Obadiah 1:8 (ASV)

Passage

Shall I not in that day, saith Jehovah, destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau?

Nearby Context

Obadiah 1:6 How are [the things of] Esau searched! how are his hidden treasures sought out!

Obadiah 1:7 All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee on thy way, even to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and prevailed against thee; [they that eat] thy bread lay a snare under thee: there is no understanding in him.

Obadiah 1:8 Shall I not in that day, saith Jehovah, destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau?

Obadiah 1:9 And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one may be cut off from the mount of Esau by slaughter.

Obadiah 1:10 For the violence done to thy brother Jacob, shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "saith", "jehovah", "destroy", "wise", "edom", "understanding", and "mount". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "saith", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "All the men of thy confederacy have..." into verse 9's "And thy mighty men O Teman shall...", so "shall" and "saith" belong inside that flow. In Obadiah context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "shall" and "saith" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.