Obadiah 1:5

Obadiah 1:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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 grapegatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grapes?
• New International Version (NIV)“If thieves came to you, if robbers in the night— oh, what a disaster awaits you!— would they not steal only as much as they wanted? If grape pickers came to you, would they not leave a few grapes?
• English Standard Version (ESV)If thieves came to you, if plunderers came by night— how you have been destroyed!— would they not steal only enough for themselves? If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave gleanings?
• New King James Version (NKJV)“If thieves had come to you, If robbers by night— Oh, how you will be cut off!— Would they not have stolen till they had enough? If grape-gatherers had come to you, Would they not have left some gleanings?

Context of Obadiah 1:5

3The pride and arrogance of your heart have deceived you, You who live in the clefts and lofty security of the rock (Sela), Whose dwelling place is high, Who say [boastfully] in your heart, ‘Who will bring me down to earth?’ 4Though you build [your nest] on high like the eagle, Though you set your nest among the stars, I will bring you down from there,” says the Lord. “If thieves came to you, If robbers by night— How you will be ruined!— Would they not steal only until they had enough? If grape gatherers came to you, Would they not leave some grapes for gleaning? 6How Esau (Edom) shall be ransacked [by men who come to ravage with divine approval]! How his hidden treasures shall be searched out! 7All the men allied with you Shall send you on your way to the border; The men who were at peace with you Shall deceive you and overpower you; Those who eat your bread [those you trust] Shall set a hostile ambush for you. (There is no understanding of it.)

Obadiah 1:5 word by word

אִם־גַּנָּבִ֤ים בָּאֽוּ־לְךָ֙ אִם־שׁ֣וֹדְדֵי לַ֔יְלָה אֵ֣יךְ נִדְמֵ֔יתָה הֲל֥וֹא יִגְנְב֖וּ דַּיָּ֑ם אִם־בֹּֽצְרִים֙ בָּ֣אוּ לָ֔ךְ הֲל֖וֹא יַשְׁאִ֥ירוּ עֹלֵלֽוֹת׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• If thievesגַּנָּבgannâb · thiefH1590
• cameבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• to thee, if robbersשָׁדַדshâdad · to ruinH7703
• by nightלַ֫יְלָהlayil lêyl layelâh · nightH3915
• how art thou cut offדָּמָהdâmâh · to ceaseH1820
• would they not have stolenגָּנַבgânab · to stealH1589
• till they had enoughדַּיday · sufficiencyH1767
• if the grapegatherersבָּצַרbâtsar · to gather/restrain/fortifyH1219
• to thee, would they not leaveשָׁאַרshâ'ar · to remainH7604
• grapesעֹלֵלוֹת‛ôlêlâh · gleaningH5955

Cross-references for Obadiah 1:5

• Jeremiah 49:9If grape gatherers came to you, Would they not leave some ungleaned grapes [on the vines]? If thieves came by night, Would they not destroy [only] what is enough [for them]?
• 2 Samuel 1:19“Your glory and splendor, O Israel, is slain upon your high places! How the mighty have fallen!
• Isaiah 14:12How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning [light-bringer], son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the ground, You who have weakened the nations [king of Babylon]!
• Jeremiah 50:23How the hammer of the whole earth Is crushed and broken! How Babylon has become A horror [of desolation] among the nations!
• Lamentations 1:1How solitary and lonely sits the city [Jerusalem] That was [once] full of people! How like a widow she has become. She who was great among the nations! The princess among the provinces, Has become a forced laborer!
• Zephaniah 2:15This is the joyous city Which dwells carelessly [feeling so secure], Who says in her heart, “I am, and there is no one besides me.” What a desolation she has become, A lair for [wild] animals! Everyone who passes by her will hiss [in scorn] And wave his hand in contempt.
• Revelation 18:10standing a long way off, in fear of her torment, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, the strong city, Babylon! In a single hour your judgment has come.’
• Deuteronomy 24:21“When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean it afterward; it shall be for the stranger, for the orphan, and for the widow.
• Isaiah 17:6Yet gleanings will be left in the land [of Israel] like the shaking of the olive tree, Two or three olives on the topmost branch, Four or five on the [outermost] branches of the fruitful tree,” Declares the Lord, the God of Israel.
• Isaiah 24:13For so it will be in the midst of the earth among the peoples, As the shaking of an olive tree, As the gleanings when the grape harvest is over [and only a little of the fruit remains].
• Micah 7:1Woe is me (judgment is coming)! For I am Like one who gathers the summer fruits, like one who gleans the vintage grapes. There is not a cluster of grapes to eat, No first-ripe fig which my appetite craves.

Commentaries on Obadiah 1:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5If thieves came to thee - That is, if thieves entered thy dwellings, they would not have taken every thing; they would have laid hold on thy wealth; and carried off as much as they could escape with conveniently; if grape-gatherers entered thy vineyards, they would not have taken every bunch; some gleanings would have been left. But the Chaldeans have stripped thee bare; they have searched out all thy hidden things, Obadiah 1:6, they have left thee…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5If thieves came to thee - The prophet describes their future punishment, by contrast with that which, as a marauding people, they well knew. Thieves and robbers spoil only for their petty end. They take what comes to hand; what they can, they carry off shortness of time, difficulty of transport, necessity of providing for a retreat, limit their plunder. When they have gorged themselves, they depart. “Their” plunder is limited. The “grape-gatherer” leaves…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5Edom's destroyers would take everything, unlike thieves and harvesters. Thieves would leave anything that might slow their escape. Harvesters would always leave some leftovers for the poor (Deuteronomy 24:19; compare Ruth 2; Matthew 12:1).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. The spoliation which thou shalt suffer shall not be such as that which thieves cause, bad as that is, for these when they have seized enough, or all they can get in a hurry, leave the rest--nor such as grape-gatherers cause in a vineyard, for they, when they have gathered most of the grapes, leave gleanings behind--but it shall be utter, so as to leave thee nothing. The exclamation, "How art thou cut off!" bursting in amidst the words of the image…Read the comment

Topics related to Obadiah 1:5

• Deceit
• Theft and Thieves

In the dictionaries

• Obadiah, Book of

Commentaries on Obadiah 1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings