sepharad, Possess the cities of the south.

21 And gone up have saviours on mount Zion, To judge the mount of Esau, And the kingdom hath been to Jehovah!'

Obadiah’s Vision(A)(B)

The vision(C) of Obadiah.

This is what the Sovereign Lord says about Edom(D)

We have heard a message from the Lord:
    An envoy(E) was sent to the nations to say,
“Rise, let us go against her for battle”(F)

“See, I will make you small(G) among the nations;
    you will be utterly despised.
The pride(H) of your heart has deceived you,
    you who live in the clefts of the rocks[a](I)
    and make your home on the heights,
you who say to yourself,
    ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’(J)
Though you soar like the eagle
    and make your nest(K) among the stars,
    from there I will bring you down,”(L)
declares the Lord.(M)
“If thieves came to you,
    if robbers in the night—
oh, what a disaster awaits you!—
    would they not steal only as much as they wanted?
If grape pickers came to you,
    would they not leave a few grapes?(N)
But how Esau will be ransacked,
    his hidden treasures pillaged!
All your allies(O) will force you to the border;
    your friends will deceive and overpower you;
those who eat your bread(P) will set a trap for you,[b]
    but you will not detect it.

“In that day,” declares the Lord,
    “will I not destroy(Q) the wise men of Edom,
    those of understanding in the mountains of Esau?
Your warriors, Teman,(R) will be terrified,
    and everyone in Esau’s mountains
    will be cut down in the slaughter.
10 Because of the violence(S) against your brother Jacob,(T)
    you will be covered with shame;
    you will be destroyed forever.(U)
11 On the day you stood aloof
    while strangers carried off his wealth
and foreigners entered his gates
    and cast lots(V) for Jerusalem,
    you were like one of them.(W)
12 You should not gloat(X) over your brother
    in the day of his misfortune,(Y)
nor rejoice(Z) over the people of Judah
    in the day of their destruction,(AA)
nor boast(AB) so much
    in the day of their trouble.(AC)
13 You should not march through the gates of my people
    in the day of their disaster,
nor gloat over them in their calamity(AD)
    in the day of their disaster,
nor seize their wealth
    in the day of their disaster.
14 You should not wait at the crossroads
    to cut down their fugitives,(AE)
nor hand over their survivors
    in the day of their trouble.

15 “The day of the Lord is near(AF)
    for all nations.
As you have done, it will be done to you;
    your deeds(AG) will return upon your own head.
16 Just as you drank(AH) on my holy hill,(AI)
    so all the nations will drink(AJ) continually;
they will drink and drink
    and be as if they had never been.(AK)
17 But on Mount Zion will be deliverance;(AL)
    it will be holy,(AM)
    and Jacob will possess his inheritance.(AN)
18 Jacob will be a fire
    and Joseph a flame;
Esau will be stubble,
    and they will set him on fire(AO) and destroy(AP) him.
There will be no survivors(AQ)
    from Esau.”
The Lord has spoken.

19 People from the Negev will occupy
    the mountains of Esau,
and people from the foothills will possess
    the land of the Philistines.(AR)
They will occupy the fields of Ephraim and Samaria,(AS)
    and Benjamin(AT) will possess Gilead.
20 This company of Israelite exiles who are in Canaan
    will possess the land as far as Zarephath;(AU)
the exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
    will possess the towns of the Negev.(AV)
21 Deliverers(AW) will go up on[c] Mount Zion
    to govern the mountains of Esau.
    And the kingdom will be the Lord’s.(AX)

Footnotes

  1. Obadiah 1:3 Or of Sela
  2. Obadiah 1:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
  3. Obadiah 1:21 Or from

Words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, of the priests who [are] in Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin,

unto whom the word of Jehovah hath been in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign,

and it is in the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, till the completion of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah, king of Judah, till the removal of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,

`Before I form thee in the belly, I have known thee; and before thou comest forth from the womb I have separated thee, a prophet to nations I have made thee.'

And I say, `Ah, Lord Jehovah! lo, I have not known -- to speak, for I [am] a youth.'

And Jehovah saith unto me, `Do not say, I [am] a youth, for to all to whom I send thee thou goest, and all that I command thee thou speakest.

Be not afraid of their faces, for with thee [am] I to deliver thee, -- an affirmation of Jehovah.'

And Jehovah putteth forth His hand, and striketh against my mouth, and Jehovah saith unto me, `Lo, I have put my words in thy mouth.

10 See, I have charged thee this day concerning the nations, and concerning the kingdoms, to pluck up, and to break down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.'

11 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying, `What art thou seeing, Jeremiah?' And I say, `A rod of an almond tree I am seeing.'

