In verse 8 the Lord spoke in the first person, but in this verse the statements are in the third person. Verse 9 is to be understood as the Lord’s description of the result of his action in verse 8.

Teman was one of the main towns of Edom, and here it stands for the whole country. When God punishes Edom, even its soldiers or fighting men … will be terrified. The defeat of Edom will be so disastrous that every soldier … will be killed. As in verse 8, “Mount Esau” (Revised Standard Version) stands for Edom and is so translated in Good News Translation. No known historical event included a disaster of the size portrayed here.

Good News Translation begins the second line with and, but the relationship between the two lines is one of purpose. In Revised Standard Version this relationship is made clearer with the words “so that.” The meaning is that God will make the soldiers so frightened or terrified by what is happening to them that they will not be able to resist, and therefore all of them will be killed.

The last word of this verse in Hebrew, translated “by slaughter” in Revised Standard Version, is taken with verse 10 by several ancient versions. Good News Translation, like Jerusalem Bible and New English Bible, follows the same tradition.

Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. et al. A Handbook on the Book of Obadiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1978, 1982, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .