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?
• 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?
• New Living Translation (NLT)“If thieves came at night and robbed you (what a disaster awaits you!), they would not take everything. Those who harvest grapes always leave a few for the poor. But your enemies will wipe you out completely!

Context of Obadiah 1:5

3The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks and make your home on the heights, you who say to yourself, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’ 4Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down,” declares the Lord. “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? 6But how Esau will be ransacked, his hidden treasures pillaged! 7All your allies will force you to the border; your friends will deceive and overpower you; those who eat your bread will set a trap for you, but you will not detect 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 pickers came to you, would they not leave a few grapes? If thieves came during the night, would they not steal only as much as they wanted?
• 2 Samuel 1:19“A gazelle lies slain on your heights, Israel. How the mighty have fallen!
• Isaiah 14:12How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!
• Jeremiah 50:23How broken and shattered is the hammer of the whole earth! How desolate is Babylon among the nations!
• Lamentations 1:1How deserted lies the city, once so full of people! How like a widow is she, who once was great among the nations! She who was queen among the provinces has now become a slave.
• Zephaniah 2:15This is the city of revelry that lived in safety. She said to herself, “I am the one! And there is none besides me.” What a ruin she has become, a lair for wild beasts! All who pass by her scoff and shake their fists.
• Revelation 18:10Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry: “ ‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, you mighty city of Babylon! In one hour your doom has come!’
• Deuteronomy 24:21When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow.
• Isaiah 17:6Yet some gleanings will remain, as when an olive tree is beaten, leaving two or three olives on the topmost branches, four or five on the fruitful boughs,” declares the Lord, the God of Israel.
• Isaiah 24:13So will it be on the earth and among the nations, as when an olive tree is beaten, or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest.
• Micah 7:1What misery is mine! I am like one who gathers summer fruit at the gleaning of the vineyard; there is no cluster of grapes to eat, none of the early figs that I crave.

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