Amos, possibly the first of the writing prophets, was a shepherd and farmer called to prophesy during the reigns of Uzziah (792–740 b.c.) in the southern kingdom and Jeroboam II (793–753) in the north. During this time both kingdoms enjoyed political stability, which in turn brought prosperity. It was also a time of idolatry, extravagance, and corruption. The rich and powerful were oppressing the poor. Amos denounced the people of Israel for their apostasy and social injustice and warned them that disaster would fall upon them for breaking the covenant. He urged them to leave the hypocrisy of their “solemn assemblies” (5:21) and instead to “let justice roll down like waters” (v. 24). Nevertheless, said Amos, God would remember his covenant with Israel and would restore a faithful remnant.

Amos 1

1The words of Amos, who was among the ^ashepherds ▼

▼Or sheep breeders

of ^cTekoa, which he saw concerning Israel ^din the days of ^eUzziah king of Judah and in the days of ^fJeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years ▼

▼Or during two years

before ^hthe earthquake.

Judgment on Israel’s Neighbors

2And he said:

ⁱ“The Lord roars from Zion
and utters his voice from Jerusalem;
^jthe pastures of the shepherds mourn,
and the ^ktop of ^lCarmel withers.”
3Thus says the Lord:

^m“For three transgressions of ⁿDamascus,
and for four, ^oI will not revoke the punishment, ▼

▼Hebrew  I will not turn it back; also verses 6, 9, 11, 13

because they have threshed ^qGilead
with threshing sledges of iron.
4 ^rSo I will send a fire upon the house of ^sHazael,
and it shall devour the strongholds of ^tBen-hadad.
5I will ^ubreak the gate-bar of ^vDamascus,
and cut off the inhabitants from the Valley of ^wAven, ▼

▼Or On

and him who holds the scepter from ^yBeth-eden;
and the people of ^zSyria shall go into exile to ^aaKir,”

says the Lord.
6Thus says the Lord:

^ab“For three transgressions of ^acGaza,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because ^adthey carried into exile a whole people
to deliver them up to Edom.
7So I will send a fire upon the wall of ^aeGaza,
and it shall devour her strongholds.
8I will cut off the inhabitants from ^afAshdod,
and him who holds the scepter from Ashkelon;
I will turn my hand against Ekron,
and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish,”

says the Lord God.
9Thus says the Lord:

^ag“For three transgressions of ^ahTyre,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because they delivered up a whole people to Edom,
and did not remember the covenant of brotherhood.
10So I will send a fire upon the wall of ^aiTyre,
and it shall devour her strongholds.”
11Thus says the Lord:

^aj“For three transgressions of ^akEdom,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
^albecause he pursued his brother with the sword
^amand cast off all pity,
^anand his anger tore perpetually,
^aoand he kept his wrath forever.
12So I will send a fire upon ^apTeman,
and it shall devour the strongholds of ^aqBozrah.”
13Thus says the Lord:

^ar“For three transgressions of the ^asAmmonites,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because ^atthey have ripped open pregnant women in ^auGilead,
that they might enlarge their border.
14So I will kindle a fire in the wall of ^avRabbah,
^awand it shall devour her strongholds,
with shouting on the day of battle,
^axwith a tempest in the day of the whirlwind;
15and ^aytheir king shall go into exile,
he and his princes ▼

▼Or officials

together,”

says the Lord.

Amos 2

1Thus says the Lord:

^ba“For three transgressions of ^bbMoab,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, ▼

▼Hebrew  I will not turn it back; also verses 4, 6

because ^bdhe burned to lime
the bones of the king of Edom.
2So I will send a fire upon Moab,
and it shall devour the strongholds of ^beKerioth,
and Moab shall die amid uproar,
amid shouting and the sound of the trumpet;
3 ^bfI will cut off the ruler from its midst,
and will kill ^bgall its princes ▼

▼Or officials

with him,”

says the Lord.

