1:1The vision of Obadiah. This is what the Lord Yahweh says about Edom. We have heard news from Yahweh, and an ambassador is sent among the nations, saying, "Arise, and let's rise up against her in battle.1:2Behold, I have made you small among the nations. You are greatly despised.1:3The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high, who says in his heart, 'Who will bring me down to the ground?'1:4Though you mount on high as the eagle, and though your nest is set among the stars, I will bring you down from there," says Yahweh.1:5"If thieves came to you, if robbers by night--oh, what disaster awaits you--wouldn't they only steal until they had enough? If grape pickers came to you, wouldn't they leave some gleaning grapes?1:6How Esau will be ransacked! How his hidden treasures are sought out!1:7All the men of your alliance have brought you on your way, even to the border. The men who were at peace with you have deceived you, and prevailed against you. Friends who eat your bread lay a snare under you. There is no understanding in him."
1:8"Won't I in that day," says Yahweh, "destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mountain of Esau?1:9Your mighty men, Teman, will be dismayed, to the end that everyone may be cut off from the mountain of Esau by slaughter.1:10For the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame will cover you, and you will be cut off forever.1:11In the day that you stood on the other side, in the day that strangers carried away his substance, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots for Jerusalem, even you were like one of them.1:12But don't look down on your brother in the day of his disaster, and don't rejoice over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction. Don't speak proudly in the day of distress.1:13Don't enter into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity. Don't look down on their affliction in the day of their calamity, neither seize their wealth on the day of their calamity.1:14Don't stand in the crossroads to cut off those of his who escape. Don't deliver up those of his who remain in the day of distress.1:15For the day of Yahweh is near all the nations! As you have done, it will be done to you. Your deeds will return upon your own head.1:16For as you have drunk on my holy mountain, so will all the nations drink continually. Yes, they will drink, swallow down, and will be as though they had not been.1:17But in Mount Zion, there will be those who escape, and it will be holy. The house of Jacob will possess their possessions.1:18The house of Jacob will be a fire, the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble. They will burn among them, and devour them. There will not be any remaining to the house of Esau." Indeed, Yahweh has spoken.
1:19Those of the South will possess the mountain of Esau, and those of the lowland, the Philistines. They will possess the field of Ephraim, and the field of Samaria. Benjamin will possess Gilead.1:20The captives of this army of the children of Israel, who are among the Canaanites, will possess even to Zarephath; and the captives of Jerusalem, who are in Sepharad, will possess the cities of the Negev.1:21Saviors will go up on Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau, and the kingdom will be Yahweh's.
1:1Now the word of Yahweh came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,1:2"Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach against it, for their wickedness has come up before me."
1:3But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid its fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh.1:4But Yahweh sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty storm on the sea, so that the ship was likely to break up.1:5Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man to his god. They threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten it. But Jonah had gone down into the innermost parts of the ship, and he was laying down, and was fast asleep.1:6So the shipmaster came to him, and said to him, "What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on yourGod! Maybe yourGodwill notice us, so that we won't perish."
1:7They all said to each other, "Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is on us." So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.1:8Then they asked him, "Tell us, please, for whose cause this evil is on us. What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? Of what people are you?"
1:9He said to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I fear Yahweh, the God of heaven, who has made the sea and the dry land."
1:10Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said to him, "What is this that you have done?" For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of Yahweh, because he had told them.1:11Then said they to him, "What shall we do to you, that the sea may be calm to us?" For the sea grew more and more stormy.1:12He said to them, "Take me up, and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will be calm for you; for I know that because of me this great storm is on you."
1:13Nevertheless the men rowed hard to get them back to the land; but they could not, for the sea grew more and more stormy against them.1:14Therefore they cried to Yahweh, and said, "We beg you, Yahweh, we beg you, let us not perish for this man's life, and don't lay on us innocent blood; for you, Yahweh, have done as it pleased you."1:15So they took up Jonah, and threw him into the sea; and the sea ceased its raging.1:16Then the men feared Yahweh exceedingly; and they offered a sacrifice to Yahweh, and made vows.
