1 This is the prophecy of Obadiah—what the Sovereign Lord said about the nation of Edom.
The Lord Will Punish Edom
The Lord has sent his messenger to the nations,
and we have heard his message:
“Get ready! Let us go to war against Edom!”
2 The Lord says to Edom,
“I will make you weak;
everyone will despise you.
3 Your pride has deceived you.
Your capital is a fortress of solid rock;
your home is high in the mountains,
and so you say to yourself,
‘Who can ever pull me down?’
4 Even though you make your home
as high as an eagle's nest,
so that it seems to be among the stars,
yet I will pull you down.
5 “When thieves come at night,
they take only what they want.
When people gather grapes,
they always leave a few.
But your enemies have wiped you out completely.
6 Descendants of Esau, your treasures have been looted.
7 Your allies have deceived you;
they have driven you from your country.
People who were at peace with you have now conquered you.
Those friends who ate with you have laid a trap for you;
they say of you, ‘Where is all that cleverness he had?’
8 “On the day I punish Edom,
I will destroy their clever men
and wipe out all their wisdom.
9 The fighting men of Teman will be terrified,
and every soldier in Edom will be killed.
Reasons for Edom's Punishment
10 “Because you robbed and killed
your relatives, the descendants of Jacob,
you will be destroyed and dishonored forever.
11 You stood aside on that day
when enemies broke down their gates.
You were as bad as those strangers
who carried off Jerusalem's wealth
and divided it among themselves.
12 You should not have gloated
over the misfortune of your relatives in Judah.
You should not have been glad
on the day of their ruin.
You should not have laughed at them
in their distress.
13 You should not have entered the city of my people
to gloat over their suffering
and to seize their riches
on the day of their disaster.
14 You should not have stood at the crossroads
to catch those trying to escape.
You should not have handed them over to the enemy
on the day of their distress.
God Will Judge the Nations
15 “The day is near when I, the Lord,
will judge all nations.
Edom, what you have done
will be done to you.
You will get back what you have given.
16 My people have drunk a bitter cup of punishment
on my sacred hill.
But all the surrounding nations will drink
a still more bitter cup of punishment;
they will drink it all and vanish away.
The Victory of Israel
17 “But on Mount Zion some will escape,
and it will be a sacred place.
The people of Jacob will possess
the land that is theirs by right.
18 The people of Jacob and of Joseph will be like fire;
they will destroy the people of Esau
as fire burns stubble.
No descendant of Esau will survive.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
19 “People from southern Judah will occupy Edom;
those from the western foothills will capture Philistia.
Israelites will possess the territory of Ephraim and Samaria;
the people of Benjamin will take Gilead.
20 The army of exiles from northern Israel
will return and conquer Phoenicia as far north as Zarephath.
The exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sardis
will capture the towns of southern Judah.
21 The victorious men of Jerusalem
will attack Edom and rule over it.
And the Lord himself will be king.”
Yahwe banoloba Edomu
1 Mbono ya Obhadiya. Etji nditjo tjinolebgwa ndi She Yahwe ngekwa Edomu.
Takahwa ndayidzo inodwa kuna Yahwe,
ntumwa wakatumwa ku zwitjaba kuti abadwe ati,
“Milikani! Milikani tinobhayana naye.”
2 “Bona Edomu, ndowokuthama ntukununu mu zwitjaba,
ngono unowolengudzika kwazo.
3 Kuzwikudza kwe moyo uwo kwakakutjebela,
iwe unogala mu phaswa dze shongwe,
una magalo apezhugwi.
Unozwidwa mu moyo uwo uti,
‘Ndiani ungandidelusila pasi kene?’
4 Nenguba uwulukila pezhugwi se dzu,
nenguba shaka lilo lakabakwa pakati kwe nyenyedzi,
ndowokudelusila pasi kudwa ikoko.”
Koleba Yahwe.