Judgment on Judah

4Thus says the Lord:

^bi“For three transgressions of Judah,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because ^bjthey have rejected the law of the Lord,
and have not kept his statutes,
but ^bktheir lies have led them astray,
those after which their fathers walked.
5So ^blI will send a fire upon Judah,
and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem.”

Judgment on Israel

6Thus says the Lord:

^bm“For three transgressions of Israel,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because ^bnthey sell the righteous for ^bosilver,
and the needy for a pair of sandals—
7those who trample the head of the poor ^bpinto the dust of the earth
and ^bqturn aside the way of the afflicted;
^bra man and his father go in to the same girl,
so that my holy name is profaned;
8they lay themselves down beside every altar
on garments ^bstaken in pledge,
and in the house of their God they drink
the wine of those who have been fined.
9 “Yet ^btit was I who destroyed the Amorite before them,
^buwhose height was like the height of the cedars
and who was as strong as the oaks;
^bvI destroyed his fruit above
and his roots beneath.
10 ^bwAlso it was I who brought you up out of the land of Egypt
^bxand led you forty years in the wilderness,
^byto possess the land of the Amorite.
11And I raised up some of your sons for prophets,
and some of your young men for ^bzNazirites.
Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel?”

declares the Lord.
12 “But you made the Nazirites ^cadrink wine,
and commanded the prophets,
saying, ^cb‘You shall not prophesy.’
13 “Behold, I will press you down in your place,
as a cart full of sheaves presses down.
14 ^ccFlight shall perish from the swift,
^cdand the strong shall not retain his strength,
^cenor shall the mighty save his life;
15he who handles the bow shall not stand,
and he who is ^cfswift of foot shall not save himself,
^cgnor shall he who rides the horse save his life;
16and he who is stout of heart among the mighty
shall flee away naked in that day,”

declares the Lord.

Amos 3

Israel’s Guilt and Punishment

1 ^chHear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt:

2 ^ci“You only have I known
of all the families of the earth;
^cjtherefore I will punish you
for all your iniquities.
3 “Do two walk together,
unless they have agreed to meet?
4Does a lion roar in the forest,
when he has no prey?
Does a young lion cry out from his den,
if he has taken nothing?
5Does a bird fall in a snare on the earth,
when there is no trap for it?
Does a snare spring up from the ground,
when it has taken nothing?
6 ^ckIs a trumpet blown in a city,
and the people are not afraid?
^clDoes disaster come to a city,
unless the Lord has done it?
7 “For the Lord God does nothing
^cmwithout revealing his secret
to his servants the prophets.
8The lion has roared;
who will not fear?
^cnThe Lord God has spoken;
who can but prophesy?”
9 Proclaim to the strongholds in ^coAshdod
and to the strongholds in the land of Egypt,
and say, “Assemble yourselves on ^cpthe mountains of Samaria,
and see the great tumults within her,
and ^cqthe oppressed in her midst.”
10“They do not know how to do right,” declares the Lord,
^cr“those who store up violence and robbery in their strongholds.”
11Therefore thus says the Lord God:

^cs“An adversary shall surround the land
and bring down ▼

▼Hebrew  An adversary, one who surrounds the land—he shall bring down

your defenses from you,
and ^cuyour strongholds shall be plundered.”
12Thus says the Lord: ^cv“As the shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, ^cwso shall the people of Israel ^cxwho dwell in Samaria be rescued, with the corner of a couch and part ▼

▼The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain

of a bed.

13 “Hear, ^czand testify against the house of Jacob,”
declares the Lord God, ^dathe God of hosts,
14“that on the day I punish Israel for his transgressions,
^dbI will punish the altars of Bethel,
and ^dcthe horns of the altar shall be cut off
and fall to the ground.
15 ^ddI will strike ^dethe winter house along with ^dfthe summer house,
and ^dgthe houses of ivory shall perish,
and the great houses ▼

▼Or  and many houses

shall come to an end,”

declares the Lord.

