Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Obadiah 1:16 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 16. 16For 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.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Develops judgment through disputed drinking imagery centered on the LORD's holy mountain and all nations.
Read It With
- Obadiah 1:15–16
Read verses 15–16 together. Verse 15 establishes the all-nations day and corresponding judgment; verse 16 develops that judgment through the disputed but powerful image of drinking.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The drinking image gives poetic force to the all-nations judgment just announced, while leaving the first drinkers and exact comparison open where the text is difficult.
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
“all the heathen drink”
In plain language: All nations receive the judgment pictured as drinking.
The first comparison is disputed, but the nations' drinking belongs to the all-nations day announced in verse 15.
Why it matters: The uncertain pronoun must not eclipse the clear scope.
How certain? probableWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
Obadiah 1:16 does not permit certainty about the first drinkers where the plural addressee and comparison remain disputed.
What Remains True
The drinking image declares judgment on nations even though the first comparison and addressee remain textually difficult.
How It Can Shape Life
- Keep uncertain details open and resist building a timetable or target list from a disputed pronoun or image.
Teach It Back
Explain Obadiah 1:16's contribution to Obadiah 1:15–16: Develops judgment through disputed drinking imagery centered on the LORD's holy mountain and 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 plural addressee, first act of drinking, and a word rendered 'continually' are disputed.
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 ↗