12 And Jehovah saith unto me, `Thou hast well seen: for I am watching over My word to do it.'

13 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me a second time, saying, `What art thou seeing?' And I say, `A blown pot I am seeing, and its face [is] from the north.'

14 And Jehovah saith unto me, `From the north is the evil loosed against all inhabitants of the land.

15 For, lo, I am calling for all families of the kingdoms of the north, -- an affirmation of Jehovah -- and they have come, and put each his throne at the opening of the gates of Jerusalem, and by its walls round about, and by all cities of Judah.

16 And I have spoken My judgments with them concerning all their evil, in that they have forsaken Me, and make perfume to other gods, and bow themselves to the works of their own hands.

17 `And thou, thou dost gird up thy loins, and hast arisen, and spoken unto them all that I command thee: be not affrighted because of them, lest I affright thee before them.

18 And I, lo, I have given thee this day for a fenced city, and for an iron pillar, and for brazen walls over all the land, to the kings of Judah, to its heads, to its priests, and to the people of the land;

19 and they have fought against thee, and they prevail not against thee; for with thee [am] I, -- an affirmation of Jehovah -- to deliver thee.

And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,

`Go, and thou hast called in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus said Jehovah: I have remembered for thee The kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, Thy going after Me in a wilderness, in a land not sown.

Holy [is] Israel to Jehovah, The first-fruit of His increase, All consuming him are guilty, Evil cometh in unto them, an affirmation of Jehovah.

Hear a word of Jehovah, O house of Jacob, And all ye families of the house of Israel.

Thus said Jehovah: What -- have your fathers found in Me perversity, That they have gone far off from Me, And go after the vanity, and become vain,

And have not said, Where [is] Jehovah, Who bringeth us up out of the land of Egypt, Who leadeth us in a wilderness, In a land of deserts and pits, In a dry land, and of death-shade, In a land -- none hath passed through it, Nor dwelt hath man there?'

Yea, I bring you in to a land of fruitful fields, To eat its fruit and its goodness, And ye come in and defile My land, And Mine inheritance have made an abomination.

The priests have not said, `Where [is] Jehovah?' And those handling the law have not known Me. And the shepherds transgressed against Me, And the prophets have prophesied by Baal, And after those who profit not have gone.

Therefore, yet I plead with you, An affirmation of Jehovah, And with your sons' sons I plead.

10 For, pass to the isles of Chittim, and see, And to Kedar send, and consider well, And see if there hath been like this:

11 Hath a nation changed gods? (And they [are] no gods!) And My people hath changed its honour For that which doth not profit.

12 Be astonished, ye heavens, at this, Yea, be frightened, be greatly wasted, An affirmation of Jehovah.

13 For two evils hath My people done, Me they have forsaken, a fountain of living waters, To hew out for themselves wells -- broken wells, That contain not the waters.

14 A servant [is] Israel? Is he a child of the house? Wherefore hath he been for a prey?

15 Against him roar do young lions, They have given forth their voice, And make his land become a desolation, His cities have been burnt without inhabitant.

16 Also sons of Noph and Tahapanes Consume thee -- the crown of the head!

17 Dost thou not do this to thyself? [By] thy forsaking Jehovah thy God, At the time He is leading thee in the way?

18 And now, what -- to thee in the way of Egypt, To drink the waters of Sihor? And what -- to thee in the way of Asshur, To drink the waters of the River?

19 Instruct thee doth thy wickedness, And thy backslidings reprove thee, Know and see that an evil and a bitter thing [Is] thy forsaking Jehovah thy God, And My fear not being on thee, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah of Hosts.

20 For from of old thou hast broken thy yoke, Drawn away thy bands, and sayest, `I do not serve,' For, on every high height, and under every green tree, Thou art wandering -- a harlot.

21 And I planted thee a choice vine, wholly a true seed, And how hast thou been turned to Me, To the degenerate shoots of a strange vine?

22 But though thou dost wash with nitre, And dost multiply to thyself soap, Marked is thine iniquity before Me, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.

23 How sayest thou, `I have not been defiled, After the Baalim I have not gone?' See thy way in a valley, know what thou hast done, A swift dromedary winding her ways,

24 A wild ass accustomed to a wilderness, In the desire of her soul she hath swallowed up wind, Her meeting -- who doth turn her back? None seeking her do weary themselves, In her month they find her.

25 Withhold thy foot from being unshod, And thy throat from thirst, And thou sayest, `It is incurable, No, for I have loved strangers, and after them I go.'

26 As the shame of a thief when he is found, So put to shame have been the house of Israel, They, their kings, their heads, And their priests, and their prophets,

27 Saying to wood, `My father [art] thou!' And to a stone, `Thou hast brought me forth,' For they turned unto me the back and not the face, And in the time of their vexation, They say, `Arise Thou, and save us.'