Amos 4

1“Hear this word, ^diyou cows of Bashan,
who are ^djon the mountain of Samaria,
^dkwho oppress the poor, ^dlwho crush the needy,
who say to your husbands, ‘Bring, that we may drink!’
2 ^dmThe Lord God has sworn by his holiness
that, behold, the days are coming upon you,
^dnwhen they shall take you away with hooks,
^doeven the last of you with fishhooks.
3 ^dpAnd you shall go out through the breaches,
each one straight ahead;
and you shall be cast out into Harmon,”

declares the Lord.
4 ^dq“Come to Bethel, and transgress;
to ^drGilgal, and multiply transgression;
^dsbring your ^dtsacrifices every morning,
your tithes every three days;
5offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of ^duthat which is leavened,
and proclaim ^dvfreewill offerings, publish them;
^dwfor so you love to do, O people of Israel!”

declares the Lord God.

Israel Has Not Returned to the Lord

6 “I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities,
and ^dxlack of bread in all your places,
^dyyet you did not return to me,”

declares the Lord.
7 “I also ^dzwithheld the rain from you
when there were yet three months to the harvest;
^eaI would send rain on one city,
and send no rain on another city;
one field would have rain,
and the field on which it did not rain would wither;
8so two or three cities ^ebwould wander to another city
to drink water, and would not be satisfied;
^ecyet you did not return to me,”

declares the Lord.
9 ^ed“I struck you with blight and mildew;
your many gardens and your vineyards,
your fig trees and your olive trees ^eethe locust devoured;
^efyet you did not return to me,”

declares the Lord.
10 “I sent among you a pestilence ^egafter the manner of Egypt;
I killed your young men with the sword,
and ^ehcarried away your horses, ▼

▼Hebrew along with the captivity of your horses

and ^ejI made the stench of your camp go up into your nostrils;
^ekyet you did not return to me,”

declares the Lord.
11 “I overthrew some of you,
^elas when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,
and you were ^emas a brand ▼

▼That is,  a burning stick

plucked out of the burning;
^eoyet you did not return to me,”

declares the Lord.
12 “Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel;
because I will do this to you,
prepare to meet your God, O Israel!”
13 For behold, ^ephe who forms the mountains and creates the wind,
and ^eqdeclares to man what is his thought,
^erwho makes the morning darkness,
and ^estreads on the heights of the earth—
^etthe Lord, the God of hosts, is his name!

Amos 5

Seek the Lord and Live

1Hear this word that I ^eutake up over you in lamentation, O house of Israel:

2 “Fallen, no more to rise,
is ^evthe virgin Israel;
forsaken on her land,
with none to raise her up.”
3For thus says the Lord God:

“The city that went out a thousand
shall have a hundred left,
and that which went out a hundred
shall have ten left
to the house of Israel.”
4For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel:

^ew“Seek me and live;
5but do not seek ^exBethel,
and do not enter into ^eyGilgal
or cross over to ^ezBeersheba;
for ^faGilgal shall surely go into exile,
and ^fbBethel shall come to nothing.”
6 ^fcSeek the Lord and live,
^fdlest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph,
and it devour, with none to quench it for ^feBethel,
7O ^ffyou who turn justice to wormwood ▼

▼Or  to bitter fruit

and cast down righteousness to the earth!
8 He who made the ^fhPleiades and Orion,
and turns deep darkness into the morning
and ^fidarkens the day into night,
who ^fjcalls for the waters of the sea
^fkand pours them out on the surface of the earth,
^flthe Lord is his name;
9 ^fmwho makes destruction flash forth against the strong,
so that destruction comes upon the fortress.
10 ^fnThey hate him who reproves ^foin the gate,
and they ^fpabhor him who speaks the truth.
11Therefore because you ^fqtrample on ▼

