The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle. Ver. 1. _The vision of Obadiah_] The same, say some, that hid the Lord's prophets, and fed them by f... [ Continue Reading ]
Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised. Ver. 2. _Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen_] That is, vile, despicable, and abject, as Psalms 119:141, "I am small and despised." Nothing is more ordinary than to "despise the day of small things," Zechariah... [ Continue Reading ]
The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation [is] high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? Ver. 3. _The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee_] So as to make thee think thyself some great business when it'... [ Continue Reading ]
Though thou exalt [thyself] as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD. Ver. 4. _Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle_] Or, as the Arabic text hath it, _ad aquilam,_ hard by the eagle; couldst thou fly as high a pitch as that bird, wh... [ Continue Reading ]
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? Ver. 5. _If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night_] Or, what? have thieves come to thee? have robbers be... [ Continue Reading ]
How are [the things] of Esau searched out! [how] are his hidden things sought up! Ver. 6. _How are the things of Esau searched out!_] Or, as Drusius reads it, How are the posterity of Esau searched out! the men to the slaughter, the wealth to the spoil! what cunning and daring soldiers were these t... [ Continue Reading ]
All 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. Ver. 7. _All the men of thy confederacy_] Which... [ Continue Reading ]
Shall I not in that day, saith the LORD, even destroy the wise [men] out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau? Ver. 8. _Shall I not in that day, saith the Lord, &c._] Edom was famous for wisdom, as appeareth by Eliphaz the Temanite, and other of Job's friends who were Idumeans; and R... [ Continue Reading ]
And 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. Ver. 9. _And thy mighty men, O Teman_] Thy giants, thy champions, that dare to look death in the face upon great adventures in the field; these were now dismayed and dispiri... [ Continue Reading ]
For [thy] violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever. Ver. 10. _For thy violence against thy brother Jacob_] For thine open violence. Hence tachmas, the vulture, who liveth by rapine, Leviticus 11:14. Thine iniquity, rapine, injury done by force an... [ Continue Reading ]
In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou [wast] as one of them. Ver. 11. _In the day that thou stoodest on the other side_] Over beside, curiously ey... [ Continue Reading ]
_But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress._ Ver. 12. _But thou shouldest not h... [ Continue Reading ]
Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid [hands] on their substance in the day of their calamity; Ver. 13. _Thou shouldest not have entered into the ga... [ Continue Reading ]
Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress. Ver. 14. _Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway_] To intercept those poor fugitives, who sought to sa... [ Continue Reading ]
For the day of the LORD [is] near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head. Ver. 15. _For the day of the Lord is near, &c._] "The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth. The Lord shall laugh at h... [ Continue Reading ]
For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, [so] shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been. Ver. 16. _For as ye have drunk upon mine holy mountain_] As you, O Edomites, have rejoiced and revelled in the... [ Continue Reading ]
But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. Ver. 17. _But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance_] God will "turn again their captivity as the streams in the south." He stirred up the spirit of Cyrus to send them home;... [ Continue Reading ]
And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be [any] remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken [it]. Ver. 18. _And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, &... [ Continue Reading ]
And [they of] the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and [they of] the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin [shall possess] Gilead. Ver. 19. _And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau_] Those of the south, that... [ Continue Reading ]
And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel [shall possess] that of the Canaanites, [even] unto Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem, which [is] in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south. Ver. 20. _And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel, &c._] _i.e. _ Th... [ Continue Reading ]
And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD'S. Ver. 21. _And saviours shall come up on mount Zion_] Judas Maccabeus and Hircanus in the history: as in the mystery, the apostles and others of Christ's ministers, who are here and elsewhere ca... [ Continue Reading ]