< Jeremiah 49 >

1 Concerning the Ammonites, this is what the LORD says: “Has Israel no sons? Is he without heir? Why then has Milcom taken possession of Gad? Why have his people settled in their cities?
Of the people of Ammon. "Thus says the LORD: 'Has Israel no sons? Has he no heir? Why then does Milcom possess Gad, and his people dwell in its cities?
2 Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will sound the battle cry against Rabbah of the Ammonites. It will become a heap of ruins, and its villages will be burned. Then Israel will drive out their dispossessors, says the LORD.
Therefore look, the days come,' says the LORD, 'that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard against Rabbah of the people of Ammon; and it shall become a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel possess those who possessed him,' says the LORD.
3 Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai has been destroyed; cry out, O daughters of Rabbah! Put on sackcloth and mourn; run back and forth within your walls, for Milcom will go into exile together with his priests and officials.
'Wail, Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste; cry, you daughters of Rabbah, clothe yourself in sackcloth: lament, and run back and forth among the fences; for Milcom shall go into captivity, his priests and his officials together.
4 Why do you boast of your valleys— your valleys so fruitful, O faithless daughter? You trust in your riches and say, ‘Who can come against me?’
Why do you glory in the valleys, your flowing valley, backsliding daughter? You who trusted in her treasures, saying, "Who shall come to me?"
5 Behold, I am about to bring terror upon you, declares the Lord GOD of Hosts, from all those around you. You will each be driven headlong, with no one to regather the fugitives.
Look, I will bring a fear on you,' says the LORD of hosts, 'from all who are around you; and you shall be driven out every man right forth, and there shall be none to gather together the fugitives.
6 Yet afterward I will restore the Ammonites from captivity,” declares the LORD.
But afterward I will bring back the captivity of the people of Ammon,' says the LORD."
7 Concerning Edom, this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Is there no longer wisdom in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom decayed?
Of Edom. "Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'Is wisdom no more in Teman? Is counsel perished from the prudent? Is their wisdom vanished?
8 Turn and run! Lie low, O dwellers of Dedan, for I will bring disaster on Esau at the time I punish him.
Flee, turn back, dwell in the depths, inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau on him, the time that I shall visit him.
9 If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave some gleanings? Were thieves to come in the night, would they not steal only what they wanted?
If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? If thieves by night, wouldn't they destroy until they had enough?
10 But I will strip Esau bare; I will uncover his hiding places, and he will be unable to conceal himself. His descendants will be destroyed along with his relatives and neighbors, and he will be no more.
But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is destroyed, and his brothers, and his neighbors; and he is no more.
11 Abandon your orphans; I will preserve their lives. Let your widows trust in Me.”
Leave your fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let your widows trust in me.'
12 For this is what the LORD says: “If those who do not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, can you possibly remain unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for you must drink it too.
For thus says the LORD: 'Look, they to whom it did not pertain to drink of the cup shall certainly drink; and are you he who shall altogether go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, but you shall surely drink.
13 For by Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, that Bozrah will become a desolation, a disgrace, a ruin, and a curse, and all her cities will be in ruins forever.”
For I have sworn by myself,' says the LORD, 'that Bozrah shall become an astonishment, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all its cities shall be perpetual wastes.'"
14 I have heard a message from the LORD; an envoy has been sent to the nations: “Assemble yourselves to march against her! Rise up for battle!”
I have heard news from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the nations, saying, "Gather yourselves together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle."
15 “For behold, I will make you small among nations, despised among men.
"For, look, I have made you small among the nations, and despised among men.
16 The terror you cause and the pride of your heart have deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks, O occupiers of the mountain summit. Though you elevate your nest like the eagle, even from there I will bring you down,”
As for your terror, the pride of your heart has deceived you, O you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, who hold the height of the hill: though you should make your nest as high as the eagle, I will bring you down from there," says the LORD.
17 “Edom will become an object of horror. All who pass by will be appalled and will scoff at all her wounds.
"Edom shall become an astonishment: everyone who passes by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all its plagues.
18 As Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown along with their neighbors,” says the LORD, “no one will dwell there; no man will abide there.
As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbor cities of it," says the LORD, "no man shall dwell there, neither shall any son of man live in it.
19 Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan to the watered pasture. For in an instant I will chase Edom from her land. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? For who is like Me, and who can challenge Me? What shepherd can stand against Me?”