▼Or  you tax

the poor
and you exact taxes of grain from him,
^fsyou have built houses of hewn stone,
but you shall not dwell in them;
^ftyou have planted pleasant vineyards,
but you shall not drink their wine.
12For I know how many are your transgressions
and how great are your sins—
you who afflict the righteous, who ^futake a bribe,
and ^fvturn aside the needy ^fwin the gate.
13Therefore he who is prudent will ^fxkeep silent in such a time,
^fyfor it is an evil time.
14 ^fzSeek good, and not evil,
that you may live;
and so the Lord, ^gathe God of hosts, will be with you,
as you have said.
15 ^gbHate evil, and love good,
and establish justice ^gcin the gate;
^gdit may be that the Lord, the God of hosts,
will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
16Therefore thus says the Lord, ^gethe God of hosts, the Lord:

“In all the squares ^gfthere shall be wailing,
and in all the streets they shall say, ‘Alas! Alas!’
They shall call the farmers to mourning
and ^ggto wailing those who are skilled in lamentation,
17and in all vineyards there shall be wailing,
for ^ghI will pass through your midst,”

says the Lord.

Let Justice Roll Down

18 Woe to you who desire ^githe day of the Lord!
Why would you have the day of the Lord?
^gjIt is darkness, and not light,
19 ^gkas if a man fled from a lion,
and a bear met him,
or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall,
and a serpent bit him.
20 ^glIs not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light,
and gloom with no brightness in it?
21 ^gm“I hate, I despise your feasts,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
22 ^gnEven though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them;
and the peace offerings of your fattened animals,
I will not look upon them.
23Take away from me the noise of your songs;
to ^gothe melody of your harps I will not listen.
24But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
25 ^gp“Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? 26 ^gqYou ^grshall take up Sikkuth your king, and Kiyyun your star-god—your images that you made for yourselves, 27 ^gsand I will send you into exile beyond Damascus,” says the Lord, whose name is ^gtthe God of hosts.

Amos 6

Woe to Those at Ease in Zion

1 ^gu“Woe to those who are at ease in Zion,
and to those who feel secure on ^gvthe mountain of Samaria,
^gwthe notable men of ^gxthe first of the nations,
to whom the house of Israel comes!
2Pass over to ^gyCalneh, and see,
and from there go to ^gzHamath the great;
then go down to ^haGath of the Philistines.
^hbAre you better than these kingdoms?
Or is their territory greater than your territory,
3 ^hcO you who put far away the day of disaster
^hdand bring near the seat of violence?
4 “Woe to those ^hewho lie on ^hfbeds of ivory
^hgand stretch themselves out on their couches,
and eat lambs from the flock
^hhand calves from the midst of the stall,
5 ^hiwho sing idle songs to the sound of the harp
and like David ^hjinvent for themselves instruments of music,
6 ^hkwho drink wine in bowls
and ^hlanoint themselves with the finest oils,
but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
7 ^hmTherefore they shall now be the first of those who go into exile,
and the revelry of those who stretch themselves out shall pass away.”
8 ^hnThe Lord God has sworn by himself, declares the Lord, the God of hosts:

“I abhor ^hothe pride of Jacob
and hate his strongholds,
^hpand I will deliver up the city and all that is in it.”
9And ^hqif ten men remain in one house, they shall die. 10And when one’s relative, ^hrthe one who anoints him for burial, shall take him up to bring the bones out of the house, and shall say to him who is in the innermost parts of the house, “Is there still anyone with you?” he shall say, “No”; and he shall say, ^hs“Silence! We must not mention the name of the Lord.”

11 For behold, the Lord commands,
and ^htthe great house shall be struck down into fragments,
and the little house into bits.
12Do horses run on rocks?
Does one plow there ▼

▼Or the sea

with oxen?
^hvBut you have turned justice into ^hwpoison
^hxand the fruit of righteousness into wormwood ▼

▼Or  into bitter fruit

—
13you who rejoice in Lo-debar, ▼

▼ Lo-debar means nothing

who say, ^ia“Have we not by our own strength
captured Karnaim ▼

▼ Karnaim means horns (a symbol of strength)

for ourselves?”
14“For behold, ^icI will raise up against you a nation,
O house of Israel,” declares the Lord, the God of hosts;
“and they shall oppress you from ^idLebo-hamath
to the Brook of ^iethe Arabah.”

