Proud Edom Will Be Brought Low
1 The vision of Obadiah.
Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom:
We have heard a report from the Lord,
and a messenger has been sent among the nations:
“Rise up! Let us rise against it for battle!”
2
I will surely make you least among the nations;
you shall be utterly despised.
3
Your proud heart has deceived you,
you that live in the clefts of the rock,[a]
whose dwelling is in the heights.
You say in your heart,
“Who will bring me down to the ground?”
4
Though you soar aloft like the eagle,
though your nest is set among the stars,
from there I will bring you down,
says the Lord.
Pillage and Slaughter Will Repay Edom’s Cruelty
5
If thieves came to you,
if plunderers by night
—how you have been destroyed!—
would they not steal only what they wanted?
If grape-gatherers came to you,
would they not leave gleanings?
6
How Esau has been pillaged,
his treasures searched out!
7
All your allies have deceived you,
they have driven you to the border;
your confederates have prevailed against you;
those who ate[b] your bread have set a trap for you—
there is no understanding of it.
8
On that day, says the Lord,
I will destroy the wise out of Edom,
and understanding out of Mount Esau.
9
Your warriors shall be shattered, O Teman,
so that everyone from Mount Esau will be cut off.
Edom Mistreated His Brother
10
For the slaughter and violence done to your brother Jacob,
shame shall cover you,
and you shall be cut off forever.
11
On the day that you stood aside,
on the day that strangers carried off his wealth,
and foreigners entered his gates
and cast lots for Jerusalem,
you too were like one of them.
12
But you should not have gloated[c] over[d] your brother
on the day of his misfortune;
you should not have rejoiced over the people of Judah
on the day of their ruin;
you should not have boasted
on the day of distress.
13
You should not have entered the gate of my people
on the day of their calamity;
you should not have joined in the gloating over Judah’s[e] disaster
on the day of his calamity;
you should not have looted his goods
on the day of his calamity.
14
You should not have stood at the crossings
to cut off his fugitives;
you should not have handed over his survivors
on the day of distress.
15
For the day of the Lord is near against all the nations.
As you have done, it shall be done to you;
your deeds shall return on your own head.
16
For as you have drunk on my holy mountain,
all the nations around you shall drink;
they shall drink and gulp down,[f]
and shall be as though they had never been.
Israel’s Final Triumph
17
But on Mount Zion there shall be those that escape,
and it shall be holy;
and the house of Jacob shall take possession of those who dispossessed them.
18
The house of Jacob shall be a fire,
the house of Joseph a flame,
and the house of Esau stubble;
they shall burn them and consume them,
and there shall be no survivor of the house of Esau;
for the Lord has spoken.
19
Those of the Negeb shall possess Mount Esau,
and those of the Shephelah the land of the Philistines;
they shall possess the land of Ephraim and the land of Samaria,
and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
20
The exiles of the Israelites who are in Halah[g]
shall possess[h] Phoenicia as far as Zarephath;
and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
shall possess the towns of the Negeb.
21
Those who have been saved[i] shall go up to Mount Zion
to rule Mount Esau;
and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.
15
Moses ordained him,
and anointed him with holy oil;
it was an everlasting covenant for him
and for his descendants as long as the heavens endure,
to minister to the Lord[a] and serve as priest
and bless his people in his name.
16
He chose him out of all the living
to offer sacrifice to the Lord,
incense and a pleasing odor as a memorial portion,
to make atonement for the[b] people.
17
In his commandments he gave him
authority and statutes and[c] judgments,
to teach Jacob the testimonies,
and to enlighten Israel with his law.
18
Outsiders conspired against him,
and envied him in the wilderness,
Dathan and Abiram and their followers
and the company of Korah, in wrath and anger.
19
The Lord saw it and was not pleased,
and in the heat of his anger they were destroyed;
he performed wonders against them
to consume them in flaming fire.
20
He added glory to Aaron
and gave him a heritage;
he allotted to him the best of the first fruits,
and prepared bread of first fruits in abundance;
21
for they eat the sacrifices of the Lord,
which he gave to him and his descendants.
22
But in the land of the people he has no inheritance,
and he has no portion among the people;
for the Lord[d] himself is his[e] portion and inheritance.
Phinehas
23
Phinehas son of Eleazar ranks third in glory
for being zealous in the fear of the Lord,
and standing firm, when the people turned away,
in the noble courage of his soul;
and he made atonement for Israel.
24
Therefore a covenant of friendship was established with him,
that he should be leader of the sanctuary and of his people,
that he and his descendants should have
the dignity of the priesthood forever.
25
Just as a covenant was established with David
son of Jesse of the tribe of Judah,
that the king’s heritage passes only from son to son,
so the heritage of Aaron is for his descendants alone.
26
And now bless the Lord
who has crowned you with glory.[f]
May the Lord[g] grant you wisdom of mind
to judge his people with justice,
so that their prosperity may not vanish,
and that their glory may endure through all their generations.
The Birth of Jesus the Messiah
18 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah[a] took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. 20 But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
23
“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,”
which means, “God is with us.” 24 When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, 25 but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son;[b] and he named him Jesus.
The Visit of the Wise Men
2 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men[c] from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising,[d] and have come to pay him homage.” 3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah[e] was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
6
‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd[f] my people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men[g] and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” 9 When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising,[h] until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped,[i] they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.