Obadiah 1 · Verse 15

Obadiah 1:15

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.
Obadiah 1:15, King James Version

Obadiah 1:15 in other translations

BSBFor the Day of the LORD is near for all the nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your recompense will return upon your own head.
WEBFor the day of the LORD is near all the nations! As you have done, it will be done to you. Your deeds will return upon your own head.
ASVFor the day of Jehovah is near upon all the nations: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee; thy dealing shall return upon thine own head.
YLTFor near is the day of Jehovah, on all the nations, As thou hast done, it is done to thee, Thy deed doth turn back on thine own head.
DARBYFor the day of Jehovah is near upon all the nations: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy recompence shall return upon thine own head.
BBEFor the day of the Lord is coming quickly on all nations: as you have done it will be done to you; the reward of your acts will come on your head.
WebsterFor the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done to thee: thy reward shall return upon thy own head.

What does Obadiah 1:15 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
15. For--resumptive in connection with Ob 10, wherein Edom was threatened with cutting off for ever. the day of the Lord--the day in which He will manifest Himself as the Righteous Punisher of the ungodly peoples (Joe 3:14). The "all" shows that the fulfilment is not exhausted in the punishment inflicted on the surrounding nations by the instrumentality of Nebuchadnezzar; but, as in Joe 3:14, and Zec 12:3, that the last judgment to come on the nations confederate against Jerusalem is referred to. as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee--the righteous principle of retribution in kind (Le 24:17; Mt 7:2; compare Jud 1:6, 7; 8:19; Es 7:10). thy reward--the reward of thy deed (compare Is 3:9-11).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 15 The day of the Lord is near - God will not associate thee with him in the judgments which he inflicts. Thou also art guilty and shalt have thy punishment in due course with the other sinful nations.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Obadiah 1:1-16

This prophecy is against Edom. Its destruction seems to have been typical, as their father Esau's rejection; and to refer to the destruction of the enemies of the gospel church. See the prediction of the success of that war; Edom shall be spoiled, and brought down. All the enemies of God's church shall be disappointed in the things they stay themselves on. God can easily lay those low who magnify and exalt…

Read the full comment on Obadiah 1:1-16 →

Obadiah 1:15 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

כִּֽי\־ki-forH3588
קָר֥וֹבka.Rov[is] nearH7138
יוֹם\־yom-[the] day ofH3117
יְהוָ֖הYah.wehYahwehH3068
עַל\־'al-onH5921
כָּל\־kol-allH3605
הַגּוֹיִ֑םha.go.Yimthe nationsH1471
כַּאֲשֶׁ֤רka.'a.Sherjust asH834
עָשִׂ֙יתָ֙'a.Si.tayou have doneH6213
יֵעָ֣שֶׂהye.'A.sehit will be doneH6213
לָּ֔ךְLakhto you
גְּמֻלְךָ֖ge.mul.Kharecompense yourH1576
יָשׁ֥וּבya.Shuvit will returnH7725
בְּרֹאשֶֽׁךָ\׃be.ro.She.khaon own head yourH7218

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Obadiah 1:15

  • James 2:13

    For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.

  • Habakkuk 2:8

    Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men’s blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.

  • Matthew 7:2

    For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

  • Ezekiel 30:3

    For the day is near, even the day of the Lord is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen.

  • Joel 3:11-14

    Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.

  • Judges 1:7

    And Adoni–bezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table: as I have done, so God hath requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.

  • Jeremiah 49:12

    For thus saith the Lord; Behold, they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunken; and art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink of it.

  • Joel 3:7-8

    Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompence upon your own head: And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off: for the Lord hath spoken it.

  • Micah 5:15

    And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.

  • Jeremiah 50:29

    Call together the archers against Babylon: all ye that bend the bow, camp against it round about; let none thereof escape: recompense her according to her work; according to all that she hath done, do unto her: for she hath been proud against the Lord, against the Holy One of Israel.

  • Psalms 137:8

    O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.

  • Ezekiel 35:15

    As thou didst rejoice at the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so will I do unto thee: thou shalt be desolate, O mount Seir, and all Idumea, even all of it: and they shall know that I am the Lord.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
the day.
Ps 110:5,6; Jer 9:25,26; 25:15-29; 49:12
La 4:21,22; Eze 30:3; Joe 3:11-14; Mic 5:15; Zec 14:14-18
as.
Jud 1:7; Ps 137:8; Eze 35:15; Joe 3:7,8; Hab 2:8; Mt 7:2; Jas 2:13

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Obadiah 1:14

    Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress.

  • Obadiah 1:15

    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.

  • Obadiah 1:16

    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.

Read all of Obadiah 1

Obadiah 1:15 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Porque cercano está el día de Jehová sobre todas las gentes: como tú hiciste se hará contigo: tu galardón volverá sobre tu cabeza.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Car le jour de l’ Éternel est proche, contre toutes les nations: comme tu as fait, il te sera fait; ta récompense retombera sur ta tête.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Denn der Tag Jehovas ist nahe über alle Nationen: wie du getan hast, wird dir getan werden; dein Tun wird auf dein Haupt zurückkehren.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Quoniam juxta est dies Domini super omnes gentes: sicut fecisti, fiet tibi; retributionem tuam convertet in caput tuum.