Amos 7

Warning Visions

1 ^ifThis is what the Lord God showed me: behold, ^ighe was forming locusts when the latter growth was just beginning to sprout, and behold, it was the latter growth after the king’s mowings. 2When they had finished eating the grass of the land, I said,

“O Lord God, please forgive!
^ihHow can Jacob stand?
He is so small!”
3 ⁱⁱThe Lord relented concerning this:
“It shall not be,” said the Lord.
4 ^ijThis is what the Lord God showed me: behold, the Lord God was calling ^ikfor a judgment by fire, and it devoured the great deep and was eating up the land. 5Then I said,

“O Lord God, please cease!
^ilHow can Jacob stand?
He is so small!”
6 ^imThe Lord relented concerning this:
“This also shall not be,” said the Lord God.
7 ⁱⁿThis is what he showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with ^ioa plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. 8And the Lord said to me, ^ip“Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said,

“Behold, I am setting ^iqa plumb line
in the midst of my people Israel;
^irI will never again pass by them;
9 ^isthe high places of Isaac shall be made desolate,
and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste,
and I will rise against ^itthe house of Jeroboam with the sword.”

Amos Accused

10Then Amaziah ^iuthe priest of Bethel sent to ^ivJeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has ^iwconspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words. 11For thus Amos has said,

“‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword,
and ^ixIsrael must go into exile
away from his land.’”
12And Amaziah said to Amos, ^iy“O seer, go, flee away ^izto the land of Judah, and ^jaeat bread there, and prophesy there, 13but ^jbnever again prophesy at Bethel, for ^jcit is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.”

14Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, ^jd“I was ▼

▼Or am; twice in this verse

no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but ^jfI was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. 15 ^jgBut the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ 16 ^jhNow therefore hear the word of the Lord.

“You say, ^ji‘Do not prophesy against Israel,
and ^jjdo not preach against the house of ^jkIsaac.’
17 ^jlTherefore thus says the Lord:

“‘Your wife shall be a prostitute in the city,
and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword,
and your land ^jmshall be divided up with a measuring line;
you yourself shall die in an unclean land,
and ^jnIsrael shall surely go into exile away from its land.’”

Amos 8

The Coming Day of Bitter Mourning

1 ^joThis is what the Lord God showed me: behold, a basket of summer fruit. 2And he said, ^jp“Amos, what do you see?” And I said, ^jq“A basket of summer fruit.” Then the Lord said to me,

^jr“The end ▼

▼The Hebrew words for  end and  summer fruit sound alike

has come upon my people Israel;
I will never again pass by them.
3 ^jtThe songs of the temple ▼

▼Or palace

^jvshall become wailings ▼

▼Or  The singing women of the palace shall wail

in that day,”

declares the Lord God.
^jx“So many dead bodies!”
“They are thrown everywhere!”
^jy“Silence!”
4 Hear this, ^jzyou who trample on the needy
and bring the poor of the land to an end,
5saying, “When will ^kathe new moon be over,
that we may sell grain?
And ^kbthe Sabbath,
that we may offer wheat for sale,
that we may make ^kcthe ephah small and the shekel ▼

