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 have been deceived by your own pride because you live in a rock fortress and make your home high in the mountains. ‘Who can ever reach us way up here?’ you ask boastfully. 4But even if you soar as high as eagles and build your nest among the stars, I will bring you crashing down,” says the Lord. “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! 6Every nook and cranny of Edom will be searched and looted. Every treasure will be found and taken. 7“All your allies will turn against you. They will help to chase you from your land. They will promise you peace while plotting to deceive and destroy you. Your trusted friends will set traps for you, and you won’t even know about 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 49:9Those who harvest grapes always leave a few for the poor. If thieves came at night, they would not take everything.
• 2 Samuel 1:19Your pride and joy, O Israel, lies dead on the hills! Oh, how the mighty heroes have fallen!
• Isaiah 14:12“How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning! You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world.
• Jeremiah 50:23Babylon, the mightiest hammer in all the earth, lies broken and shattered. Babylon is desolate among the nations!
• Lamentations 1:1Jerusalem, once so full of people, is now deserted. She who was once great among the nations now sits alone like a widow. Once the queen of all the earth, she is now a slave.
• Zephaniah 2:15This is the boisterous city, once so secure. “I am the greatest!” it boasted. “No other city can compare with me!” But now, look how it has become an utter ruin, a haven for wild animals. Everyone passing by will laugh in derision and shake a defiant fist.
• Revelation 18:10They will stand at a distance, terrified by her great torment. They will cry out, “How terrible, how terrible for you, O Babylon, you great city! In a single moment God’s judgment came on you.”
• Deuteronomy 24:21When you gather the grapes in your vineyard, don’t glean the vines after they are picked. Leave the remaining grapes for the foreigners, orphans, and widows.
• Isaiah 17:6Only a few of its people will be left, like stray olives left on a tree after the harvest. Only two or three remain in the highest branches, four or five scattered here and there on the limbs,” declares the Lord, the God of Israel.
• Isaiah 24:13Throughout the earth the story is the same— only a remnant is left, like the stray olives left on the tree or the few grapes left on the vine after harvest.
• Micah 7:1How miserable I am! I feel like the fruit picker after the harvest who can find nothing to eat. Not a cluster of grapes or a single early fig can be found to satisfy my hunger.

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