28 And where [are] thy gods, that thou hast made to thyself? Let them arise, if they may save thee, In the time of thy vexation, For -- the number of thy cities have been thy gods, O Judah,

29 Why do ye strive with Me? All of you have transgressed against Me, An affirmation of Jehovah.

30 In vain I have smitten your sons, Instruction they have not accepted, Devoured hath your sword your prophets, As a destroying lion.

31 O generation, see ye the word of Jehovah: A wilderness have I been to Israel? A land of thick darkness? Wherefore have My people said, `We mourned, We come not in again unto Thee.'

32 Doth a virgin forget her ornaments? A bride her bands? And My people have forgotten Me days without number.

33 What -- dost thou make pleasing thy ways to seek love? Therefore even the wicked thou hast taught thy ways.

34 Also in thy skirts hath been found the blood of innocent needy souls, Not by digging have I found them, but upon all these.

35 And thou sayest, `Because I have been innocent, Surely turned back hath His anger from me?' Lo, I have been judged with thee, Because of thy saying, `I have not sinned.'

36 What? thou art very vile to repeat thy way, Even of Egypt thou art ashamed, As thou hast been ashamed of Asshur,

37 Also from this thou goest out, And thy hands on thy head, For Jehovah hath kicked at thy confidences, And thou dost not give prosperity to them!

The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth(A) in the territory of Benjamin. The word of the Lord came(B) to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah(C) son of Amon king of Judah, and through the reign of Jehoiakim(D) son of Josiah king of Judah, down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah(E) son of Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.(F)

The Call of Jeremiah

The word of the Lord came to me, saying,

“Before I formed you in the womb(G) I knew[a](H) you,
    before you were born(I) I set you apart;(J)
    I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.(K)

“Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak;(L) I am too young.”(M)

But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid(N) of them, for I am with you(O) and will rescue(P) you,” declares the Lord.(Q)

Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched(R) my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth.(S) 10 See, today I appoint you over nations(T) and kingdoms to uproot(U) and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”(V)

11 The word of the Lord came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?”(W)

“I see the branch of an almond tree,” I replied.

12 The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching[b](X) to see that my word is fulfilled.”

13 The word of the Lord came to me again: “What do you see?”(Y)

“I see a pot that is boiling,” I answered. “It is tilting toward us from the north.”

14 The Lord said to me, “From the north(Z) disaster will be poured out on all who live in the land. 15 I am about to summon all the peoples of the northern kingdoms,” declares the Lord.

“Their kings will come and set up their thrones
    in the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem;
they will come against all her surrounding walls
    and against all the towns of Judah.(AA)
16 I will pronounce my judgments(AB) on my people
    because of their wickedness(AC) in forsaking me,(AD)
in burning incense to other gods(AE)
    and in worshiping(AF) what their hands have made.(AG)

17 “Get yourself ready! Stand up and say(AH) to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified(AI) by them, or I will terrify you before them. 18 Today I have made you(AJ) a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you but will not overcome(AK) you, for I am with you(AL) and will rescue(AM) you,” declares the Lord.

Israel Forsakes God

The word(AN) of the Lord came to me: “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem:

“This is what the Lord says:

“‘I remember the devotion of your youth,(AO)
    how as a bride you loved me
and followed me through the wilderness,(AP)
    through a land not sown.
Israel was holy(AQ) to the Lord,(AR)
    the firstfruits(AS) of his harvest;
all who devoured(AT) her were held guilty,(AU)
    and disaster overtook them,’”
declares the Lord.

Hear the word of the Lord, you descendants of Jacob,
    all you clans of Israel.

This is what the Lord says:

“What fault did your ancestors find in me,
    that they strayed so far from me?
They followed worthless idols(AV)
    and became worthless(AW) themselves.
They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord,
    who brought us up out of Egypt(AX)
and led us through the barren wilderness,
    through a land of deserts(AY) and ravines,(AZ)
a land of drought and utter darkness,
    a land where no one travels(BA) and no one lives?’
I brought you into a fertile land
    to eat its fruit and rich produce.(BB)
But you came and defiled my land
    and made my inheritance detestable.(BC)
The priests did not ask,
    ‘Where is the Lord?’
Those who deal with the law did not know me;(BD)
    the leaders(BE) rebelled against me.
The prophets prophesied by Baal,(BF)
    following worthless idols.(BG)