▼An  ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters; a  shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams

great
and deal deceitfully with false balances,
6that we may buy the poor for ^kesilver
and the needy for a pair of sandals
and sell the chaff of the wheat?”
7 The Lord has sworn by ^kfthe pride of Jacob:
“Surely ^kgI will never forget any of their deeds.
8 ^khShall not the land tremble on this account,
and everyone mourn who dwells in it,
^kiand all of it rise like the Nile,
and be tossed about ^kjand sink again, like the Nile of Egypt?”
9 “And on that day,” declares the Lord God,
^kk“I will make the sun go down at noon
and darken the earth in broad daylight.
10 ^klI will turn your feasts into mourning
and all your songs into lamentation;
^kmI will bring sackcloth on every waist
^knand baldness on every head;
^koI will make it like the mourning for an only son
and the end of it like a bitter day.
11 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord God,
“when ^kpI will send a famine on the land—
not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water,
^kqbut of hearing the words of the Lord.
12 ^krThey shall wander from sea to sea,
and from north to east;
they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the Lord,
^ksbut they shall not find it.
13 ^kt“In that day the lovely virgins and the young men
shall ^kufaint for thirst.
14Those who swear by ^kvthe Guilt of Samaria,
and say, ‘As your god lives, O Dan,’
and, ‘As ^kwthe Way of ^kxBeersheba lives,’
they shall fall, and never rise again.”

Amos 9

The Destruction of Israel

1I saw the Lord standing beside ▼

▼Or on

the altar, and he said:

^kz“Strike the capitals until ^lathe thresholds ^lbshake,
^lcand shatter them on the heads of all the people; ▼

▼Hebrew  all of them

and those who are left of them I will kill with the sword;
^lenot one of them shall flee away;
not one of them shall escape.
2 ^lf“If they dig into Sheol,
from there shall my hand take them;
^lgif they climb up to heaven,
from there I will bring them down.
3If they hide themselves on ^lhthe top of Carmel,
from there I will search them out and take them;
^liand if they hide from my sight at the bottom of the sea,
there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them.
4 ^ljAnd if they go into captivity before their enemies,
there I will command the sword, and it shall kill them;
^lkand I will fix my eyes upon them
for evil and not for good.”
5 The Lord God of hosts,
he who touches the earth and ^llit melts,
and all who dwell in it mourn,
^lmand all of it rises like the Nile,
^lnand sinks again, like the Nile of Egypt;
6 ^lowho builds his upper chambers in the heavens
and founds his vault upon the earth;
^lpwho calls for the waters of the sea
and pours them out upon the surface of the earth—
^lqthe Lord is his name.
7 “Are you not like ^lrthe Cushites to me,
O people of Israel?” declares the Lord.
^ls“Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt,
and ^ltthe Philistines from ^luCaphtor and the Syrians from ^lvKir?
8Behold, ^lwthe eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom,
and I will destroy it from the surface of the ground,
^lxexcept that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,”

declares the Lord.
9 “For behold, I will command,
^lyand shake the house of Israel among all the nations
as one shakes with a sieve,
but no pebble shall fall to the earth.
10All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword,
who say, ^lz‘Disaster shall not overtake or meet us.’

The Restoration of Israel

11 “In that day ^maI will raise up
the booth of David that is fallen
and repair its breaches,
and raise up its ruins
and rebuild it as in the days of old,
12 ^mbthat they may possess the remnant of Edom
and ^mcall the nations who are called by my name,” ▼

▼Hebrew; Septuagint (compare Acts 15:17)  that the remnant of mankind and all the nations who are called by my name may seek the Lord

declares the Lord who does this.
13 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord,
^me“when the plowman shall overtake the reaper
and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed;
^mfthe mountains shall drip sweet wine,
and all the hills shall flow with it.
14 ^mgI will restore the fortunes of my people Israel,
and ^mhthey shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them;
^mithey shall plant vineyards and drink their wine,
and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit.
15 ^mjI will plant them on their land,
^mkand they shall never again be uprooted
out of the land ^mlthat I have given them,”

says the Lord your God.

Obadiah wrote this shortest book of the Old Testament probably soon after the armies of Babylon destroyed Jerusalem (586 b.c.). During this conquest, the people of Edom helped capture fleeing Israelites and turn them over to the Babylonians. They even took up residence in some Judean villages. This angered the Lord, for the Edomites, as descendants of Esau, were related to the Israelites (Gen. 25:21-26, 30) and therefore should have helped them. Obadiah prophesied that Edom would be repaid for mistreating God’s people. Obadiah also asserted that God is sovereign over the nations and that the house of Jacob would be restored because of God’s covenant love for his people.

