Judgment
Obadiah 1:5-9
Obadiah · ~840 BC · Status: Fulfilled · Confidence: 65%
“If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough? if the grapegatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grapes?”
King James Version · the opening — all 5 verses are below
Edom's total devastation exceeding that of mere thieves — nothing left, completely exposed and cut off.
Read the whole passage — all 5 verses (KJV)
1:5If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough? if the grapegatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grapes?
1:6How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things sought up!
1:7All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and prevailed against thee; they that eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee: there is none understanding in him.
1:8Shall I not in that day, saith the LORD, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau?
1:9And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter.
Fulfillment References
Jeremiah 49:9-10 Malachi 1:3-4 Hebrews 12:16
How Traditions Read This Prophecy
Apostolic (Oneness) PentecostalEdom — Esau, 'a profane person' (Heb. 12:16) — is stripped and brought low in the day of the LORD for his pride and his violence against his brother Jacob. The downfall of proud Edom typifies the judgment of all flesh that exalts itself against God's people; what Edom's wisdom and might could not save, the Lord overthrows, for the victory and the kingdom belong to God in Christ.
JewishA judgment oracle against Edom (Esau's descendants), Judah's treacherous kinsman-enemy; though hidden and fortified, Edom will be thoroughly plundered, her wise men and warriors destroyed.
CatholicThe humbling of proud Edom, read morally of the fall of arrogance and enmity toward God's people, and eschatologically of the judgment of the nations.
ProtestantGod's certain judgment on Edom's pride and false security — a warning that human wisdom and might cannot deliver from the day of the LORD.
AcademicA judgment oracle sharing material with Jeremiah 49:7-22; the rhetorical questions ('if thieves came...') stress the totality of Edom's coming plunder.
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