My people are bent on (A)backsliding from Me.
Though [a]they call [b]to the Most High,
None at all exalt Him.

“How(B) can I give you up, Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I make you like (C)Admah?
How can I set you like Zeboiim?
My heart [c]churns within Me;
My sympathy is stirred.
I will not execute the fierceness of My anger;
I will not again destroy Ephraim.
(D)For I am God, and not man,
The Holy One in your midst;
And I will not [d]come with terror.

10 “They shall walk after the Lord.
(E)He will roar like a lion.
When He roars,
Then His sons shall come trembling from the west;
11 They shall come trembling like a bird from Egypt,
(F)Like a dove from the land of Assyria.
(G)And I will let them dwell in their houses,”
Says the Lord.

God’s Charge Against Ephraim

12 “Ephraim has encircled Me with lies,
And the house of Israel with deceit;
But Judah still walks with God,
Even with the [e]Holy One who is faithful.

Ephraim’s Sins Rebuked by God

12 “Ephraim (H)feeds on the wind,
And pursues the east wind;
He daily increases lies and [f]desolation.
(I)Also they make a [g]covenant with the Assyrians,
And (J)oil is carried to Egypt.

“The(K) Lord also brings a [h]charge against Judah,
And will punish Jacob according to his ways;
According to his deeds He will recompense him.
He took his brother (L)by the heel in the womb,
And in his strength he (M)struggled with God.
Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed;
He wept, and sought favor from Him.
He found Him in (N)Bethel,
And there He spoke to us—
That is, the Lord God of hosts.
The Lord is His (O)memorable name.
(P)So you, by the help of your God, return;
Observe mercy and justice,
And wait on your God continually.

“A cunning [i]Canaanite!
(Q)Deceitful scales are in his hand;
He loves to oppress.
And Ephraim said,
(R)‘Surely I have become rich,
I have found wealth for myself;
In all my labors
They shall find in me no iniquity that is sin.’

“But I am the Lord your God,
Ever since the land of Egypt;
(S)I will again make you dwell in tents,
As in the days of the appointed feast.
10 (T)I have also spoken by the prophets,
And have multiplied visions;
I have given [j]symbols [k]through the witness of the prophets.”

11 Though (U)Gilead has idols—
Surely they are [l]vanity—
Though they sacrifice bulls in (V)Gilgal,
Indeed their altars shall be heaps in the furrows of the field.

12 Jacob (W)fled to the country of Syria;
(X)Israel served for a spouse,
And for a wife he tended sheep.

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 11:7 The prophets
  2. Hosea 11:7 Or upward
  3. Hosea 11:8 Lit. turns over
  4. Hosea 11:9 Or enter a city
  5. Hosea 11:12 Or holy ones
  6. Hosea 12:1 ruin
  7. Hosea 12:1 Or treaty
  8. Hosea 12:2 A legal complaint
  9. Hosea 12:7 Or merchant
  10. Hosea 12:10 Or parables
  11. Hosea 12:10 Lit. by the hand
  12. Hosea 12:11 worthless

My people are determined to turn(A) from me.(B)
    Even though they call me God Most High,
    I will by no means exalt them.

“How can I give you up,(C) Ephraim?(D)
    How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I treat you like Admah?
    How can I make you like Zeboyim?(E)
My heart is changed within me;
    all my compassion(F) is aroused.(G)
I will not carry out my fierce anger,(H)
    nor will I devastate(I) Ephraim again.
For I am God, and not a man(J)
    the Holy One(K) among you.
    I will not come against their cities.
10 They will follow the Lord;
    he will roar(L) like a lion.(M)
When he roars,
    his children will come trembling(N) from the west.(O)
11 They will come from Egypt,
    trembling like sparrows,
    from Assyria,(P) fluttering like doves.(Q)
I will settle them in their homes,”(R)
    declares the Lord.

Israel’s Sin

12 Ephraim has surrounded me with lies,(S)
    Israel with deceit.
And Judah is unruly against God,
    even against the faithful(T) Holy One.[a](U)

12 [b]Ephraim(V) feeds on the wind;(W)
    he pursues the east wind all day
    and multiplies lies and violence.(X)
He makes a treaty with Assyria(Y)
    and sends olive oil to Egypt.(Z)
The Lord has a charge(AA) to bring against Judah;(AB)
    he will punish(AC) Jacob[c] according to his ways
    and repay him according to his deeds.(AD)
In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel;(AE)
    as a man he struggled(AF) with God.
He struggled with the angel and overcame him;
    he wept and begged for his favor.
He found him at Bethel(AG)
    and talked with him there—
the Lord God Almighty,
    the Lord is his name!(AH)
But you must return(AI) to your God;
    maintain love and justice,(AJ)
    and wait for your God always.(AK)

The merchant uses dishonest scales(AL)
    and loves to defraud.
Ephraim boasts,(AM)
    “I am very rich; I have become wealthy.(AN)
With all my wealth they will not find in me
    any iniquity or sin.”

