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But you should not gloat in that day, your brother’s day of misfortune, nor rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their destruction, nor boast proudly in the day of their distress.
Obadiah 1:12 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB But don’t look down on your brother in the day of his disaster, and don’t rejoice over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction. Don’t speak proudly in the day of distress.
  • KJV But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; 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.
  • NKJV “But you should not have gazed on the day of your brother In the day of his captivity; Nor should you have rejoiced over the children of Judah In the day of their destruction; Nor should you have spoken proudly In the day of distress.
  • NASB “Do not gloat over your brother’s day, The day of his misfortune. And do not rejoice over the sons of Judah On the day of their destruction; Yes, do not boast On the day of their distress.
  • NLT “You should not have gloated when they exiled your relatives to distant lands. You should not have rejoiced when the people of Judah suffered such misfortune. You should not have spoken arrogantly in that terrible time of trouble.

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 is rebuked for gloating over Judah's disaster, rejoicing in her ruin, and boasting in her day of distress.

Overview

This begins a series of prohibitions detailing how Edom should not have treated her brother in his calamity. Rather than showing compassion to suffering Judah, Edom looked down, rejoiced, and spoke arrogantly. Such gloating over a brother's downfall violates the love God requires, the very love embodied perfectly in Christ toward sinners.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 22

  • Mic 4:11But now many nations have assembled against you, saying, “Let her be defiled, and let us feast our eyes on Zion.”
  • Ezek 35:15As you rejoiced when the inheritance of the house of Israel became desolate, so will I do to you. You will become a desolation, O Mount Seir, and so will all of Edom. Then they will know that I am the LORD.
  • Prov 17:5He who mocks the poor insults their Maker; whoever gloats over calamity will not go unpunished.
  • Matt 27:40–43and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross!”
  • 1 Sam 2:3Do not boast so proudly, or let arrogance come from your mouth, for the LORD is a God who knows, and by Him actions are weighed.
  • Prov 24:17–18Do not gloat when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles,
  • Ezek 25:6–7For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because you clapped your hands and stomped your feet and rejoiced over the land of Israel with a heart full of contempt,
  • 2 Pet 2:18With lofty but empty words, they appeal to the sensual passions of the flesh and entice those who are just escaping from others who live in error.
  • Mic 7:8–10Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will arise; though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light.
  • Ps 31:18May lying lips be silenced—lips that speak with arrogance against the righteous, full of pride and contempt.
  • Ps 22:17I can count all my bones; they stare and gloat over me.
  • Job 31:29If I have rejoiced in my enemy’s ruin, or exulted when evil befell him—
  • Ps 37:13but the Lord laughs, seeing that their day is coming.
  • Jude 1:16These men are discontented grumblers, following after their own lusts; their mouths spew arrogance; they flatter others for their own advantage.
  • Luke 19:41As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it
  • Isa 37:24Through your servants you have taunted the Lord, and you have said: “With my many chariots I have ascended to the heights of the mountains, to the remote peaks of Lebanon. I have cut down its tallest cedars, the finest of its cypresses. I have reached its farthest heights, the densest of its forests.
  • Ps 92:11My eyes see the downfall of my enemies; my ears hear the wailing of my wicked foes.
  • Jas 3:5In the same way, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it boasts of great things. Consider how small a spark sets a great forest ablaze.
  • Rev 13:5The beast was given a mouth to speak arrogant and blasphemous words, and authority to act for 42 months.
  • Lam 4:21So rejoice and be glad, O Daughter of Edom, you who dwell in the land of Uz. Yet the cup will pass to you as well; you will get drunk and expose yourself.
  • Ps 59:10My God of loving devotion will come to meet me; God will let me stare down my foes.
  • Ps 54:7For He has delivered me from every trouble, and my eyes have stared down my foes.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Obadiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Obadiah 1:12YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ObadiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The day of the LORD against proud Edom and the promise that 'the kingdom shall be the LORD's' anticipate the final reign of Christ over every hostile power.

How Obadiah 1:12 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

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.