Look, he shall come up like a lion from the pride of the Jordan against the strong habitation: for I will suddenly make them run away from it; and whoever is chosen, him will I appoint over it: for who is like me? And who will appoint me a time? And who is the shepherd who will stand before me?
20 Therefore hear the plans that the LORD has drawn up against Edom and the strategies He has devised against the people of Teman: Surely the little ones of the flock will be dragged away; certainly their pasture will be made desolate because of them.
Therefore hear the counsel of the LORD, that he has taken against Edom; and his purposes, that he has purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely they shall drag them away, the little ones of the flock; surely he shall make their habitation desolate over them.
21 At the sound of their fall the earth will quake; their cry will resound to the Red Sea.
The earth trembles at the noise of their fall; there is a cry, the noise which is heard in the Red Sea.
22 Look! An eagle will soar and swoop down, spreading its wings over Bozrah. In that day the hearts of Edom’s mighty men will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
Look, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread out his wings against Bozrah: and the heart of the mighty men of Edom at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs."
23 Concerning Damascus: “Hamath and Arpad are put to shame, for they have heard a bad report; they are agitated like the sea; their anxiety cannot be calmed.
Of Damascus. "Hamath is confounded, and Arpad; for they have heard evil news, they are melted away: there is sorrow on the sea; it can't be quiet.
24 Damascus has become feeble; she has turned to flee. Panic has gripped her; anguish and pain have seized her like a woman in labor.
Damascus has grown feeble, she turns herself to flee, and trembling has seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her, as of a woman in travail.
25 How is the city of praise not forsaken, the town that brings Me joy?
How is the city of praise not forsaken, the city of my joy?
26 For her young men will fall in the streets, and all her warriors will be silenced in that day,”
Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be brought to silence in that day," says the LORD of hosts.
27 “I will set fire to the walls of Damascus; it will consume the fortresses of Ben-hadad.”
"I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall devour the palaces of Ben Hadad."
28 Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated, this is what the LORD says: “Rise up, advance against Kedar, and destroy the people of the east!
Of Kedar, and of the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck. "Thus says the LORD: 'Arise, go up to Kedar, and destroy the people of the east.'
29 They will take their tents and flocks, their tent curtains and all their goods. They will take their camels for themselves. They will shout to them: ‘Terror is on every side!’
Their tents and their flocks shall they take; they shall carry away for themselves their curtains, and all their vessels, and their camels; and they shall cry to them, 'Terror on every side.'
30 Run! Escape quickly! Lie low, O residents of Hazor,” declares the LORD, “for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has drawn up a plan against you; he has devised a strategy against you.
Flee, wander far off, dwell in the depths, you inhabitants of Hazor," says the LORD; "for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has taken counsel against you, and has conceived a purpose against you."
31 Rise up, advance against a nation at ease, one that dwells securely,” declares the LORD. “They have no gates or bars; they live alone.
"Arise, go up to a nation that is at ease, that dwells without care, says the LORD; that have neither gates nor bars, that dwell alone.
32 Their camels will become plunder, and their large herds will be spoil. I will scatter to the wind in every direction those who shave their temples; I will bring calamity on them from all sides,”
Their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their livestock a spoil: and I will scatter to all winds those who have the corners of their beards cut off; and I will bring their calamity from every side of them," says the LORD.
33 “Hazor will become a haunt for jackals, a desolation forever. No one will dwell there; no man will abide there.”
"Hazor shall be a dwelling place of jackals, a desolation forever: no man shall dwell there, neither shall any son of man live in it."
34 This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah.
The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,
35 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Behold, I will shatter Elam’s bow, the mainstay of their might.
"Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'Look, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might.
36 I will bring the four winds against Elam from the four corners of the heavens, and I will scatter them to all these winds. There will not be a nation to which Elam’s exiles will not go.
On Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of the sky, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation where the outcasts of Elam shall not come.
37 So I will shatter Elam before their foes, before those who seek their lives. I will bring disaster upon them, even My fierce anger,” declares the LORD. “I will send out the sword after them until I finish them off.
I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before those who seek their life; and I will bring evil on them, even my fierce anger,' says the LORD; 'and I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them;
38 I will set My throne in Elam, and destroy its king and officials,”
and I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from there king and officials,' says the LORD.
39 “Yet in the last days, I will restore Elam from captivity,”
'But it shall happen in the latter days, that I will bring back the captivity of Elam,' says the LORD."

< Jeremiah 49 >