Obadiah

1The vision of Obadiah.

Edom Will Be Humbled

Thus says the Lord God ^mmconcerning Edom:
^mnWe have heard a report from the Lord,
and a messenger has been sent among the nations:
“Rise up! Let us rise against her for battle!”
2Behold, I will make you small among the nations;
you shall be utterly despised. ▼

▼Or  Behold, I have made you small among the nations; you are utterly despised

3 ^mpThe pride of your heart has deceived you,
you who live in the clefts of the rock, ▼

▼Or Sela

in your lofty dwelling,
^mrwho say in your heart,
“Who will bring me down to the ground?”
4Though you soar aloft like the eagle,
though your nest is set among the stars,
from there I will bring you down,

declares the Lord.
5 If ^msthieves came to you,
if plunderers came by night—
how you have been destroyed!—
would they not steal only enough for themselves?
If ^mtgrape gatherers came to you,
would they not leave gleanings?
6 ^muHow Esau has been pillaged,
his treasures sought out!
7All your allies have driven you to your border;
those at peace with you have deceived you;
they have prevailed against you;
^mvthose who eat your bread ▼

▼Hebrew lacks  those who eat

have set a trap beneath you—
^mxyou have ▼

▼Hebrew he has

no understanding.
8 ^mzWill I not on that day, declares the Lord,
destroy the wise men out of Edom,
and understanding out of ^naMount Esau?
9And your mighty men shall be dismayed, ^nbO Teman,
so that every man from ^ncMount Esau will be cut off by slaughter.

Edom’s Violence Against Jacob

10 ^ndBecause of the violence done to your brother Jacob,
shame shall cover you,
^neand you shall be cut off forever.
11 ^nfOn the day that you stood aloof,
^ngon the day that strangers carried off his wealth
and foreigners entered his gates
^nhand cast lots for Jerusalem,
you were like one of them.
12 ⁿⁱBut do not gloat over the day of your brother
in the day of his misfortune;
^njdo not rejoice over the people of Judah
in the day of their ruin;
^nkdo not boast ▼

▼Hebrew  do not enlarge your mouth

in the day of distress.
13 ^nmDo not enter the gate of my people
in the day of their calamity;
ⁿⁿdo not gloat over his disaster
in the day of his calamity;
^nodo not loot his wealth
in the day of his calamity.
14 ^npDo not stand at the crossroads
to cut off his fugitives;
do not hand over his survivors
in the day of distress.

The Day of the Lord Is Near

15 For ^nqthe day of the Lord is near upon all the nations.
^nrAs you have done, it shall be done to you;
your deeds shall return on your own head.
16 ^nsFor as you have drunk on ^ntmy holy mountain,
so all the nations shall drink continually;
they shall drink and swallow,
and shall be as though they had never been.
17 ^nuBut in Mount Zion there shall be those who escape,
and it shall be holy,
^nvand the house of Jacob shall possess their own possessions.
18 ^nwThe house of Jacob shall be a fire,
and the house of Joseph a flame,
and the house of Esau ^nxstubble;
they shall burn them and consume them,
^nyand there shall be no survivor for the house of Esau,

for the Lord has spoken.

The Kingdom of the Lord

19 Those of ^nzthe Negeb ^oashall possess ^obMount Esau,
and those of the Shephelah shall possess ^octhe land of the Philistines;
they shall possess the land of Ephraim and the land of ^odSamaria,
and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
20The exiles of this host of the people of Israel
shall possess the land of the Canaanites as far as ^oeZarephath,
and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
shall possess the cities of the Negeb.
21 ^ofSaviors shall go up to Mount Zion
to rule ^ogMount Esau,
and ^ohthe kingdom shall be the Lord’s.