Obadiah 1:16
What does Obadiah 1:16 mean?
A plain-English look at Obadiah 1:16 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Obadiah 1:16 means
The imagery of drinking shifts the focus to the experience of judgment. Edom and others had “drunk” on God’s holy mountain—likely celebrating Jerusalem’s fall with profane revelry. Now, all nations will drink continually the cup of God’s wrath. They will swallow it down and be made as though they had not been—brought to nothingness. The contrast is stark: what was once a day of carousing becomes a draught of judgment. God will not let the desecration of Zion go unanswered. The verse underscores the totality and inevitability of divine recompense when nations mock God’s people and defile His holy place.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the nations drink continually; yea, they shall drink, and swallow down, and shall be as though they had not been.
KJV
King James Version · 1611For 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.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the nations drink continually; yea, they shall drink, and swallow down, and shall be as though they had not been.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949For as you have been drinking on my holy mountain, so will all the nations go on drinking without end; they will go on drinking and the wine will go down their throats, and they will be as if they had never been.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862For--as ye have drunk on My holy mount, Drink do all the nations continually, And they have drunk and have swallowed, And they have been as they have not been.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752For as you have drunk upon my holy mountain, so all nations shall drink continually: and they shall drink, and sup up, and they shall be as though they were not.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the nations drink continually; yea, they shall drink, and shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.
Context
This verse exemplifies the “as you have done, so it shall be done” principle from verse 15, using the metaphor of drinking to describe judgment. It prepares for the sharp contrast in the next verse: while the nations drink judgment to the dregs, mount Zion will be a place of escape and holiness. The movement sets up a two-path outcome—ruin for the proud, refuge for the people of God—that frames the closing promises of restoration and victory.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Isaiah 29:7
And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against her and her stronghold, and that distress her, shall be as a dream, a vision of the night.
- Habakkuk 1:9
They come all of them for violence; the set of their faces is forwards; and they gather captives as the sand.
- Jeremiah 25:27
And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Drink ye, and be drunken, and spew, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.
- Isaiah 42:14
I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: now will I cry out like a travailing woman; I will gasp and pant together.
- Isaiah 51:22
Thus saith thy Lord Jehovah, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thy hand the cup of staggering, even the bowl of the cup of my wrath; thou shalt no more drink it again:
- Isaiah 49:25
But thus saith Jehovah, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered; for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.