“Therefore I bring charges(BH) against you again,”
declares the Lord.
    “And I will bring charges against your children’s children.
10 Cross over to the coasts of Cyprus(BI) and look,
    send to Kedar[c](BJ) and observe closely;
    see if there has ever been anything like this:
11 Has a nation ever changed its gods?
    (Yet they are not gods(BK) at all.)
But my people have exchanged their glorious(BL) God
    for worthless idols.
12 Be appalled at this, you heavens,
    and shudder with great horror,”
declares the Lord.
13 “My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken(BM) me,
    the spring of living water,(BN)
and have dug their own cisterns,
    broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
14 Is Israel a servant, a slave(BO) by birth?
    Why then has he become plunder?
15 Lions(BP) have roared;
    they have growled at him.
They have laid waste(BQ) his land;
    his towns are burned(BR) and deserted.(BS)
16 Also, the men of Memphis(BT) and Tahpanhes(BU)
    have cracked your skull.
17 Have you not brought this on yourselves(BV)
    by forsaking(BW) the Lord your God
    when he led you in the way?
18 Now why go to Egypt(BX)
    to drink water from the Nile[d]?(BY)
And why go to Assyria(BZ)
    to drink water from the Euphrates?(CA)
19 Your wickedness will punish you;
    your backsliding(CB) will rebuke(CC) you.
Consider then and realize
    how evil and bitter(CD) it is for you
when you forsake(CE) the Lord your God
    and have no awe(CF) of me,”
declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.

20 “Long ago you broke off your yoke(CG)
    and tore off your bonds;(CH)
    you said, ‘I will not serve you!’(CI)
Indeed, on every high hill(CJ)
    and under every spreading tree(CK)
    you lay down as a prostitute.(CL)
21 I had planted(CM) you like a choice vine(CN)
    of sound and reliable stock.
How then did you turn against me
    into a corrupt,(CO) wild vine?
22 Although you wash(CP) yourself with soap(CQ)
    and use an abundance of cleansing powder,
    the stain of your guilt is still before me,”
declares the Sovereign Lord.(CR)
23 “How can you say, ‘I am not defiled;(CS)
    I have not run after the Baals’?(CT)
See how you behaved in the valley;(CU)
    consider what you have done.
You are a swift she-camel
    running(CV) here and there,
24 a wild donkey(CW) accustomed to the desert,(CX)
    sniffing the wind in her craving—
    in her heat who can restrain her?
Any males that pursue her need not tire themselves;
    at mating time they will find her.
25 Do not run until your feet are bare
    and your throat is dry.
But you said, ‘It’s no use!(CY)
    I love foreign gods,(CZ)
    and I must go after them.’(DA)

26 “As a thief is disgraced(DB) when he is caught,
    so the people of Israel are disgraced—
they, their kings and their officials,
    their priests(DC) and their prophets.(DD)
27 They say to wood,(DE) ‘You are my father,’
    and to stone,(DF) ‘You gave me birth.’
They have turned their backs(DG) to me
    and not their faces;(DH)
yet when they are in trouble,(DI) they say,
    ‘Come and save(DJ) us!’
28 Where then are the gods(DK) you made for yourselves?
    Let them come if they can save you
    when you are in trouble!(DL)
For you, Judah, have as many gods
    as you have towns.(DM)

29 “Why do you bring charges against me?
    You have all(DN) rebelled against me,”
declares the Lord.
30 “In vain I punished your people;
    they did not respond to correction.(DO)
Your sword has devoured your prophets(DP)
    like a ravenous lion.

31 “You of this generation, consider the word of the Lord:

“Have I been a desert to Israel
    or a land of great darkness?(DQ)
Why do my people say, ‘We are free to roam;
    we will come to you no more’?(DR)
32 Does a young woman forget her jewelry,
    a bride her wedding ornaments?
Yet my people have forgotten(DS) me,
    days without number.
33 How skilled you are at pursuing(DT) love!
    Even the worst of women can learn from your ways.
34 On your clothes is found
    the lifeblood(DU) of the innocent poor,
    though you did not catch them breaking in.(DV)
Yet in spite of all this
35     you say, ‘I am innocent;(DW)
    he is not angry with me.’
But I will pass judgment(DX) on you
    because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’(DY)
36 Why do you go about so much,
    changing(DZ) your ways?
You will be disappointed by Egypt(EA)
    as you were by Assyria.
37 You will also leave that place
    with your hands on your head,(EB)
for the Lord has rejected those you trust;
    you will not be helped(EC) by them.

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 1:5 Or chose
  2. Jeremiah 1:12 The Hebrew for watching sounds like the Hebrew for almond tree.
  3. Jeremiah 2:10 In the Syro-Arabian desert
  4. Jeremiah 2:18 Hebrew Shihor; that is, a branch of the Nile