The Meaning of Obadiah 1:3 Explained

Obadiah 1:3

KJV: The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?

YLT: The pride of thy heart hath lifted thee up, O dweller in clifts of a rock, (A high place is his habitation, He is saying in his heart, 'Who doth bring me down to earth?')

Darby: The pride of thy heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; he that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?

ASV: The pride of thy heart hath deceived thee, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The pride  of thine heart  hath deceived  thee, thou that dwellest  in the clefts  of the rock,  whose habitation  [is] high;  that saith  in his heart,  Who shall bring me down  to the ground? 

What does Obadiah 1:3 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The outstanding mark of Edom"s national character was pride. The Hebrew word for pride (zadon) comes from a verb meaning to boil up (zid). It pictures pride as water that boils up under pressure in a cooking pot. Similarly the proud person is like a bubble that thrusts itself up but is hollow. Interestingly, the same Hebrew word occurs three times in the account of Esau, the father of the Edomites, squandering his birthright ( Genesis 25:27-34).
". . . the key that unlocks the central moral lesson of the book is found in these words in the third verse: "The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee." [1]
"It is possible for Christians also to fall into the sin of pride. One has only to dismiss God from the reckoning, one has but to slip into the habit of neglecting his Bible, one has merely to fail to be alone with God daily in prayer, and he too may fall into the sin of making decisions and living his life on a secular basis without placing God and His will foremost." [2]
The Edomites thought they were superior because they inhabited a lofty region, Mt. Seir. They thought they were secure because they occupied this militarily favorable location. In fact, they thought they were invincible.
"Edom"s natural defenses were imposing. Its main centers of civilization were situated in a narrow ridge of mountainous land southeast of the Dead Sea ... This ridge exceeded a height of4 ,000 feet throughout its northern sector, and it rose in places to5 ,700 feet in the south. Its height was rendered more inaccessible by the gorges radiating from it toward the Arabah on the west and the desert eastwards.
"In addition to these natural fortifications, Edom was strongly defended by a series of Iron Age fortresses, particularly on the eastern frontier where the land descended more gradually to the desert." [3]
The rock (Heb. sela") in view is the granite and sandstone that made up Mt. Seir. Though Sela was also the name of an Edomite town (cf. 2 Kings 14:7), here the mountain home of the whole nation seems to be in view. The Greek translation of sela" is Petra, the modern name of this town.

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 1:3 mean?

The pride of your heart has deceived you [You] who dwell in the clefts of the rock high Whose habitation is [You] who say in your heart who will bring me down to the ground
זְד֤וֹן לִבְּךָ֙ הִשִּׁיאֶ֔ךָ שֹׁכְנִ֥י בְחַגְוֵי־ סֶּ֖לַע מְר֣וֹם שִׁבְתּ֑וֹ אֹמֵ֣ר בְּלִבּ֔וֹ מִ֥י יוֹרִדֵ֖נִי ؟ אָֽרֶץ

זְד֤וֹן  The  pride 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: זָדֹון  
Sense: pride, insolence, presumptuousness, arrogance.
לִבְּךָ֙  of  your  heart 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: לֵב 
Sense: inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding.
הִשִּׁיאֶ֔ךָ  has  deceived  you 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person masculine singular, second person masculine singular
Root: נָשָׁא  
Sense: to beguile, deceive.
שֹׁכְנִ֥י  [You]  who  dwell 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular construct
Root: שָׁכַן  
Sense: to settle down, abide, dwell, tabernacle, reside.
בְחַגְוֵי־  in  the  clefts 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: חָגוּ  
Sense: clefts, places of concealment, retreats.
סֶּ֖לַע  of  the  rock 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: סֶלַע  
Sense: crag, cliff, rock.
מְר֣וֹם  high 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מָרֹום  
Sense: height.
שִׁבְתּ֑וֹ  Whose  habitation  is 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: שֶׁבֶת  
Sense: cessation, a sitting still.
אֹמֵ֣ר  [You]  who  say 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
בְּלִבּ֔וֹ  in  your  heart 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: לֵב 
Sense: inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding.
יוֹרִדֵ֖נִי  will  bring  me  down 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine singular, first person common singular
Root: יָרַד  
Sense: to go down, descend, decline, march down, sink down.
؟ אָֽרֶץ  to  the  ground 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.