The terror you cause and the pride of your heart have deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks, O occupiers of the mountain summit. Though you elevate your nest like the eagle, even from there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD.
Parallel translations
- WEB As for your terror, the pride of your heart has deceived you, O you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, who hold the height of the hill, though you should make your nest as high as the eagle, I will bring you down from there,” says Yahweh.
- KJV Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the LORD.
- NKJV Your fierceness has deceived you, The pride of your heart, O you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, Who hold the height of the hill! Though you make your nest as high as the eagle, I will bring you down from there,” says the Lord.
- NASB “As for the terror you cause, The arrogance of your heart has deceived you, You who live in the clefts of the rock, Who occupy the height of the hill. Though you make your nest as high as an eagle’s, I will bring you down from there,” declares the Lord.
- NLT You have been deceived by the fear you inspire in others and by your own pride. You live in a rock fortress and control the mountain heights. But even if you make your nest among the peaks with the eagles, I will bring you crashing down,” says the Lord.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Edom's pride and trust in its rocky heights have deceived it; God will bring it down even from eagle-high nests. Self-confidence built on natural defenses is no protection from the LORD.
Overview
Edom's mountain fortresses (the region later associated with Petra) bred a false sense of invincibility. God declares that no elevation can place a nation beyond His reach. The verse echoes Obadiah 3-4 and warns that pride before God always precedes a fall (Proverbs 16:18).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Isa 49:25Indeed, this is what the LORD says: “Even the captives of the mighty will be taken away, and the plunder of the tyrant will be retrieved; I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children.
- Amos 9:2Though they dig down to Sheol, from there My hand will take them; and though they climb up to heaven, from there I will pull them down.
- Job 39:27Does the eagle soar at your command and make his nest on high?
- Prov 29:23A man’s pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honor.
- Isa 14:13–15You said in your heart: “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the far reaches of the north.
- Obad 1:3–4The pride of your heart has deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks whose habitation is the heights, who say in your heart, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’
- Prov 16:18Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
- Isa 25:4–5For You have been a refuge for the poor, a stronghold for the needy in distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like rain against a wall,
- Isa 2:21They will flee to caverns in the rocks and crevices in the cliffs, away from the terror of the LORD and from the splendor of His majesty, when He rises to shake the earth.
- Song 2:14O my dove in the clefts of the rock, in the crevices of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your countenance is lovely.
- Ezek 28:11–19Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
- Prov 18:21Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
- Jer 48:28–29Abandon the towns and settle among the rocks, O dwellers of Moab! Be like a dove that nests at the mouth of a cave.
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Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 49:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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