Obadiah 1:12 (WEB)

Passage

But don’t look down on your brother in the day of his disaster, and don’t rejoice over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction. Don’t speak proudly in the day of distress.

Nearby Context

Obadiah 1:10 For the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame will cover you, and you will be cut off forever.

Obadiah 1:11 In the day that you stood on the other side, in the day that strangers carried away his substance, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots for Jerusalem, even you were like one of them.

Obadiah 1:12 But don’t look down on your brother in the day of his disaster, and don’t rejoice over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction. Don’t speak proudly in the day of distress.

Obadiah 1:13 Don’t enter into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity. Don’t look down on their affliction in the day of their calamity, neither seize their wealth on the day of their calamity.

Obadiah 1:14 Don’t stand in the crossroads to cut off those of his who escape. Don’t deliver up those of his who remain in the day of distress.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "look", "down", "brother", "disaster", "rejoice", "over", "children", and "judah". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "look" and "down", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "In the day that you stood on..." into verse 13's "Don t enter into the gate of...", so "look" and "down" 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 "look" and "down" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.