Obadiah 1:5 (WEB)

Passage

“If thieves came to you, if robbers by night—oh, what disaster awaits you—wouldn’t they only steal until they had enough? If grape pickers came to you, wouldn’t they leave some gleaning grapes?

Nearby Context

Obadiah 1:3 The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high, who says in his heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’

Obadiah 1:4 Though you mount on high as the eagle, and though your nest is set among the stars, I will bring you down from there,” says Yahweh.

Obadiah 1:5 “If thieves came to you, if robbers by night—oh, what disaster awaits you—wouldn’t they only steal until they had enough? If grape pickers came to you, wouldn’t they leave some gleaning grapes?

Obadiah 1:6 How Esau will be ransacked! How his hidden treasures are sought out!

Obadiah 1:7 All the men of your alliance have brought you on your way, even to the border. The men who were at peace with you have deceived you, and prevailed against you. Friends who eat your bread lay a snare under you. There is no understanding in him.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thieves", "came", "robbers", "night", "disaster", "awaits", "wouldn", and "only". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thieves" and "came", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "Though you mount on high as the..." into verse 6's "How Esau will be ransacked How his...", so "thieves" and "came" 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 "thieves" and "came" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.