John Gill Commentary Obadiah 1:5

"If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night (how art thou cut off!), would they not steal [only] till they had enough? if grape-gatherers came to thee, would they not leave some gleaning grapes?" — Obadiah 1:5 (ASV)

If thieves came to you, if robbers by night Whether the one came by day, and the other by night, or both by night, the same being meant by different words, whose intent is to plunder and steal, and carry off what they can; your condition would not be worse, nor so bad as now it is: for how are you cut off! From being a nation, wholly destroyed; your people killed, or carried captive; your fortresses demolished, towns and cities levelled with the ground, and all your wealth and substance carried off, and nothing left: these are either the words of God, or of the prophet, setting forth their utter ruin, as if it was already; or of the nations round about, wondering at their sudden destruction. Some render it, "how silent are you!" ^F17 that is, under all these calamities: or, "how are you asleep!" or "stupefied!" as the Targum and Jarchi; not to be upon your guard against the incursions of the enemy, but careless, secure, and stupid, and now stripped of everything. Had common thieves and robbers broke in upon you, would they not have stolen till they had enough? As much as they came for, or could carry off; they seldom strip a house into which they enter of everything in it; they come for some particular things, and, meeting with them, they go off, and leave the rest:

If the grape gatherers come to you, would they not leave [some] grapes? That is, if men should come into your vineyards, and gather the grapes, and carry them off by force or stealth, would they take them all away? Doubtless they would leave some behind; some would be hid under the boughs, and be left unobserved by them: or the allusion is to gatherers of grapes, who gather them for the owners, and at their direction, who were wont to leave some clusters for the poor to glean after them; but in the case of Edom it is suggested that nothing should be left, all should be clean carried off; the destruction would be complete and entire. The Targum is, ``if spoilers as grape gatherers should come unto you'' see (Jeremiah 49:9).

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FOOTNOTES:

• F17: (htymdn Kya) "quomodo redactus es in silentium?" Calvin; "quomodo siles?" some in Tarnovius; so Syr.