Esau Searched Out
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? 6 How Esau will be ransacked! How his hidden treasures are sought out! 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.” 8 “Won’t I in that day”, says Yahweh, “destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mountain of Esau? 9 Your mighty men, Teman, will be dismayed, to the end that everyone may be cut off from the mountain of Esau by slaughter.
Thieves stop when they have enough and harvesters leave gleanings; what is coming for Esau will leave nothing at all.
Verse 5 measures the coming ruin against ordinary plunder, and ordinary plunder comes out merciful. Thieves steal until they have enough. Grape pickers leave gleanings. Not here: Esau is ransacked, the hidden treasures sought out.
Then the props go, in order. The allies escort Edom to the border and turn; the men who eat Edom's bread set the snare — deceived by pride in verse 3, deceived by friends in verse 7. The wise are destroyed out of Edom — Teman's wisdom was proverbial Jeremiah 49:7, the famous thing goes first. The mighty men are dismayed. Heights, wealth, allies, wisdom, warriors: the book removes each thing Edom leaned on, and nothing it trusted holds.
settled What this mark means