Obadiah 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 

You should not wait at the crossroads to cut down their fugitives, nor hand over their survivors in the day of their trouble.

"Do not stand at the fork of the road To cut down their fugitives; And do not imprison their survivors In the day of their distress.

You shouldn’t have stood at the crossroads, killing those who tried to escape. You shouldn’t have captured the survivors, handing them over to their enemies in that terrible time of trouble.

And you shouldn't have stood waiting at the outskirts and cut off refugees, And traitorously turned in helpless survivors who had lost everything.

And do not take your place at the cross-roads, cutting off those of his people who get away; and do not give up to their haters those who are still there in the day of trouble.

You should not have stood at the crossings to cut off his fugitives; you should not have handed over his survivors on the day of distress.

You should not have stood at the crossroads To cut off those among them who escaped; Nor should you have delivered up those among them who remained In the day of distress.

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 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.”

² tn Heb “to cut off” (so KJV, NRSV); NASB, NIV “to cut down.”

³ tn Heb “his fugitives”; NAB, CEV “refugees.”

⁴ tn Heb “in the day of distress” (so KJV, ASV).