The Meaning of Obadiah 1:4 Explained

Obadiah 1:4

KJV: Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD.

YLT: If thou dost go up high as an eagle, And if between stars thou dost set thy nest, From thence I bring thee down, An affirmation of Jehovah.

Darby: Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith Jehovah.

ASV: Though thou mount on high as the eagle, and though thy nest be set among the stars, I will bring thee down from thence, saith Jehovah.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Though thou exalt  [thyself] as the eagle,  and though thou set  thy nest  among the stars,  thence will I bring thee down,  saith  the LORD. 

What does Obadiah 1:4 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Here the figure of an eagle that was also in view in the previous verse becomes explicit. Even if the Edomites would build their nest as high as the stars (hyperbole), God would bring them down. Hyperbole is overstatement for the sake of emphasis. King Sennacherib of Assyria and King Assurnassirpal II of Assyria both used the same figure to boast of their security in their respective annals. [1] The Edomites might have been humanly unassailable, but they were not divinely unassailable. They had proudly boasted, "Who will bring me down to the earth?" ( Obadiah 1:3), but Yahweh replied, "I will bring you down" ( Obadiah 1:4). He would burst their bubble. He Himself declared that He would.
Malachi , who wrote some400 years later, mentioned that the Edomites were still in existence then ( Malachi 1:3-4). By312 B.C. the capital of Edom was in Nabatean hands, and Edom had ceased to exist as a nation, though Edomites continued to live. They became known as Idumeans. Herod the Great was an Idumean.

Chapter Summary: Obadiah 1

1  The destruction of Edom,
3  for their pride,
10  and for their wrong unto Jacob
17  The salvation and victory of Jacob

What do the individual words in Obadiah 1:4 mean?

Though you ascend [as] high as the eagle and though among the stars you set your nest from there will I bring you down says Yahweh
אִם־ תַּגְבִּ֣יהַּ כַּנֶּ֔שֶׁר וְאִם־ בֵּ֥ין כּֽוֹכָבִ֖ים שִׂ֣ים קִנֶּ֑ךָ מִשָּׁ֥ם אוֹרִֽידְךָ֖ נְאֻם־ יְהוָֽה

אִם־  Though 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: אִם  
Sense: if.
תַּגְבִּ֣יהַּ  you  ascend  [as]  high 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: גָּבַהּ  
Sense: to be high, be exalted.
כַּנֶּ֔שֶׁר  as  the  eagle 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: נֶשֶׁר  
Sense: eagle, vulture, griffon-vulture.
וְאִם־  and  though 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Conjunction
Root: אִם  
Sense: if.
כּֽוֹכָבִ֖ים  the  stars 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: כֹּוכָב  
Sense: star.
שִׂ֣ים  you  set 
Parse: Verb, Qal, QalPassParticiple, masculine singular
Root: שׂוּמָה 
Sense: to put, place, set, appoint, make.
קִנֶּ֑ךָ  your  nest 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: קֵן  
Sense: nest.
מִשָּׁ֥ם  from  there 
Parse: Preposition-m, Adverb
Root: שָׁם  
Sense: there, thither.
אוֹרִֽידְךָ֖  will  I  bring  you  down 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, first person common singular, second person masculine singular
Root: יָרַד  
Sense: to go down, descend, decline, march down, sink down.
נְאֻם־  says 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: נְאֻם  
Sense: (Qal) utterance, declaration (of prophet).
יְהוָֽה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.