Obadiah 1:13

JPS Old Testament

Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of My people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have gazed on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Do not enter my people’s city gatein the day of their disaster.Yes, you—do not gloat over their miseryin the day of their disaster,and do not appropriate their possessionsin the day of their disaster.

Hebrew Names Version
Don't enter into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity. Don't look down on their affliction in the day of their calamity, neither seize their wealth on the day of their calamity.

King James Version (1611)
Thou shouldest not haue entred into the gate of my people in the day of their calamitie: yea, thou shouldest not haue looked on their affliction in the day of their calamitie, nor haue laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamitie.

King James Version
Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity;

English Standard Version
Do not enter the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; do not gloat over his disaster in the day of his calamity; do not loot his wealth in the day of his calamity.

New American Standard Bible
"Do not enter the gate of My people On the day of their disaster. You indeed, do not gloat over their catastrophe On the day of their disaster. And do not lay a hand on their wealth On the day of their disaster.

New Century Version
Do not enter the city gate of my people in their time of trouble or laugh at their problems in their time of trouble. Do not take their treasures in their time of trouble.

Amplified Bible
"Do not enter the gate of My people In the day of their disaster; Yes, you, do not look [with delight] on their misery In the day of their ruin, And do not loot treasures In the day of their ruin.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Thou shouldest not haue entred into the gate of my people, in the day of their destruction, neither shouldest thou haue once looked on their affliction in the day of their destruction, nor haue layde hands on their substance in the day of their destruction.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Do not enter the gate of My people In the day of their disaster. Yes, you, do not gloat over their calamity In the day of their disaster. And do not loot their wealth In the day of their disaster.

Legacy Standard Bible
Do not enter the gate of My peopleIn the day of their disaster.Indeed, you, do not look on their calamity with triumphIn the day of their disaster.And do not send out for their wealthIn the day of their disaster.

Berean Standard Bible
You should not enter the gate of My people in the day of their disaster, nor gloat over their affliction in the day of their disaster, nor loot their wealth in the day of their disaster.

Contemporary English Version
They are my people, and you were cruel to them. You went through their towns, sneering and stealing whatever was left.

Complete Jewish Bible
or entered the gate of my people on their day of calamity — no, you shouldn't have gloated over their suffering on their day of calamity or laid hands on their treasure on their day of calamity.

Darby Translation
Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity, nor have looked, even thou, on their affliction in the day of their calamity, neither shouldest thou have laid [hands] on their substance in the day of their calamity;

Easy-to-Read Version
You should not have entered the city gate of my people and laughed at their problems. You should not have taken their treasures in the time of their trouble.

George Lamsa Translation
You should not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, you should not have rejoiced over their misfortune in the day of their distress; nor should you have terrified his forces in the day of their calamity;

Good News Translation
You should not have entered the city of my people to gloat over their suffering and to seize their riches on the day of their disaster.

Lexham English Bible
You should not have entered the gate of my people on the day of their disaster. You also should not have gloated over his misery on the day of his disaster, and you should not have stretched out your hands on the day of his disaster.

Literal Translation
You should not have entered into My people's gate on the day of his calamity; also you should not have looked on his evil on the day of his calamity, nor should you have sent out against his force in the day of his calamity.

American Standard Version
Enter not into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, look not thou on their affliction in the day of their calamity, neither lay ye hands on their substance in the day of their calamity.

Bible in Basic English
Do not go into the doors of my people on the day of their downfall; do not be looking on their trouble with pleasure on the day of their downfall, or put your hands on their goods on the day of their downfall.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Thou shouldest not haue entred into the gate of my people in the day of their destruction, neither shouldest thou haue once loked on their affliction in the day of their destructio, nor haue layd handes on their substaunce in the day of their destruction:

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Neither shouldest thou have gone into the gates of the people in the day of their troubles; nor yet shouldest thou have looked upon their gathering in the day of their destruction, nor shouldest thou have attacked their host in the day of their perishing.

