The Bible

 

Obadiah 1

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1 The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom; We have heard a rumor from the Lord, and an embassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle.

2 Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised.

3 The pride of thy 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?

4 Though thou shalt exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou shalt set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD.

5 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 grape-gatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grapes?

6 How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things sought!

7 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 no understanding in him.

8 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?

9 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.

10 For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.

11 In the day that thou stoodst 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.

12 But thou shouldst not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldst thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldst thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress.

13 Thou shouldst not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yes, thou shouldst 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;

14 Neither shouldst thou have stood in the cross-way, to cut off those of his that escaped; neither shouldst thou have delivered up those of his that remained in the day of distress.

15 For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done to thee: thy reward shall return upon thy own head.

16 For as ye have drank upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yes, 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.

18 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.

19 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.

20 And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even to Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south.

21 And saviors shall come upon mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD'S.

Commentary

 

Teman and Paran

  

In Habakkuk 3:2-4, 'Teman' has respect to celestial love, and 'Mount Paran' to spiritual love.

(References: Arcana Coelestia 2714)

The Bible

 

Habakkuk 3

Study

   

1 A prayer of Habakkuk, the prophet, set to victorious music.

2 Yahweh, I have heard of your fame. I stand in awe of your deeds, Yahweh. Renew your work in the midst of the years. In the midst of the years make it known. In wrath, you remember mercy.

3 God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and his praise filled the earth.

4 His splendor is like the sunrise. Rays shine from his hand, where his power is hidden.

5 Plague went before him, and pestilence followed his feet.

6 He stood, and shook the earth. He looked, and made the nations tremble. The ancient mountains were crumbled. The age-old hills collapsed. His ways are eternal.

7 I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction. The dwellings of the land of Midian trembled.

8 Was Yahweh displeased with the rivers? Was your anger against the rivers, or your wrath against the sea, that you rode on your horses, on your chariots of salvation?

9 You uncovered your bow. You called for your sworn arrows. Selah. You split the earth with rivers.

10 The mountains saw you, and were afraid. The storm of waters passed by. The deep roared and lifted up its hands on high.

11 The sun and moon stood still in the sky, at the light of your arrows as they went, at the shining of your glittering spear.

12 You marched through the land in wrath. You threshed the nations in anger.

13 You went forth for the salvation of your people, for the salvation of your anointed. You crushed the head of the land of wickedness. You stripped them head to foot. Selah.

14 You pierced the heads of his warriors with their own spears. They came as a whirlwind to scatter me, gloating as if to devour the wretched in secret.

15 You trampled the sea with your horses, churning mighty waters.

16 I heard, and my body trembled. My lips quivered at the voice. Rottenness enters into my bones, and I tremble in my place, because I must wait quietly for the day of trouble, for the coming up of the people who invade us.

17 For though the fig tree doesn't flourish, nor fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive fails, the fields yield no food; the flocks are cut off from the fold, and there is no herd in the stalls:

18 yet I will rejoice in Yahweh. I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!

19 Yahweh, the Lord, is my strength. He makes my feet like deer's feet, and enables me to go in high places. For the music director, on my stringed instruments.