Obadiah 1:15–16, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Obadiah 1:15–16
The Day of the LORD Brings Recompense to the Nations
Judah's disaster-day becomes the LORD's day upon the nations
For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head. The repeated 'day' of verses 11–14 now belongs to the LORD and widens beyond Edom. 'Heathen' again means nations. 'Reward' is recompense, not a prize. What Edom did returns in corresponding judgment, on Edom's own head.
The nearness is the prophet's announcement, not a date readers can calculate. The principle is the LORD's judicial correspondence. It is not a commission for private vengeance or for a nation to baptize its retaliation as that day.
Drinking on the holy mountain is judgment, not a timetable
For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been. The image moves from a drinking on the LORD's mountain to the nations drinking until they disappear. Who first drank, and whether the picture begins as revelry, conquest, or the cup of wrath, is disputed because the addressee turns plural and the comparison is tight.
Hold the uncertain first clause open. The clear movement is not. Edom's violence at Jerusalem has become the immediate example of a judgment that reaches all nations. No people is immune, and no reader is deputized to pour the cup.
How this should shape us
Seek truthful, proportionate accountability after harm, and keep judgment in the LORD's hands. Document wrong, protect victims, and pursue repair. Do not celebrate indiscriminate suffering as payback, and do not treat your anger or your nation's interest as the day of the LORD.
Teach it back
Explain Obadiah 1:15–16 in your own words. Include the Edom-Judah setting, the unit's movement, one material uncertainty, and one conclusion the context rules out.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters disagree?
Best judgment: Interpreters debate whether verse 15 first describes an imminent historical day against Edom and neighboring nations, a final eschatological judgment, or language deliberately joining near and broader horizons. The 'as thou hast done' principle is often described as lex talionis or measure-for-measure recompense; here it names the LORD's judicial correspondence, not a reader's right to retaliate. Verse 16's pronouns and drinking comparison are also difficult. The strongest shared controls are all nations, corresponding recompense, the holy mountain, and the contrast introduced in verse 17.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Obadiah 1:15–16, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Hebrew forms, clause boundaries, repeated roots, names, and the base wording behind translation discussion.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2 (commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00), wlc/Obad.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 1:15–16
Supports: Material translation, syntax, text, date, geography, and uncertainty notes for the unit.
NET Bible Obadiah PDF, pp. 1723–1727, translation and notes on 1:15–16
Supports: Day-of-the-LORD, recompense, drinking, Jeremiah 49, and broader literary parallels as a documented modern thesis.
Ferries, 'Edom and Babylon,' pp. 477–479 and 492–493
Supports: Superscription, messenger report, oracle form, day-of-the-LORD scope, restoration, and one modern dating/form judgment.
Sweeney, 'Form and Eschatology,' pp. 148–149
Supports: Alternative three-oracle structure and measure-for-measure unifying proposal, used only at abstract-level confidence.
Assis, 'Structure, Redaction and Significance,' publisher abstract
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: Obadiah 1:15–16, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Obadiah
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew forms, clause boundaries, repeated roots, names, and the base wording behind translation discussion.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2 (commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00), wlc/Obad.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 1:15–16
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Obadiah with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Material translation, syntax, text, date, geography, and uncertainty notes for the unit.
Exact location: NET Bible Obadiah PDF, pp. 1723–1727, translation and notes on 1:15–16
Open source ↗peer reviewed journal article
Edom and Babylon: Archetypal Enemies of God and His People. A Comparative Analysis of Obadiah and Isaiah 13:2–14:23
Ryan A. R. Ferries
Old Testament Essays 35.3, 2022
Supports: Day-of-the-LORD, recompense, drinking, Jeremiah 49, and broader literary parallels as a documented modern thesis.
Exact location: Ferries, 'Edom and Babylon,' pp. 477–479 and 492–493
Open source ↗scholarly essay
Form and Eschatology in the Book of the Twelve Prophets
Marvin A. Sweeney
SBL Press, in The Book of the Twelve and the New Form Criticism, 2015
Supports: Superscription, messenger report, oracle form, day-of-the-LORD scope, restoration, and one modern dating/form judgment.
Exact location: Sweeney, 'Form and Eschatology,' pp. 148–149
Open source ↗peer reviewed journal abstract
Structure, Redaction and Significance in the Prophecy of Obadiah
Elie Assis
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 39.2, 2014
Supports: Alternative three-oracle structure and measure-for-measure unifying proposal, used only at abstract-level confidence.
Exact location: Assis, 'Structure, Redaction and Significance,' publisher abstract
Open source ↗