Bible Strands
Obadiah 1:16
For as you drank on My holy mountain, so all the nations will drink continually. They will drink and gulp it down; they will be as if they had never existed.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet delivers this oracle against Edom, pronouncing divine judgment immediately after declaring the nearness of the Day of the Lord. Yahweh addresses Edom directly for its violence against Judah.
The words — The Hebrew term שְׁתִיתֶם (she.ti.Tem) literally means "you have drunk," establishing the drinking metaphor that frames the verse. This action is contrasted with יִשְׁתּוּ (yish.Tu), "they will drink," which forecasts the nations' inevitable consumption of the same cup.
The thread — The motif of nations drinking a cup of judgment appears in Jeremiah 49:12, where even the undeserving must drink it, and Isaiah 51:22, where God removes the cup of staggering from His people. The holy mountain imagery connects to Joel 3:17, which identifies Zion as the place of deliverance and holiness.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that divine retribution operates impartially, extending the cup of judgment from Edom to all nations. It requires the reader to acknowledge that human hostility toward God's people results in complete eradication, while Zion remains the secure locus of deliverance.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Joel 3:17 Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who dwells in Zion, My holy mountain. Jerusalem will be holy, never again to be overrun by foreigners.
- Jeremiah 49:12 For this is what the LORD says: “If those who do not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, can you possibly remain unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for you must drink it too.
- Isaiah 51:22 Thus says your Lord, the LORD, even your God, who defends His people: “See, I have removed from your hand the cup of staggering. From that goblet, the cup of My fury, you will never drink again.
- Jeremiah 25:15 This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from My hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink from it.
- 1 Peter 4:17 For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?
- Psalms 75:8 For a cup is in the hand of the LORD, full of foaming wine mixed with spices. He pours from His cup, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to the dregs.
- Isaiah 8:9 Huddle together, O peoples, and be shattered; pay attention, all you distant lands; prepare for battle, and be shattered; prepare for battle, and be shattered!
- Isaiah 29:7 All the many nations going out to battle against Ariel—even all who war against her, laying siege and attacking her—will be like a dream, like a vision in the night,
- Isaiah 49:25 Indeed, this is what the LORD says: “Even the captives of the mighty will be taken away, and the plunder of the tyrant will be retrieved; I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children.
- Jeremiah 25:27 “Then you are to tell them that this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Drink, get drunk, and vomit. Fall down and never get up again, because of the sword I will send among you.’