English Revised Version
Enter not into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, look not thou on their affliction in the day of their calamity, neither lay ye hands on their substance in the day of their calamity.

World English Bible
Don't enter into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity. Don't look down on their affliction in the day of their calamity, neither seize their wealth on the day of their calamity.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
nether schalt entre in to the yate of my puple, in the dai of fallyng of hem; and thou schalt not dispise in the yuels of hym, in the dai of his distriyng; and thou schalt not be sent out ayens his oost, in the day of his distriyng;

Update Bible Version
Don't enter into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yes, don't look on their affliction in the day of their calamity, neither lay [hands] on their substance in the day of their calamity.

Webster's Bible Translation
Thou shouldst not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yes, thou shouldst not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid [hands] on their substance in the day of their calamity;

New English Translation
You should not have entered the city of my people when they experienced distress. You should not have joined in gloating over their misfortune when they suffered distress. You should not have looted their wealth when they endured distress.

New King James Version
You should not have entered the gate of My people In the day of their calamity. Indeed, you should not have gazed on their affliction In the day of their calamity, Nor laid hands on their substance In the day of their calamity.

New Living Translation
You should not have plundered the land of Israel when they were suffering such calamity. You should not have gloated over their destruction when they were suffering such calamity. You should not have seized their wealth when they were suffering such calamity.

New Life Bible
Do not go in through the gate of My people in the day of their trouble. Do not speak with pride about their suffering in the day of their trouble. And do not rob their riches in the day of their trouble.

New Revised Standard
You should not have entered the gate of my people on the day of their calamity; you should not have joined in the gloating over Judah's disaster on the day of his calamity; you should not have looted his goods on the day of his calamity.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Do not enter into the gate of my people - in the day of their misfortune, Do not, thou also, look with satisfaction on his misery - in the day of his misfortune; neither do thou thrust thy hands on his substance - in the day of his misfortune;

Douay-Rheims Bible
Neither shalt thou enter into the gate of my people in the day of their ruin: neither shalt thou also look on in his evils in the day of his calamity: and thou shalt not be sent out against his army in the day of his desolation.

Revised Standard Version
You should not have entered the gate of my people in the day of his calamity; you should not have gloated over his disaster in the day of his calamity; you should not have looted his goods in the day of his calamity.

Young's Literal Translation
Nor come into a gate of My people in a day of their calamity, Nor look, even thou, on its misfortune in a day of its calamity, Nor send forth against its force in a day of its calamity,

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Thou shalt nomore come in at the gates off my people, in the tyme of their decaye: thou shalt not se their mysery in the daye of their fall. Thou shalt sende out no man agaynst their hoost, in the daye of their aduersite:

Contextual Overview

¹⁰ For the violence done to thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever. ¹¹ In the day that thou didst stand aloof, in the day that strangers carried away his substance, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them. ¹² But thou shouldest not have gazed on the day of thy brother in the day of his disaster, neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress. ¹³ Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of My people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have gazed on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity. ¹⁴ Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress. ¹⁵ For the day of the LORD is near upon all the nations; as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee; thy dealing shall return upon thine own head. ¹⁶ For as ye have drunk upon My holy mountain, so shall all the nations drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and swallow down, and shall be as though they had not been.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

looked: 2 Samuel 16:12, Psalms 22:17, Zechariah 1:15

substance: or, forces

Reciprocal: Genesis 9:22 - told 2 Chronicles 28:17 - the Edomites Jeremiah 46:21 - the day Jeremiah 48:27 - was not Lamentations 1:21 - they are Ezekiel 35:10 - thou hast

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity,.... Or gates, as the Targum; the gates of any of their cities, and particularly those of Jerusalem; into which the Edomites entered along with the Chaldeans, exulting over the Jews, and insulting them, and joining with the enemy in distressing and plundering them:

yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity: which is repeated, as being exceeding cruel and inhuman, and what was highly resented by the Lord; that, instead of looking upon the affliction of his people and their brethren with an eye of pity and compassion, they looked upon it with the utmost pleasure and delight:

nor laid [hands] on their substance in the day of their calamity; or "on their forces" x; they laid violent hands on their armed men, and either killed or took them captive: and they laid hands on their goods, their wealth and riches, and made a spoil of them. The phrase, "in the day of their calamity", is three times used in this verse, to show the greatness of it; and as an aggravation of the sin of the Edomites, in behaving and doing as they did at such a time.

