Jeremiah 49
1 Concerning the children of Ammon. Thus saith Jehovah: Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? Why is Malcam heir of Gad, and his people dwell in the cities thereof?
About the children of Ammon. These are the words of the Lord: Has Israel no sons? has he no one to take the heritage? why then has Milcom taken Gad for himself, putting his people in its towns?
2 Therefore behold, days come, saith Jehovah, that I will cause the clamour of war to be heard in Rabbah of the children of Ammon; and it shall be a desolate heap; and her towns shall be burned with fire; and Israel shall possess them that possessed him, saith Jehovah.
Because of this, see, the days are coming when I will have a cry of war sounded against Rabbah, the town of the children of Ammon; it will become a waste of broken walls, and her daughter-towns will be burned with fire: then Israel will take the heritage of those who took his heritage, says the Lord.
3 Howl, Heshbon! for Ai is laid waste; cry, daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth, lament and run to and fro within the enclosures: for Malcam shall go into captivity, his priests and his princes together.
Make sounds of grief, O Heshbon, for Ai is wasted; give loud cries, O daughters of Rabbah, and put haircloth round you: give yourselves to weeping, running here and there and wounding yourselves; for Milcom will be taken prisoner together with his rulers and his priests.
4 Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys? Thy valley shall flow down, O backsliding daughter, that trusteth in her treasures, [saying, ] Who shall come against me?
Why are you lifted up in pride on account of your valleys, your flowing valley, O daughter ever turning away? who puts her faith in her wealth, saying, Who will come against me?
5 Behold, I will bring a fear upon thee, saith the Lord Jehovah of hosts, from all that are about thee; and ye shall be driven out every man right forth; and none shall assemble the fugitives.
See, I will send fear on you, says the Lord, the Lord of armies, from those who are round you on every side; you will be forced out, every man straight before him, and there will be no one to get together the wanderers.
6 And afterwards I will turn the captivity of the children of Ammon, saith Jehovah.
But after these things, I will let the fate of the children of Ammon be changed, says the Lord.
7 Concerning Edom. Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Is there no more wisdom in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom spent?
About Edom. This is what the Lord of armies has said. Is there no more wisdom in Teman? have wise suggestions come to an end among men of good sense? has their wisdom completely gone?
8 Flee, turn back, dwell deep down, ye inhabitants of Dedan! For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time that I visit him.
Go in flight, go back, take cover in deep places, you who are living in Dedan; for I will send the fate of Edom on him, even the time of his punishment.
9 If grape-gatherers had come to thee, would they not have left a gleaning? If thieves by night, they would destroy only till they had enough.
If men came to get your grapes, would they not let some be uncut on the vines? if thieves came by night, would they not make waste till they had enough?
10 But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, that he is unable to hide himself: his seed is wasted, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he is not.
I have had Esau searched out, uncovering his secret places, so that he may not keep himself covered: his seed is wasted and has come to an end, and there is no help from his neighbours.
11 Leave thine orphans, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me.
Put in my care your children who have no father, and I will keep them safe; and let your widows put their faith in me.
12 For thus saith Jehovah: Behold, they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup shall assuredly drink; and thou indeed, shouldest thou be altogether unpunished? Thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink.
For the Lord has said, Those for whom the cup was not made ready will certainly be forced to take of it; and are you to go without punishment? you will not be without punishment, but will certainly be forced to take from the cup.
13 For I have sworn by myself, saith Jehovah, that Bozrah shall become an astonishment, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes.
For I have taken an oath by myself, says the Lord, that Bozrah will become a cause of wonder, a name of shame, a waste and a curse; and all its towns will be waste places for ever.
14 I have heard a rumour from Jehovah, and an ambassador is sent among the nations: — Gather yourselves together, and come against her and rise up for the battle.
Word has come to me from the Lord, and a representative has been sent to the nations, to say, Come together and go up against her, and take your places for the fight.
15 For behold, I have made thee small among the nations, despised among men.
For see, I have made you small among the nations, looked down on by men.
16 Thy terribleness, the pride of thy heart, hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill. Though thou shouldest make thy nest high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith Jehovah.
... the pride of your heart has been a false hope, O you who are living in the cracks of the rock, keeping your place on the top of the hill: even if you made your living-place as high as the eagle, I would make you come down, says the Lord.
17 And Edom shall be an astonishment: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss, because of all the plagues thereof.
And Edom will become a cause of wonder: everyone who goes by will be overcome with wonder, and make sounds of fear at all her punishments.
18 As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, and their neighbour cities, saith Jehovah, no one shall dwell there, neither shall a son of man sojourn therein.
As at the downfall of Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbouring towns, says the Lord, no man will be living in it, no son of man will have a resting-place there.
19 Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of the Jordan against the strong habitation; for I will make them suddenly run away from it; and who is a chosen [man] whom I shall appoint over her? For who is like me? and who will assign me a time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me?
