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Obadiah

Proud Edom Will Be Brought Low

1 The vision of Obadiah.

Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom:
We have heard a report from the Lord,
   and a messenger has been sent among the nations:
‘Rise up! Let us rise against it for battle!’
² I will surely make you least among the nations;
   you shall be utterly despised.
³ Your proud heart has deceived you,
   you that live in the clefts of the rock,^*
   whose dwelling is in the heights.
You say in your heart,
   ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’
⁴ Though you soar aloft like the eagle,
   though your nest is set among the stars,
   from there I will bring you down,

says the Lord.

Pillage and Slaughter Will Repay Edom’s Cruelty

⁵ If thieves came to you,
   if plunderers by night
   —how you have been destroyed!—
   would they not steal only what they wanted?
If grape-gatherers came to you,
   would they not leave gleanings?
⁶ How Esau has been pillaged,
   his treasures searched out!
⁷ All your allies have deceived you,
   they have driven you to the border;
your confederates have prevailed against you;
   those who ate^* your bread have set a trap for you—
   there is no understanding of it.
⁸ On that day, says the Lord,
   I will destroy the wise out of Edom,
   and understanding out of Mount Esau.
⁹ Your warriors shall be shattered, O Teman,
   so that everyone from Mount Esau will be cut off.

Edom Wronged His Brother

¹⁰ For the slaughter and violence done to your brother Jacob,
   shame shall cover you,
   and you shall be cut off for ever.
¹¹ On the day that you stood aside,
   on the day that strangers carried off his wealth,
and foreigners entered his gates
   and cast lots for Jerusalem,
   you too were like one of them.
¹² But you should not have gloated^* over^* your brother
   on the day of his misfortune;
you should not have rejoiced over the people of Judah
   on the day of their ruin;
you should not have boasted
   on the day of distress.
¹³ 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.
¹⁴ You should not have stood at the crossings
   to cut off his fugitives;
you should not have handed over his survivors
   on the day of distress.

¹⁵ For the day of the Lord is near against all the nations.
As you have done, it shall be done to you;
   your deeds shall return on your own head.
¹⁶ For as you have drunk on my holy mountain,
   all the nations around you shall drink;
they shall drink and gulp down,^*
   and shall be as though they had never been.

Israel’s Final Triumph

¹⁷ But on Mount Zion there shall be those that escape,
   and it shall be holy;
and the house of Jacob shall take possession of those who dispossessed them.
¹⁸ The house of Jacob shall be a fire,
   the house of Joseph a flame,
   and the house of Esau stubble;
they shall burn them and consume them,
   and there shall be no survivor of the house of Esau;

for the Lord has spoken.
¹⁹ Those of the Negeb shall possess Mount Esau,
   and those of the Shephelah the land of the Philistines;
they shall possess the land of Ephraim and the land of Samaria,
   and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
²⁰ The exiles of the Israelites who are in Halah^*
   shall possess^* Phoenicia as far as Zarephath;
and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
   shall possess the towns of the Negeb.
²¹ Those who have been saved^* shall go up to Mount Zion
   to rule Mount Esau;
   and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.

Psalm 116

Thanksgiving for Recovery from Illness

¹ I love the Lord, because he has heard
   my voice and my supplications.
² Because he inclined his ear to me,
   therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
³ The snares of death encompassed me;
   the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
   I suffered distress and anguish.
⁴ Then I called on the name of the Lord:
   ‘O Lord, I pray, save my life!’

⁵ Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
   our God is merciful.
⁶ The Lord protects the simple;
   when I was brought low, he saved me.
⁷ Return, O my soul, to your rest,
   for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

⁸ For you have delivered my soul from death,
   my eyes from tears,
   my feet from stumbling.
⁹ I walk before the Lord
   in the land of the living.
¹⁰ I kept my faith, even when I said,
   ‘I am greatly afflicted’;
¹¹ I said in my consternation,
   ‘Everyone is a liar.’

¹² What shall I return to the Lord
   for all his bounty to me?
¹³ I will lift up the cup of salvation
   and call on the name of the Lord,
¹⁴ I will pay my vows to the Lord
   in the presence of all his people.
¹⁵ Precious in the sight of the Lord
   is the death of his faithful ones.
¹⁶ O Lord, I am your servant;
   I am your servant, the child of your serving-maid.
   You have loosed my bonds.
¹⁷ I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice
   and call on the name of the Lord.
¹⁸ I will pay my vows to the Lord
   in the presence of all his people,
¹⁹ in the courts of the house of the Lord,
   in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!

True Greatness

18At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ ²He called a child, whom he put among them, ³and said, ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

Temptations to Sin

6 ‘If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea. ⁷Woe to the world because of stumbling-blocks! Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling-block comes!

8 ‘If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than to have two hands or two feet and to be thrown into the eternal fire. ⁹And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into the hell^* of fire.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

10 ‘Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven.^{* 12}What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? ¹³And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. ¹⁴So it is not the will of your^* Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.

Reproving Another Who Sins

15 ‘If another member of the church^* sins against you,^* go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one.^{* 16}But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax-collector. ¹⁸Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. ¹⁹Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. ²⁰For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.’

Forgiveness

21 Then Peter came and said to him, ‘Lord, if another member of the church^* sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?’ ²²Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven^* times.

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

23 ‘For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. ²⁴When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents^* was brought to him; ²⁵and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. ²⁶So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.” ²⁷And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. ²⁸But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow-slaves who owed him a hundred denarii;^* and seizing him by the throat, he said, “Pay what you owe.” ²⁹Then his fellow-slave fell down and pleaded with him, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you.” ³⁰But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he should pay the debt. ³¹When his fellow-slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. ³²Then his lord summoned him and said to him, “You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. ³³Should you not have had mercy on your fellow-slave, as I had mercy on you?” ³⁴And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he should pay his entire debt. ³⁵So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister^* from your heart.’