Flee ye, turn back, dwell deep, O inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time that I will visit him.
Flee ye, turn back - namely, your backs in flight.
Dwell deep - in deep defiles and caves (Grotius), which abound in Idumea. Others refer it to the Arab custom of retiring into the depth of the desert when avoiding an offended foe (Jeremiah 49:30).
Dedan - a tribe bordering on and made subject by Idumea; descended from Jokshan, son of Abraham and Keturah (Genesis 25:1-3).
Esau - the naming of Edom's progenitor, reprobated by God, recalls the remembrance of the old curse on him for his profanity in "selling his birthright for one morsel of meat," both his sin and its punishment being perpetuated in his descendants (Hebrews 12:16-17).