5 “Ha mbava dzingakuzhila,
ha batoleli bangakuzhila busiku,
apa abangakwibe bakamisa pabada kene?
Ha batjeli be zhambi bangazha ku kuli,
apa abangasiye manungidzigwa kene?
6 Koga Esau, unowofunyungudziwa seni!
Fumwa iye yakasumbikala inowovumbunugwa.
7 Bose bashanganyili nawe, bakakutatila ku n'gathu.
Bathu bana mbakiso nawe banowokutjebela bakakukulila,
bakabe beja nawe mu ndilo bakakulukila gwanga,
koga aungazibe nge kwako.
8 “Apa mu zhuba ilelo, koleba Yahwe,
anditowolobesa batjenjedu mu Edomu,
ne kuhwisisa mu Dombo la Esau kene?
9 Babhayani babo banowopalukamoyo, Temani,
bathu bose mu Dombo la Esau banowobulawa.”
Tjakayita kuti Edomu alobgwe
10 Shoni dzowokukombola,
ngobe wakathamila nnung'una uwo Jakubo ngwa ye maboko,
ngono unowolobesiwa nge kusingapele.
11 Mu zhuba lawakamila kutjena,
zhuba bathu basingazibgwe bakantolela fumwa iye,
ngono bataya bakangina nge mikoba ye nzi uwe,
kakale bakakandila Jerusalema,
ngono nawebo wakabe unga mmwe wabo.
12 Koga ungabe usakapembelela nnung'una uwo
mu zhuba le kushaya phazha kukwe,
kakale ungabe usakashatha
mu zhuba le kulobesiwa kwe bathu be Juda,
ungabe usakazwikudza
mu zhuba le manikano dzabo.
13 Ungabe usakangina nge mikoba ye bathu bangu,
mu zhuba le manikano dzabo hwulu.
Kakale ungabe usakapembelela kuhwa zogwadza kwabo iwe,
mu zhuba le manikano dzabo hwulu.
Ungabe usakatapa thundu dzabo,
mu zhuba le manikano dzabo hwulu.
14 Ungabe usakama pa phalalano dze zila,
kubulaya batizhi.
Ungabe usakabgwiliza ibaba bakapudzumuka,
mu zhuba le manikano dzabo hwulu.
Ndzimu unosumikilisa njudzi
15 Ngoti zhuba la Yahwe labe pejo
mu zwitjaba zose.
Edomu, sekwa wakathama,
nawe unowothamwabo,
unowobgwilizigwa zwiyito zwizo.
16 Sekwa makang'wa
mu dombo langu lakayengemala,
zwitjaba zose zowodwilila zwing'wabo,
zowong'wa zwikakunika,
ngono zowosala zwinga zwisakatongobepo.
Kunda kwe Iziraela
17 “Koga mu Dombo le Ziyoni kowobe ne jidzo,
ngono lowoyengemala.
Ngono be nsha wa Jakubo banowotola zwabo, zwabakabe batolegwa.
18 Nsha wa Jakubo unowobe moto,
nsha wa Josefa unowobe nthuto,
nsha wa Esau unowobe mashanga,
banowobapisa, ngono banowolota,
akutowobe ne limbelimbe ne ling'ompela
linowosala mu nsha wa Esau.”
Ngoti kwakaleba Yahwe.
19 “Be burwa gwe Juda
banowotola Dombo la Esau.
Be shango ipasi kwe matombo yakakunguluka
banowotola shango ye Bafilisitiya,
banowotola shango ye Ifureimi ne ye Samariya.
Bhenjamini unowotola Giliyadi.
20 Batapiwa be Baiziraela,
banowotola shango ye Bakanana kunoti ku Zarefati,
ngono batapiwa be Jerusalema bamu Sefaradi
banowotola mizi ye burwa gwe Juda.
21 Bakatjidziwa banowomilika mu Dombo le Ziyoni,
kusumikilisa Dombo la Esau.
Ngono mbuso unowobe wa Yahwe.”