“I have been the Lord your God
    ever since you came out of Egypt;(AO)
I will make you live in tents(AP) again,
    as in the days of your appointed festivals.
10 I spoke to the prophets,
    gave them many visions
    and told parables(AQ) through them.”(AR)

11 Is Gilead wicked?(AS)
    Its people are worthless!
Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal?(AT)
    Their altars will be like piles of stones
    on a plowed field.(AU)
12 Jacob fled to the country of Aram[d];(AV)
    Israel served to get a wife,
    and to pay for her he tended sheep.(AW)

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 11:12 In Hebrew texts this verse (11:12) is numbered 12:1.
  2. Hosea 12:1 In Hebrew texts 12:1-14 is numbered 12:2-15.
  3. Hosea 12:2 Jacob means he grasps the heel, a Hebrew idiom for he takes advantage of or he deceives.
  4. Hosea 12:12 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia

The Coming Judgment on Edom

The vision of Obadiah.

Thus says the Lord God (A)concerning Edom
(B)(We have heard a report from the Lord,
And a messenger has been sent among the nations, saying,
“Arise, and let us rise up against her for battle”):

“Behold, I will make you small among the nations;
You shall be greatly despised.
The (C)pride of your heart has deceived you,
You who dwell in the clefts of the rock,
Whose habitation is high;
(D)You who say in your heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’
(E)Though you ascend as high as the eagle,
And though you (F)set your nest among the stars,
From there I will bring you down,” says the Lord.

“If (G)thieves had come to you,
If robbers by night—
Oh, how you will be cut off!—
Would they not have stolen till they had enough?
If grape-gatherers had come to you,
(H)Would they not have left some gleanings?

“Oh, how Esau shall be searched out!
How his hidden treasures shall be sought after!
All the men in your confederacy
Shall force you to the border;
(I)The men at peace with you
Shall deceive you and prevail against you.
Those who eat your bread shall lay a [a]trap for you.
(J)No[b] one is aware of it.

“Will(K) I not in that day,” says the Lord,
“Even destroy the wise men from Edom,
And understanding from the mountains of Esau?
Then your (L)mighty men, O (M)Teman, shall be dismayed,
To the end that everyone from the mountains of Esau
May be cut off by slaughter.

Edom Mistreated His Brother

10 “For (N)violence against your brother Jacob,
Shame shall cover you,
And (O)you shall be cut off forever.
11 In the day that you (P)stood on the other side—
In the day that strangers carried captive his forces,
When foreigners entered his gates
And (Q)cast lots for Jerusalem—
Even you were as one of them.

12 “But you should not have (R)gazed[c] on the day of your brother
[d]In the day of his captivity;
Nor should you have (S)rejoiced over the children of Judah
In the day of their destruction;
Nor should you have spoken proudly
In the day of distress.
13 You should not have entered the gate of My people
In the day of their calamity.
Indeed, you should not have [e]gazed on their affliction
In the day of their calamity,
Nor laid hands on their substance
In the day of their calamity.
14 You should not have stood at the crossroads
To cut off those among them who escaped;
Nor should you have [f]delivered up those among them who remained
In the day of distress.

15 “For(T) the day of the Lord upon all the nations is near;
(U)As you have done, it shall be done to you;
Your [g]reprisal shall return upon your own head.
16 (V)For as you drank on My holy mountain,
So shall all the nations drink continually;
Yes, they shall drink, and swallow,
And they shall be as though they had never been.

Israel’s Final Triumph

17 “But on Mount Zion there (W)shall be [h]deliverance,
And there shall be holiness;
The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.
18 The house of Jacob shall be a fire,
And the house of Joseph (X)a flame;
But the house of Esau shall be stubble;
They shall kindle them and devour them,
And no survivor shall remain of the house of Esau,”
For the Lord has spoken.

19 The [i]South (Y)shall possess the mountains of Esau,
(Z)And the Lowland shall possess Philistia.
They shall possess the fields of Ephraim
And the fields of Samaria.
Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
20 And the captives of this host of the children of Israel
Shall possess the land of the Canaanites
As (AA)far as Zarephath.
The captives of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
(AB)Shall possess the cities of the [j]South.
21 Then (AC)saviors[k] shall come to Mount Zion
To judge the mountains of Esau,
And the (AD)kingdom shall be the Lord’s.

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Footnotes

  1. Obadiah 1:7 Or wound or plot
  2. Obadiah 1:7 Or There is no understanding in him
  3. Obadiah 1:12 Gloated over
  4. Obadiah 1:12 Lit. On the day he became a foreigner
  5. Obadiah 1:13 Gloated over
  6. Obadiah 1:14 Handed over to the enemy
  7. Obadiah 1:15 Or reward
  8. Obadiah 1:17 Or salvation
  9. Obadiah 1:19 Heb. Negev
  10. Obadiah 1:20 Heb. Negev
  11. Obadiah 1:21 deliverers

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)

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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