Obadiah 1:4
in Obadiah 1Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, even from there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Though thou mount on high as the eagle, and though thy nest be set among the stars, I will bring thee down from thence, saith Jehovah.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Obadiah 1
Commentary
9 notes on this verseThough thou exalt thyself as the eagle - Though like this bird thou get into the highest cliff of the highest rock, it will not avail thee. To defend thee, when Jehovah has determined thy destruction, thy deepest caves and highest rocks will be equally useless. See Jer 49:16.
This site's exposition
The pride of your heart
on Obadiah 1:3-4
"The pride of your heart has deceived you", a pride housed in "the clefts of the rocks", widely identified with Sela, later called Petra. The boast "Who can bring me down to the ground?" is answered in verse 4, "even from there I will bring you down."
This site's exposition
Though you soar like the eagle
The eagle nests on ledges no climber reaches, and Edom built its towns on ledges like them. Albert Barnes calls the Edomites a race of eagles and hears in the stars the old boast of kings who claimed to touch heaven. God answers the height in one clause.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
The Savior came not to send peace upon the earth but a sword. Lucifer fell, Lucifer who used to rise at dawn;13 and he who was bred up in a paradise of delight had the well-earned sentence passed upon him, " 'Though you exalt yourself as your eagle, and though you set your nest among the stars, thence will I bring you down,' says the Lord." For Lucifer had said in his heart, "I will exalt my throne above the stars of God," and "I will be like the most high." Therefore God says every day to the angels, as they descend the ladder that Jacob saw in his dream, "I say, 'You are gods, sons of the most high, all of you; nevertheless you shall die like men and fall like any prince.' " The devil fell first. "God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment."
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Note, Sinners will certainly be made ashamed of their pride and security of their pride when it has a fall and of their security when their confidences fail their expectation. Do they depend upon their wealth and treasure, the abundance of which is looked upon as the sinews of war? Is their money their defence?
Bring thee down - God who is in the heavens would throw thee down. When men could not marshal armies against thee, stars should fight in their courses against thee.
Though thou exaltest thyself as the eagle,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
exalt thyself--or supply from the second clause, "thy nest" [MAURER] (Compare Job 20:6; Am 9:2). set . . . nest among . . . stars--namely, on the loftiest hills which seem to reach the very stars. Edom is a type of Antichrist (Isa 14:13;
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1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle - (or, thy nest) The eagle builds its nest in places nearly inaccessible to man. The Edomites were a race of eagles. It is not the language of poetry or exaggeration; but is poetic, because so true. “And though thou set thy nest in the stars.” This is men’s language, strange as it is. “I shall touch the stars with my crown;” “I shall strike the stars with my lofty crown;” “since I have touched heaven with my lance.” As Job says Job 20:6-7, “Though his excellency mount up to the heavens and his head reacheth unto the clouds,” yet,” he shall perish forever, like his own dung.” And Isaiah to the king of Babylon, the type of Anti Christ and of the Evil one Isa 14:13, Isa 14:11, “Thou hast said in thy heart, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; thy pomp is brought down to the grave, the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee” . “The pagan saw this. AEsop, when asked, what doeth God? said, ‘He humbles the proud and exalts the humble.’ And another , ‘whom morning’s dawn beholdeth proud, The setting sun beholdeth bowed. ‘“ “They who boast of being Christians, and are on that ground self-satisfied, promising themselves eternal life, and thinking that they need not fear Hell, because they are Christians and hold the faith of the Apostles, while their lives are altogether alien from Christianity, are such Edomites, priding themselves because they dwell in clefts of the rocks. For it sufficeth not to believe what Christ and the apostles taught, unless thou do what they commanded. […]
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| תַּגְבִּ֣יהַּ | tagbiah | you will make high | H1361 → | |
| כַּנֶּ֔שֶׁר | kanesher | like <the> eagle | H5404 → | |
| וְאִם־ | veim- | and if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| בֵּ֥ין | bein | between | H996 → | |
| כּֽוֹכָבִ֖ים | kokhavim | [the] stars | H3556 → | |
| שִׂ֣ים | sim | [will be] set | H7760 → | |
| קִנֶּ֑ךָ | kinecha | nest your | H7064 → | |
| מִשָּׁ֥ם | misham | from there | H8033 → | |
| אוֹרִֽידְךָ֖ | ʾoridekha | I will bring down you | H3381 → | |
| נְאֻם־ | neum- | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
תַּגְבִּ֣יהַּyou will make high
tagbiahH1361 →
כַּנֶּ֔שֶׁרlike <the> eagle
kanesherH5404 →
וְאִם־and if
veim-H518 →1069 times
בֵּ֥יןbetween
beinH996 →
כּֽוֹכָבִ֖ים[the] stars
kokhavimH3556 →
שִׂ֣ים[will be] set
simH7760 →
קִנֶּ֑ךָnest your
kinechaH7064 →
מִשָּׁ֥םfrom there
mishamH8033 →
אוֹרִֽידְךָ֖I will bring down you
ʾoridekhaH3381 →
נְאֻם־[the] utterance of
neum-H5002 →
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Amos 9:2Though they dig down to Sheol, from there My hand will take them; and though they climb up to heaven, from there I will pull them down.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 51:53
Even if Babylon ascends to the heavens and fortifies her lofty stronghold, the destroyers I send will come against her,” declares the LORD.
- Psalms 139:7–10
Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence?
- Jeremiah 51:53
Through
Habakkuk 2:9Woe to him who builds his house by unjust gain, to place his nest on high and escape the hand of disaster!
it leads to
- Jeremiah 49:16
The terror you cause and the pride of your heart have deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks, O occupiers of the mountain summit. Though you elevate your nest like the…
- Jeremiah 22:13–19
“Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms without justice, who makes his countrymen serve without pay, and fails to pay their wages,
- Jeremiah 49:16
Through
Jeremiah 49:16The terror you cause and the pride of your heart have deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks, O occupiers of the mountain summit. Though you elevate your nest like the…
it leads to
- Isaiah 49:25
Indeed, this is what the LORD says: “Even the captives of the mighty will be taken away, and the plunder of the tyrant will be retrieved; I will contend with those who contend with…
- Job 39:27
Does the eagle soar at your command and make his nest on high?
- Amos 9:2
Though they dig down to Sheol, from there My hand will take them; and though they climb up to heaven, from there I will pull them down.
- Proverbs 29:23
A man’s pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honor.
- Isaiah 49:25
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies6
About Obadiah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, LETTER 22:4; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.