See, he will come up like a lion from the thick growth of Jordan against the resting-place of Teman: but I will suddenly make him go in flight from her; and I will put over her the man of my selection: for who is like me? and who will put forward his cause against me? and what keeper of sheep will be able to keep his place before me?
20 Therefore hear the counsel of Jehovah, which he hath taken against Edom, and his purposes which he hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: The little ones of the flock shall certainly draw them away; he shall certainly make their habitation desolate for them.
For this cause give ear to the decision of the Lord which he has made against Edom, and to his purposes designed against the people of Teman: Truly, they will be pulled away by the smallest of the flock; truly, he will make waste their fields with them.
21 The earth quaketh at the sound of their fall; there is a cry, the sound whereof is heard in the Red sea.
The earth is shaking with the noise of their fall; their cry is sounding in the Red Sea.
22 Behold, he shall come up, and fly as an eagle, and spread forth his wings against Bozrah; and at that day the heart of the mighty men of Edom shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.
See, he will come up like an eagle in flight, stretching out his wings against Bozrah: and the hearts of Edom's men of war on that day will be like the heart of a woman in birth-pains.
23 Concerning Damascus. Hamath is put to shame, and Arpad; for they have heard evil tidings, they are melted away: there is distress on the sea; it cannot be quiet.
About Damascus. Hamath is put to shame, and Arpad; for the word of evil has come to their ears, their heart in its fear is turned to water, it will not be quiet.
24 Damascus is grown feeble: she turneth herself to flee, and terror hath seized on her; trouble and sorrows have taken hold of her as of a woman in travail.
Damascus has become feeble, she is turned to flight, fear has taken her in its grip: pain and sorrows have come on her, as on a woman in birth-pains.
25 How is not the town of praise forsaken, the city of my joy!
How has the town of praise been wasted, the place of joy!
26 Therefore shall her young men fall in her streets, and all the men of war be cut off in that day, saith Jehovah of hosts.
So her young men will be falling in her streets, and all the men of war will be cut off in that day, says the Lord of armies.
27 And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Ben-Hadad.
And I will have a fire lighted on the wall of Damascus, burning up the great houses of Ben-hadad.
28 Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote. Thus saith Jehovah: Arise, go up to Kedar, and spoil the men of the east.
About Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, overcame. This is what the Lord has said: Up! go against Kedar, and make an attack on the children of the east.
29 Their tents and their flocks shall they take; their curtains and all their vessels, and their camels, shall they carry away for themselves; and they shall cry unto them, Terror on every side!
Their tents and their flocks they will take; they will take away for themselves their curtains and all their vessels and their camels: they will give a cry to them, Fear on every side.
30 Flee, wander very far, dwell deep down, ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith Jehovah; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath taken counsel against you, and hath conceived a purpose against you.
Go in flight, go wandering far off, take cover in deep places, O people of Hazor, says the Lord; for Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, has made a design against you, he has a purpose against you in mind.
31 Arise, get you up against the nation at ease, that dwelleth securely, saith Jehovah, which hath neither gates nor bars: they dwell alone.
Up! go against a nation which is living in comfort and without fear of danger, says the Lord, without doors or locks, living by themselves.
32 And their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil; and I will scatter to every wind them that have the corners [of their beard] cut off, and I will bring their calamity from all sides thereof, saith Jehovah.
And their camels will be taken from them by force, and their great herds will come into the hands of their attackers: those who have the ends of their hair cut I will send in flight to all the winds; and I will send their fate on them from every side, says the Lord.
33 And Hazor shall be a dwelling-place of jackals, a desolation for ever. No one shall dwell there, neither shall a son of man sojourn therein.
And Hazor will be a hole for jackals, a waste for ever: no one will be living in it, and no son of man will have a resting-place there.
34 The word of Jehovah that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,
The word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah the prophet about Elam, when Zedekiah first became king of Judah, saying,
35 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might.
This is what the Lord of armies has said: See, I will have the bow of Elam, their chief strength, broken.
36 And upon Elam will I bring the four winds, from the four ends of the heavens, and I will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.
And I will send on Elam four winds from the four quarters of heaven, driving them out to all those winds; there will be no nation into which the wanderers from Elam do not come.
37 And I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life; and I will bring evil upon them, my fierce anger, saith Jehovah; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them.
And I will let Elam be broken before their haters, and before those who are making designs against their lives: I will send evil on them, even my burning wrath, says the Lord; and I will send the sword after them till I have put an end to them:
38 And I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence king and princes, saith Jehovah.
I will put the seat of my power in Elam, and in Elam I will put an end to kings and rulers, says the Lord.
39 But it shall come to pass at the end of the days, I will turn the captivity of Elam, saith Jehovah.
But it will come about that, in the last days, I will let the fate of Elam be changed, says the Lord.