1:17Yahweh prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
2:1Then Jonah prayed to Yahweh, his God, out of the fish's belly.2:2He said,
2:10Yahweh spoke to the fish, and it vomited out Jonah on the dry land.
3:1The word of Yahweh came to Jonah the second time, saying,3:2"Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I give you."
3:3So Jonah arose, and went to Nineveh, according to the word of Yahweh. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days' journey across.3:4Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried out, and said, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!"
3:5The people of Nineveh believed God; and they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.3:6The news reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.3:7He made a proclamation and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, "Let neither man nor animal, herd nor flock, taste anything; let them not feed, nor drink water;3:8but let them be covered with sackcloth, both man and animal, and let them cry mightily to God. Yes, let them turn everyone from his evil way, and from the violence that is in his hands.3:9Who knows whether God will not turn and relent, and turn away from his fierce anger, so that we might not perish?"
3:10God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way. God relented of the disaster which he said he would do to them, and he didn't do it.
4:1But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.4:2He prayed to Yahweh, and said, "Please, Yahweh, wasn't this what I said when I was still in my own country? Therefore I hurried to flee to Tarshish, for I knew that you are a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and you relent of doing harm.4:3Therefore now, Yahweh, take, I beg you, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live."
4:4Yahweh said, "Is it right for you to be angry?"
4:5Then Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made himself a booth, and sat under it in the shade, until he might see what would become of the city.4:6Yahweh God prepared a vine, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to deliver him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the vine.4:7But God prepared a worm at dawn the next day, and it chewed on the vine, so that it withered.4:8It happened, when the sun arose, that God prepared a sultry east wind; and the sun beat on Jonah's head, so that he fainted, and requested for himself that he might die, and said, "It is better for me to die than to live."
4:9God said to Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry about the vine?"
He said, "I am right to be angry, even to death."
4:10Yahweh said, "You have been concerned for the vine, for which you have not labored, neither made it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night.4:11Shouldn't I be concerned for Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred twenty thousand persons who can't discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much livestock?"
Notes:
[1]back to 1:6or, gods
[2]back to 1:6or, gods
1:1The word of Yahweh that came to Micah the Morashtite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
3:1I said,
3:5Thus says Yahweh concerning the prophets who lead my people astray; for those who feed their teeth, they proclaim, "Peace!" and whoever doesn't provide for their mouths, they prepare war against him:
6:1Listen now to what Yahweh says:
Notes:
[1]back to 1:10Beth Ophrah means literally "House of Dust."
[2]back to 6:10An ephah is a measure of volume, and a short ephah is made smaller than a full ephah for the purpose of cheating customers.
1:1An oracle about Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.1:2Yahweh is a jealous God and avenges. Yahweh avenges and is full of wrath. Yahweh takes vengeance on his adversaries, and he maintains wrath against his enemies.1:3Yahweh is slow to anger, and great in power, and will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. Yahweh has his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.1:4He rebukes the sea, and makes it dry, and dries up all the rivers. Bashan languishes, and Carmel; and the flower of Lebanon languishes.1:5The mountains quake before him, and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at his presence, yes, the world, and all who dwell in it.1:6Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the fierceness of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken apart by him.1:7Yahweh is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knows those who take refuge in him.1:8But with an overflowing flood, he will make a full end of her place, and will pursue his enemies into darkness.1:9What do you plot against Yahweh? He will make a full end. Affliction won't rise up the second time.1:10For entangled like thorns, and drunken as with their drink, they are consumed utterly like dry stubble.1:11There is one gone forth out of you, who devises evil against Yahweh, who counsels wickedness.1:12Thus says Yahweh: "Though they be in full strength, and likewise many, even so they will be cut down, and he shall pass away. Though I have afflicted you, I will afflict you no more.1:13Now will I break his yoke from off you, and will burst your bonds apart."1:14Yahweh has commanded concerning you: "No more descendants will bear your name. Out of the house of your gods, will I cut off the engraved image and the molten image. I will make your grave, for you are vile."
