Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Obadiah 1:15 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 15. 15For 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.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Turns Judah's disaster-day language into the near day of the LORD and states corresponding recompense for all nations.
Read It With
- Obadiah 1:15–16
Read verses 15–16 with verses 10–14. The repeated day of Judah's calamity becomes the day of the LORD, and Edom's conduct becomes the immediate example of corresponding judgment among all nations.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The oracle widens from Edom's specific violence to the LORD's judgment of all nations, using Edom's own conduct to explain the principle of recompense.
Read Obadiah 1:15–16 together
Why these verses belong together: The day of the LORD, corresponding recompense, and drinking judgment form one all-nations movement.
Verse 15. 15 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.
Verse 16. 16 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.
Follow the Context
- The day of the LORD is announced as near upon all nations.
- The governing principle is recompense: as Edom has done, so it will receive.
- The return is pictured as coming upon the doer's own head.
- Drinking on the LORD's holy mountain becomes the image for the nations' continuing experience of judgment.
- The result is their disappearance as though they had not been.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“as thou hast done”
In plain language: Conduct returns in corresponding judgment.
Edom becomes the immediate example of a principle applied to all nations in the LORD's day.
Why it matters: Recompense is judicial correspondence, not a positive reward or private revenge.
How certain? very strongWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
Obadiah 1:15 does not give readers a calculable date or permission to carry out the LORD's recompense themselves.
What Remains True
The day of the LORD brings morally corresponding judgment across nations while reserving judgment to the LORD.
How It Can Shape Life
- Seek proportionate accountability without turning personal vengeance or national interest into a claim of divine authorization.
Teach It Back
Explain Obadiah 1:15's contribution to Obadiah 1:15–16: Turns Judah's disaster-day language into the near day of the LORD and states corresponding recompense for all nations. Include what the surrounding verses add, what remains uncertain, and what the verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Obadiah 1:15–16 — The Day of the LORD Brings Recompense to the NationsSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
The relationship between a near historical day and a broader eschatological horizon is debated; no date is supplied.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
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 ↗