God’s Word Translation
Obadiah 1:2
2“Edom, I will make you the smallest of nations. Others will despise you.
Obadiah 1:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised.
- New International Version (NIV)“See, I will make you small among the nations; you will be utterly despised.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Behold, I will make you small among the nations; you shall be utterly despised.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Behold, I will make you small among the nations; You shall be greatly despised.
Context of Obadiah 1:2
1This is the vision of Obadiah. This is what the Almighty Lord says about Edom: We have heard a message from the Lord. A messenger was sent among the nations to say, “Get ready! Let’s go to war against Edom.” “Edom, I will make you the smallest of nations. Others will despise you. 3Your arrogance has deceived you. You live on rocky cliffs. You make your home up high. You say to yourself, ‘No one can bring me down to earth.’ 4Even though you fly high like an eagle and build your nest among the stars, I will bring you down from there,” declares the Lord.
Read all of Obadiah 1Obadiah 1:2 word by word
הִנֵּ֥ה קָטֹ֛ן נְתַתִּ֖יךָ בַּגּוֹיִ֑ם בָּז֥וּי אַתָּ֖ה מְאֹֽד׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Obadiah 1:2
- Numbers 24:18Edom will be conquered, and Seir, his enemy, will be conquered. So Israel will become wealthy.
- 1 Samuel 2:7The Lord causes poverty and grants wealth. He humbles ⌞people⌟; he also promotes them.
- Job 34:25He knows what they do, so he overthrows them at night, and they’re crushed.
- Psalms 107:39They became few in number and were humiliated because of oppression, disaster, and sorrow.
- Isaiah 23:9The Lord of Armies planned this in order to dishonor all arrogant people and to humiliate all the honored people of the world.
- Ezekiel 29:15They will be the weakest kingdom, and they will never rule the nations again. I will make them so weak that they will never rule the nations again.
- Micah 7:10Then my enemies will see this, and they will be covered with shame, because they asked me, “Where is the Lord your God?” Now I look at them. They are trampled like mud in the streets.
- Luke 1:51“He displayed his mighty power. He scattered those who think too highly of themselves.
Commentaries on Obadiah 1:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2I have made thee small among the heathen - God ever attributes to himself the rise and fall of nations. If they be great and prosperous, it is by God's providence; if they be tow and depressed, it is by his justice. Compared with the Assyrians, Chaldeans, Egyptians, Syrians, Arabs, and other neighboring nations, the Idumeans were a small people.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2Behold, I have made thee small - God, having declared His future judgments upon Edom, assigns the first ground of those judgments. Pride was the root of Edom‘s sin, then envy; then followed exultation at his brother‘s fall, hard-heartedness and bloodshed. All this was against the disposition of God‘s Providence for him. God had made him small, in numbers, in honor, in territory. Edom was a wild mountain people. It was strongly guarded in the rock-girt…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2-4I will make you small: Several messages of judgment describe Edom’s specific sins against Israel (Obadiah 1:10–14; Jeremiah 49:7–22; Ezekiel 25:12–14; 36:5). Edom often appears among the nations that opposed Israel and the Lord (Isaiah 34; Ezekiel 35–36; Amos 9:1–15). small among the nations … The pride of your heart: Edom’s rocky landscape reflected the pride of its people. Just as their land was high and difficult to reach, the people of Edom thought…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. I have made thee small--Thy reduction to insignificance is as sure as if it were already accomplished; therefore the past tense is used [Maurer]. Edom then extended from Dedan of Arabia to Bozrah in the north (Jr 49:8, 13). Calvin explains it, "Whereas thou wast made by Me an insignificant people, why art thou so proud" (Ob 3)? But if so, why should the heathen peoples be needed to subdue one so insignificant? Jr 49:15, confirms Maurer's view.Read the comment
In the dictionaries
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries