Obadiah 1:14

1:14 You should not have stood at the fork in the road ¹  to slaughter ²  those trying to escape. ³ 

You should not have captured their refugees when they suffered adversity. ⁴ 

[1:14]  ¹ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word פֶּרֶק (pereq; here translated “fork in the road”) is uncertain. The word is found in the Hebrew Bible only here and in Nah 3:1, where it means “plunder.” In the present context it seems to refer to a strategic intersection or fork in a road where bands of Edomites apprehended Israelites who were fleeing from the attack on Jerusalem. Cf. NAB, NIV, NLT “crossroads”; NRSV “crossings.”

[1:14]  ² tn Heb “to cut off” (so KJV, NRSV); NASB, NIV “to cut down.”

[1:14]  ³ tn Heb “his fugitives”; NAB, CEV “refugees.”

[1:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “in the day of distress” (so KJV, ASV).