x בחילו "is exercitum ejus", Drusius; "in copius eorum", Castalio; "in copiam ejus", Cocceius.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

But thou shouldest not - , rather it means, and can only mean , “And look not (i. e., gaze not with pleasure) on the day of thy brother in the day of his becoming a stranger ; and rejoice not over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; and enlarge not thy mouth in the day of distress. Enter not into the gate of My people in the day of their calamity; look not, thou too, on his affliction in the day of his calamity; and lay not hands on his substance in the day of his calamity; And stand not on the crossway, to cut off his fugitives; and shut not up his remnants in the day of distress.”

Throughout these three verses, Obadiah uses the future only. It is the voice of earnest, emphatic, dehortation and entreaty, not to do what would displease God, and what, if done, would be punished. He dehorts them from malicious rejoicing at their brother’s fall, first in look, then in word, then in act, in covetous participation of the spoil, and lastly in murder. Malicious gazing on human calamity, forgetful of man’s common origin and common liability to ill, is the worst form of human hate. It was one of the contumelies of the Cross, “they gaze, they look” with joy “upon Me.” Psalms 22:17. The rejoicing over them was doubtless, as among savages, accompanied with grimaces (as in Psalms 35:19; Psalms 38:16). Then follow words of insult. The enlarging of the mouth is uttering a tide of large words, here against the people of God; in Ezekiel, against Himself Ezekiel 35:13 : “Thus with your mouth ye have enlarged against Me and have multiplied your words against Me. I have heard.”

Thereon, follows Edom’s coming yet closer, “entering the gate of God’s people” to share the conqueror’s triumphant gaze on his calamity. Then, the violent, busy, laying the hands on the spoil, while others of them stood in cold blood, taking the “fork” where the ways parted, in order to intercept the fugitives before they were dispersed, or to shut them up with the enemy, driving them back on their pursuers. The prophet beholds the whole course of sin and persecution, and warns them against it, in the order, in which, if committed, they would commit it. Who would keep clear from the worst, must stop at the beginning. Still God’s warnings accompany him step by step. At each step, some might stop. The warning, although thrown away on the most part, might arrest the few. At the worst, when the guilt had been contracted and the punishment had ensued, it was a warning for their posterity and for all thereafter.

Some of these things Edom certainly did, as the Psalmist prays Psalms 137:7, “Remember, O Lord, to the children of Edom the day of Jerusalem, who said, Lay bare, lay bare, even to the foundation in her.” And Ezekiel Ezekiel 35:5-6 alluding to this language of Obadiah , “because thou hast had a perpetual hatred, and hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time that their iniquity had an end, therefore, as I live, saith the Lord God, I will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee; sith thou hast not hated blood, even blood shall pursue thee.” Violence, bloodshed, unrelenting, deadly hatred against the whole people, a longing for their extermination, had been inveterate characteristics of Esau. Joel and Amos had already denounced God’s judgments against them for two forms of this hatred, the murder of settlers in their own land or of those who were sold to them Joel 3:19; Amos 1:6, Amos 1:9, Amos 1:11.

Obadiah warns them against yet a third, intercepting their fugitives in their escape from the more powerful enemy. “Stand not in the crossway.” Whoso puts himself in the situation to commit an old sin, does, in fact, will to renew it, and will, unless hindered from without, certainly do it. Probably he will, through sin’s inherent power of growth, do worse. Having anew tasted blood, Ezekiel says, that they sought to displace God’s people and remove God Himself Ezekiel 35:10-11. “Because thou hast said, these two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess it, whereas the Lord was there, therefore, as I live, saith the Lord God, I will even do according to thine anger, and according to thine envy, which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them.”