Bible Strands
Obadiah 1:6
But how Esau will be pillaged, his hidden treasures sought out!
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The prophet Obadiah pronounces judgment against Edom (Esau) immediately after describing the suddenness of its ruin and the betrayal by its allies. The oracle functions as a divine declaration of inevitable exposure and loss following a season of perceived security.
The words — The exclamation אֵ֚יךְ ('eikh) signals shock at the completeness of the coming devastation. The verbs נֶחְפְּשׂ֣וּ (nech.pe.Su) and נִבְע֖וּ (niv.'U) describe a forced plundering in which concealed valuables are systematically located and exposed.
The thread — The theme of stripped hiding places and exposed secrets recurs in Jeremiah 49:10, Daniel 2:22, and Psalms 139:1. These passages collectively trace a biblical pattern where divine judgment or knowledge removes human concealment.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that no accumulated wealth or secret alliance can withstand declared judgment. It requires the reader to abandon reliance on hidden security and acknowledge the certainty of exposure.
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
How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things sought up!
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 49:10 But I will strip Esau bare; I will uncover his hiding places, and he will be unable to conceal himself. His descendants will be destroyed along with his relatives and neighbors, and he will be no more.
- Psalms 139:1 For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
- Daniel 2:22 He reveals the deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him.
- Matthew 6:19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
- Isaiah 10:13 For he says: ‘By the strength of my hand I have done this, and by my wisdom, for I am clever. I have removed the boundaries of nations and plundered their treasures; like a mighty one I subdued their rulers.
- Isaiah 45:3 I will give you the treasures of darkness and the riches hidden in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by name.
- Jeremiah 50:37 A sword is against her horses and chariots and against all the foreigners in her midst, and they will become like women. A sword is against her treasuries, and they will be plundered.