Obaja 1:7

1:7 All your allies ¹  will force ²  you from your homeland! ³ 

Your treaty partners ⁴  will deceive you and overpower you.

Your trusted friends ⁵  will set an ambush ⁶  for ⁷  you

that will take you by surprise! ⁸ 

Obaja 1:19

1:19 The people of the Negev ⁹  will take possession ¹⁰  of Esau’s mountain,

and the people of the Shephelah ¹¹  will take

possession ¹²  of the land of ¹³  the Philistines.

They will also take possession of the territory of Ephraim and the territory of Samaria,

and the people of Benjamin will take possession ¹⁴  of Gilead. ¹⁵ 

Obaja 1:11

1:11 You stood aloof ¹⁶  while strangers took his army ¹⁷  captive,

and foreigners advanced to his gates. ¹⁸ 

When they cast lots ¹⁹  over Jerusalem, ²⁰ 

you behaved as though you were in league ²¹  with them.

[1:7]  ¹ tn Heb “All the men of your covenant”; KJV, ASV “the men of thy confederacy.” In Hebrew “they will send you unto the border” and “all the men of your covenant” appear in two separate poetic lines (cf. NAB “To the border they drive you – all your allies”). Since the second is a noun clause functioning as the subject of the first clause, the two are rendered as a single sentence in the translation.

[1:7]  ² tn Heb “send”; NASB “send you forth”; NAB “drive”; NIV “force.”

[1:7]  ³ tn Heb “to the border” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[1:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “the men of your peace.” This expression refers to a political/military alliance or covenant of friendship.

[1:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “your bread,” which makes little sense in the context. The Hebrew word can be revocalized to read “those who eat bread with you,” i.e., “your friends.” Cf. KJV “they that eat thy bread”; NIV “those who eat your bread”; TEV “Those friends who ate with you.”

[1:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “set a trap” (so NIV, NRSV). The meaning of the Hebrew word מָזוֹר (mazor; here translated “ambush”) is uncertain; it occurs nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible. The word probably refers to something “spread out” for purposes of entrapment, such as a net. Other possibilities include “trap,” “fetter,” or “stumbling block.”

[1:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “beneath” (so NAB).

[1:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “there is no understanding in him.”

[1:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “the Negev”; ASV “the South”; NCV, TEV “southern Judah.” The Hebrew text does not have the words “the people of,” but these words have been supplied in the translation for clarity. The place name “the Negev” functions as a synecdoche (container for contents) for the people living in the Negev.

[1:19]  sn The Negev is a dry, hot, arid region in the southern portion of Judah.

[1:19]  ¹⁰ sn The verb יָרַשׁ (yarash, “to take possession of [something]”) which is repeated three times in vv. 19-20 for emphasis, often implies a violent means of acquisition, such as through military conquest. Obadiah here pictures a dramatic reversal: Judah’s enemies, who conquered them then looted all her valuable possessions, will soon be conquered by the Judeans who will in turn take possession of their valuables. The punishment will fit the crime.

[1:19]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew text does not have the words “the people of,” but they are supplied in the translation since “the Shephelah” functions as a synecdoche referring to residents of this region.

[1:19]  sn The Shephelah as a region refers to the Palestinian foothills that rise from the coastal plain. In much of Old Testament times they served as a divide between the people of Judah and the Philistines.

[1:19]  ¹² tn The phrase “will take possession” does not appear in this clause, but is implied from its previous use in this verse. It is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.

[1:19]  ¹³ tn The words “the land of” are not present in the Hebrew text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:19]  ¹⁴ tn The phrase “will take possession” does not appear in this clause, but is implied from its previous use in this verse. It is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:19]  ¹⁵ sn Gilead is a mountainous region on the eastern side of the Jordan River in what is today the country of Jordan.

[1:11]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “in the day of your standing”; NAB “On the day when you stood by.”

[1:11]  ¹⁷ tn Or perhaps, “wealth” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). The Hebrew word is somewhat ambiguous here. This word also appears in v. 13, where it clearly refers to wealth.

[1:11]  ¹⁸ tc The present translation follows the Qere which reads the plural (“gates”) rather than the singular.

[1:11]  ¹⁹ sn Casting lots seems to be a way of deciding who would gain control over material possessions and enslaved peoples following a military victory.

[1:11]  ²⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “like one from them”; NASB “You too were as one of them.”