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

3You think that you are better than other people. And so you believe something that is not true. You live in a place that is difficult to reach. Your home is high up in a place among rocks. You say to yourself, “Nobody can reach us up here.” 4You may be like a strong bird that flies high. And you may make your home in the highest places among the stars. But I will bring you down from there.’ That is what the Lord says. He says, ‘Men might come in the night to take away what is yours. (Oh! What a very bad thing will happen to you!) But they would not take everything. If people came to take fruit from your trees, they would leave some fruit on the tree. 6But people will take everything from Esau's people (also called Edom). They will even take the valuable things that you hide. 7People who have helped you to fight will push you out from your country. They will tell you what is not true. You will believe them. They will be stronger than you because you will believe their words. They will make a trap for you.’

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 people came to pick your grapes, they would leave a few grapes on the vines. If robbers came at night to take your things, they would only take the things that they needed.
• 2 Samuel 1:19‘The greatest men of Israel now lie on the mountains. They are dead! Those brave men have fallen to the ground!
• Isaiah 14:12Look at you! You have fallen from heaven! You shine like the bright morning star! You have won against many nations, but now you have come down very low!
• Jeremiah 50:23Babylon attacked other nations of the world, like a hammer that breaks things into pieces. But now that hammer has broken into pieces. Now the other nations see that Babylon is a disgusting place.
• Lamentations 1:1The city that was full of people is lonely now. The city is like the wife of a dead husband. Once she was great. She was like a queen among the other places in the country. Now she is a slave.
• Zephaniah 2:15All this will happen to that city, the proud city. That city's people said in their minds, ‘Here we are. We are greater than all the other people.’ But then, other people will destroy their city! Only bits of it will still be there. Then wild animals will come and they will lie down in it. People will see this. So any people who pass by the city will make noises with their lips. And they will hold their fists up. In this way, they will show that they think bad things about the city.
• Revelation 18:10They will stand a long way from the city because they are afraid. They do not want to suffer in the same way. They will say, ‘Terrible trouble has come to you, Babylon! Great city! Powerful city! It is very bad for you! In one single hour God has destroyed you!’
• Deuteronomy 24:21When you pick your grapes, pick only once from each vine. Leave the grapes that remain for foreigners, widows and children who have no family.
• Isaiah 17:6There will be only a few people that remain in Israel. They will be like a few olives that remain on a tree after the harvest. Perhaps two or three olives are still there on the highest branches. Four or five olives may remain on the other branches.’ That is what the Lord God of Israel says.
• Isaiah 24:13This is what will happen among all the nations on the earth. Only a few people will remain, like a few olives that remain on a tree after the harvest. After people have picked the grapes off a vine, there are only a few that remain.
• Micah 7:1I am very sad! I am like someone who comes to trees with no fruit on them. Other people have picked the fruit already. So I am like those people who can only pick the last grapes. Those are the grapes that other people leave behind. Really, there are no grapes there to eat. There are none of the first figs that I like so much.

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