1:15Behold, on the mountains the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace! Keep your feasts, Judah! Perform your vows, for the wicked one will no more pass through you. He is utterly cut off.
2:1He who dashes in pieces has come up against you. Keep the fortress! Watch the way! Strengthen your waist! Fortify your power mightily!2:2For Yahweh restores the excellency of Jacob, as the excellency of Israel; for the destroyers have destroyed them, and ruined their vine branches.2:3The shield of his mighty men is made red. The valiant men are in scarlet. The chariots flash with steel in the day of his preparation, and the pine spears are brandished.2:4The chariots rage in the streets. They rush back and forth in the broad ways. Their appearance is like torches. They run like the lightnings.2:5He summons his picked troops. They stumble on their way. They dash to its wall, and the protective shield is put in place.2:6The gates of the rivers are opened, and the palace is dissolved.2:7It is decreed: she is uncovered, she is carried away; and her handmaids moan as with the voice of doves, beating on their breasts.2:8But Nineveh has been from of old like a pool of water, yet they flee away. "Stop! Stop!" they cry, but no one looks back.2:9Take the spoil of silver. Take the spoil of gold, for there is no end of the store, the glory of all goodly furniture.2:10She is empty, void, and waste. The heart melts, the knees knock together, their bodies and faces have grown pale.2:11Where is the den of the lions, and the feeding place of the young lions, where the lion and the lioness walked, the lion's cubs, and no one made them afraid?2:12The lion tore in pieces enough for his cubs, and strangled for his lionesses, and filled his caves with the kill, and his dens with prey.2:13"Behold, I am against you," says Yahweh of Armies, "and I will burn her chariots in the smoke, and the sword will devour your young lions; and I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voice of your messengers will no longer be heard."
3:1Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies and robbery. The prey doesn't depart.3:2The noise of the whip, the noise of the rattling of wheels, prancing horses, and bounding chariots,3:3the horseman mounting, and the flashing sword, the glittering spear, and a multitude of slain, and a great heap of corpses, and there is no end of the bodies. They stumble on their bodies,3:4because of the multitude of the prostitution of the alluring prostitute, the mistress of witchcraft, who sells nations through her prostitution, and families through her witchcraft.3:5"Behold, I am against you," says Yahweh of Armies, "and I will lift your skirts over your face. I will show the nations your nakedness, and the kingdoms your shame.3:6I will throw abominable filth on you, and make you vile, and will set you a spectacle.3:7It will happen that all those who look at you will flee from you, and say, 'Nineveh is laid waste! Who will mourn for her?' Where will I seek comforters for you?"
3:8Are you better thanNo-Amon,who was situated among the rivers, who had the waters around her; whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was of the sea?3:9Cush and Egypt were her boundless strength. Put and Libya were her helpers.3:10Yet was she carried away. She went into captivity. Her young children also were dashed in pieces at the head of all the streets, and they cast lots for her honorable men, and all her great men were bound in chains.3:11You also will be drunken. You will be hidden. You also will seek a stronghold because of the enemy.3:12All your fortresses will be like fig trees with the first-ripe figs: if they are shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater.3:13Behold, your troops in your midst are women. The gates of your land are set wide open to your enemies. The fire has devoured your bars.3:14Draw water for the siege. Strengthen your fortresses. Go into the clay, and tread the mortar. Make the brick kiln strong.3:15There the fire will devour you. The sword will cut you off. It will devour you like the grasshopper. Multiply like grasshoppers. Multiply like the locust.3:16You have increased your merchants more than the stars of the skies. The grasshopper strips, and flees away.3:17Your guards are like the locusts, and your officials like the swarms of locusts, which settle on the walls on a cold day, but when the sun appears, they flee away, and their place is not known where they are.3:18Your shepherds slumber, king of Assyria. Your nobles lie down. Your people are scattered on the mountains, and there is no one to gather them.3:19There is no healing your wound, for your injury is fatal. All who hear the report of you clap their hands over you; for who hasn't felt your endless cruelty?
Notes:
[1]back to 3:8or, Thebes