- 1The 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.
- 2Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised.
- 3 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?
- 4Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD.
- 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?
- 6How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things sought up!
- 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.
- 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?
- 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.
- 10 For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.
- 11In 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.
- 12But 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.
- 13Thou 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;
- 14Neither 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.
- 15For 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.
- 16For 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.
- 17 But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.
- 18And 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.
- 19And 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.
- 20And 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.
- 21And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’s.
KING JAMES VERSION
OBADIAH 1
Read the chapter, follow a linked verse, and continue into related Watchman 33 teaching.
CHAPTER VISUAL
Obadiah 1 — Edom’s pride, betrayal of Judah, and violence return upon its own head, while deliverance and the kingdom belong to the LORD on Mount Zion.
About this illustration
The cliff stronghold, blocked escape, and distant Zion combine the chapter’s judgment and restoration. Violence remains implied, and divine rule is shown through dawn over Zion rather than bodily portrayal.
Scripture basis: Obadiah 1:1–21King James Version · Standardized 1769 text with Strong’s numbering · Public domain outside the United Kingdom
EXPLORE THE MESSAGE
Related Watchman 33 Resources
Archaeological Evidence
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCECult & worship
Late seventh to early sixth century BC
En Hazeva Cult Assemblage
An intentionally buried group of Iron Age temple furnishings at En Hazeva preserves statues, stands, vessels, pendants, and altars from Judah's southern frontier while complicating any simple equation of Edomite-style objects with Edomite manufacture or worship.
2 Kings 23:4–14 · Obadiah 1:10–14 · Ezekiel 35:10–15
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEInscription
Late seventh–early sixth century BC
Horvat Uza Edomite Ostracon
A six-line Edomite letter excavated at the Judahite frontier fortress of Horvat Uza invokes Qos and orders delivery of food, offering rare direct evidence for Edomite-speaking personnel in the eastern Negev while leaving conquest, sender, and damaged instructions disputed.
Obadiah 1:10–14 · Ezekiel 35:10–15
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCECult & worship
Late seventh–early sixth century BC
Horvat Qitmit Edomite Shrine
A short-lived cult complex on an isolated Negev hill yielded an exceptional concentration of altars, figurines, cult stands, serving vessels, animal bones, and inscriptions invoking Qos, illuminating Edomite-affiliated worship near Judah while leaving the worshipers' political identity debated.
2 Chronicles 28:17 · Obadiah 1:10–14
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEInscription
reign of Nabonidus, 556–539 BC
Nabonidus Rock Relief and Inscription at Sela
A monumental relief and cuneiform inscription of the Babylonian king Nabonidus carved above Sela provide direct evidence of Neo-Babylonian activity deep within Edomite territory.
Isaiah 16:1 · Isaiah 42:11 · Jeremiah 49:16
Sermons
Legally Blind
Pastor Dean Odle warns that believers can become spiritually blind through pride, passivity, and failure to practice or rightly interpret Scripture. Moving from James 1 and Jesus' confrontations with the Pharisees to Paul's pastoral commands and Christ's rebuke of Laodicea, he urges humility, careful study, prayer, and honest self-examination. Odle applies the warning to disputes over salvation, spiritual gifts, women in ministry, and biblical creation, attributing deception to isolated proof texts and resistance to correction. He closes from 2 Corinthians 5 with the judgment seat of Christ, a call to be reconciled to God, and a prayer for the Holy Spirit to open believers' eyes.
Doctrine and DiscernmentApostasy and DeceptionChristian LivingScripture Alone
View sermon The Heart of Mankind - Part 6: Pride
Pastor Dean Odle presents pride as a foundational corruption of the human heart: self-exaltation that resists truth, correction, dependence, and humble obedience to God. Jeremiah 17 again supplies the series’ controlling diagnosis, while Proverbs, Obadiah, Isaiah 14, and Ezekiel 28 trace pride’s deception and its association with Satan’s fall. Spiritual gifts, knowledge, success, and ministry activity can themselves become occasions for boasting if love and humility are absent.
Doctrine and DiscernmentChristian LivingSpiritual Warfare
View sermon The Lost Axe Head
In “The Lost Axe Head,” Pastor Dean Odle presents a Scripture-centered message about the condition of the church, the prophetic sign, spiritual leadership. Drawing especially from Obadiah 13, John 1, Luke 3, Matthew 11, the teaching emphasizes that the church is called to recover biblical faithfulness instead of accommodating compromise. Odle connects that foundation with the conviction that the biblical narrative is used to show God’s power to recover what has been lost and restore usefulness.
Bible Prophecy
View sermon Showing 1–3 of 4 sermons
Music
Legally Blind
A sober prayer for spiritual sight that confronts self-deception, religious pride, shallow Bible reading, and blind leadership—calling believers to receive correction, obey the Word, examine their hearts, and be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ.