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Obadiah 1:11

in Obadiah 1

On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gate and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were just like one of them.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that strangers carried away his substance, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them.

KJV

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.

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This verse in Obadiah 1

Commentary

7 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Obadiah · Written before 420.

(Verse 10, 11.) Because of the killing and (the Vulgate adds 'because of') the wickedness against your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall perish forever. On the day when you stood against him, when strangers captured his army and foreigners entered his gates, and they cast lots for Jerusalem: you were also like one of them.

This site's exposition

thy violence against thy brother Jacob

on Obadiah 1:10-11

The charge turns from Edom's pride to Edom's crime, violence against thy brother Jacob, the kinship word the whole book presses since Esau and Jacob were twins at birth, Genesis 25:24-26. Shame shall cover thee and thou shalt be cut off for ever states the sentence before the specific day is described, the strangers carrying away captive his forces and casting lots upon Jerusalem, most naturally read against the Babylonian conquest of Judah and Edom's presence at that hour. Even thou wast as one of them is the verse's sharpest word, a brother indistinguishable from the enemy in the day it mattered.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Gracious promises to Israel; that they shall be restored and reformed, and shall be victorious over the Edomites, and become masters of their land and the lands of others of their neighbours (

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

In the day thou stoodest on the other side,....

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

In the day that thou stoodest on the other side - The time when they so stood, is not defined in itself, as a past or future. It is literally; “In the day of thy standing over against,” i. e., to gaze on the calamities of God’s people; “in the day of strangers carrying away his strength,” i. e., “the strength of thy brother Jacob,” of whom he had just spoken, “and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots on Jerusalem, thou too as one of them. One of them” they were not.

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

(2Ch 21:16); the Syrians in the reign of Joash of Judah (2Ch 24:24); the Chaldeans (2Ch 36:1-23). carried . . . captive his forces--his "host" (Ob 20): the multitude of Jerusalem's inhabitants. cast lots upon Jerusalem-- (Joe 3:3). So Messiah, Jerusalem's antitype, had lots cast for His only earthly possessions (Ps 22:18).

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Thou stoodest on the other side - Thou not only didst not help thy brother when thou mightest, but thou didst assist his foes against him. And cast lots - When the Chaldeans cast lots on the spoils of Jerusalem, thou didst come in for a share of the booty; “thou wast as one of them.”

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

On the day you stood from afar —that you did not come to aid him.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Obadiah 1:11:1, via Sefaria, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Because of the violence of your brother Jacob —Because of the violence you inflicted upon Jacob.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Obadiah 1:10:1, via Sefaria, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg
And you should not have looked on the day of your brother —You should not have looked and stood from afar.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Obadiah 1:12:1, via Sefaria, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

18 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • בְּיוֹם֙on [the] day

    beyomH3117 →2304 times

  • עֲמָֽדְךָ֣standing you

    ʾamadekhaH5975 →

  • מִנֶּ֔גֶדfrom before

    minegedH5048 →

  • בְּי֛וֹםon [the] day

    beyomH3117 →2304 times

  • שְׁב֥וֹתtook captive

    shevotH7617 →

  • זָרִ֖יםstrangers

    zarimH2114 →

  • חֵיל֑וֹwealth his

    cheiloH2428 →

  • וְנָכְרִ֞יםand foreigners

    venakherimH5237 →

  • בָּ֣אוּthey came

    bauH935 →2568 times

  • שְׁעָרָ֗יוgates his

    shaarovH8179 →

  • וְעַל־and on

    veal-H5921 →5755 times

  • יְרוּשָׁלִַ֙ם֙Jerusalem

    yerushalimH3389 →

  • יַדּ֣וּthey cast

    yaduH3032 →

  • גוֹרָ֔לa lot

    goralH1486 →

  • גַּם־also

    gam-H1571 →

  • אַתָּ֖הyou

    ʾatahH859 →1094 times

  • כְּאַחַ֥ד[were] like one

    keachadH259 →

  • מֵהֶֽם׃from them

    mehem

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

9 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Amos 1:6This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Gaza, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they exiled a whole population, delivering them up to Edom.7 worksPsalms 137:7Remember, O LORD, the sons of Edom on the day Jerusalem fell: “Destroy it,” they said, “tear it down to its foundations!”6 worksNahum 3:10Yet she became an exile; she went into captivity. Her infants were dashed to pieces at the head of every street. They cast lots for her dignitaries, and all her nobles were bound in chains.5 worksJoel 3:3They cast lots for My people; they bartered a boy for a prostitute and sold a girl for wine to drink.5 worksPsalms 50:18When you see a thief, you befriend him, and throw in your lot with adulterers.3 worksEzekiel 24:6Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the city of bloodshed, to the pot now rusted, whose rust will not come off! Empty it piece by piece; cast no lots for its contents.3 works
The other 3 cross-references, with their words ▾
2 Kings 25:11Then Nebuzaradan captain of the guard carried into exile the people who remained in the city, along with the deserters who had defected to the king of Babylon and the rest of the population.2 worksJeremiah 52:28–30These are the people Nebuchadnezzar carried away: in the seventh year, 3,023 Jews;2 works2 Kings 24:10–16At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched up to Jerusalem, and the city came under siege.1 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Psalms 137:7

    Remember, O LORD, the sons of Edom on the day Jerusalem fell: “Destroy it,” they said, “tear it down to its foundations!”

    it leads to

    • Lamentations 4:21–22

      So rejoice and be glad, O Daughter of Edom, you who dwell in the land of Uz. Yet the cup will pass to you as well; you will get drunk and expose yourself.

    • Obadiah 1:10–14

      Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame and cut off forever.

    • Jeremiah 49:7–22

      Concerning Edom, this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Is there no longer wisdom in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom decayed?

    • Ezekiel 25:12–14

      This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because Edom acted vengefully against the house of Judah, and in so doing incurred grievous guilt,

    • Psalms 74:18

      Remember how the enemy has mocked You, O LORD, how a foolish people has spurned Your name.

  • Through

    Psalms 50:18

    When you see a thief, you befriend him, and throw in your lot with adulterers.

    it leads to

    • Romans 1:32

      Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things are worthy of death, they not only continue to do these things, but also approve of those who practice them.

    • 1 Timothy 5:22

      Do not be too quick in the laying on of hands and thereby share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.

  • Through

    Joel 3:3

    They cast lots for My people; they bartered a boy for a prostitute and sold a girl for wine to drink.

    it leads to

    • Nahum 3:10

      Yet she became an exile; she went into captivity. Her infants were dashed to pieces at the head of every street. They cast lots for her dignitaries, and all her nobles were bound in…

Where this verse is studied

About Obadiah

Obadiah: the study guide →Read Obadiah 1 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Obadiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Obadiah 1 →