Jeremiah 49
1 Concerning the Ammonites, thus saith the LORD; Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? why then doth their king inherit Gad, and his people dwell in his cities?
This is what the Lord says about the Ammonites: Don't the Israelites have any children? Don't they have heirs to inherit their property? So why has Milcom taken over the territory belonging to the tribe of Gad? Why are his people living in their towns?
2 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites; and it shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel be heir to them that were his heirs, saith the LORD.
Watch out! The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will signal the attack on the Ammonite town of Rabbah. It will be turned into a pile of ruins, and its villages will be burned down. Then the Israelites will drive out the people who took over their land, says the Lord.
3 Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste: cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird yourselves with sackcloth; lament, and run to and fro by the hedges; for their king shall go into captivity, and his priests and his princes together.
Weep, people of Heshbon, for the town of Ai has been destroyed. Cry for help, people of Rabbah! Put on clothes made of sackcloth and start mourning; run to and fro inside your city walls, because your god Milcom will go into exile along with his priests and leaders.
4 Why gloriest thou in the valleys, thy flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? that trusted in her treasures, saying, Who shall come to me?
Why do you boast that your valleys are so productive, you unfaithful people? You trust in your wealth, saying, “Who would dare attack us?”
5 Behold, I will bring a fear upon thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts, from all those that are about thee; and ye shall be driven out every man right forth; and none shall gather up him that wandereth.
Watch out! I'm going to bring the surrounding nations to terrorize you, declares the Lord God Almighty. You will all be driven out and scattered, and no one will be able to gather you refugees together again.
6 And afterward I will bring again the captives of the children of Ammon, saith the LORD.
However, later on I will bring you Ammonites back from exile, declares the Lord.
7 Concerning Edom, thus saith the LORD of hosts; Is wisdom no more in Teman? hath counsel perished from the prudent? hath their wisdom vanished?
This is what the Lord Almighty says about Edom: Aren't there any wise people left in Teman? Isn't there any good advice from those with insight? Has their wisdom rotted away?
8 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 punish him.
Turn and run away! Find somewhere to hide, people of Dedan, because I'm bringing disaster down on you descendants of Esau when I punish you.
9 If grapegatherers come to thee, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? if thieves by night, they will destroy till they have enough.
If people harvesting grapes came to you, they'd leave some behind, wouldn't they? If thieves came during the night, they'd only steal what they wanted, wouldn't they?
10 But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is laid waste, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he is not.
But I'm going to strip the whole country of bare, leaving its people with nowhere to hide. All of Esau's descendants will be destroyed, along with their relatives and friends—they will all be gone.
11 Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me.
However, you can leave your orphans to me because I will protect them. Have your widows put their trust in me.
12 For thus saith the LORD; Behold, they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunk; and art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink of it.
This is what the Lord says: If those who were not required to drink from the cup of judgment had to do so, how could you not be punished yourselves? You won't go unpunished, because you have to drink it too.
13 For I have sworn by myself, saith the LORD, that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all its cities shall be perpetual wastes.
I made myself a solemn promise, declares the Lord, that the town of Bozrah will become a place that horrifies people, a complete humiliation, a pile of ruins, and a name that's used as a curse word. All its surrounding towns will also be left in ruins forever.
14 I have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent to the heathen, saying, Gather ye together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle.
I received this message from the Lord. He has sent a messenger to the nations: Get yourselves ready to attack Edom! Prepare for battle!
15 For, lo, I will make thee small among the heathen, and despised among men.
Watch as I will make you insignificant compared to other nations—everyone will look down on you.
16 Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thy heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from there, saith the LORD.
The fear you once created in others, and your pride in yourselves, has fooled you into overconfidence, you people living on the rocky mountain tops. Though you make your homes high out of reach like an eagle's nest, I will tear you down, even from there, declares the Lord.
17 Also Edom shall be a desolation: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all its plagues.
People will be horrified at what's happened to Edom. Everyone passing by will be shocked, and will sneer at all its damage.
18 As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and its neighbour cities, saith the LORD, no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it.
Just as Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, along with their neighboring towns, says the Lord, nobody will live there—they will become uninhabited.
19 Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan against the habitation of the strong: but I will suddenly make him run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me?
Watch out! I'm going to come like a lion from the tangled undergrowth beside the Jordan to attack the animals grazing the green pasture. In fact I'm going to chase the Edomites from their land very quickly. Who will I choose to conquer them? Who is like me? Who can challenge me? Which leader could oppose me?
20 Therefore hear the counsel of the LORD, that he hath taken against Edom; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitations desolate with them.
So listen to what the Lord has planned to do to Edom and the people of Teman: Their children will be dragged away like lambs from the flock, and because of them their pasture will become a wasteland.
21 The earth is moved at the noise of their fall, at the cry the noise of it was heard in the Red sea.
When they fall, the sound they make will make the earth shake; their cries will be heard all the way to the Red Sea.
22 Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread his wings over Bozrah: and at that day shall the heart of the mighty men of Edom be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.
Watch as an enemy like an eagle flies high, then swoops down, spreading its wings as it attacks Bozrah. At that time Edom's warriors will be as scared as a woman in labor.
23 Concerning Damascus. Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea; it cannot be quiet.
A prophecy about Damascus: The towns of Hamath and Arpad are disturbed, because they've received bad news. They are fearful, restless like the sea. Nothing can calm their worries.
24 Damascus hath become feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.
The people of Damascus are demoralized—they turn and run away in panic, overcome by pain and anguish like a woman in labor.
25 How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
Why isn't the city that is praised deserted, the city that made me happy?
26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.
For on that day its young men will die in its streets, all its defenders will be killed, declares the Lord of Hosts.
27 And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.
I'm going to set fire to the walls of Damascus; that will burn down the fortresses of Ben-hadad.
28 Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon shall smite, thus saith the LORD; Arise ye, go up to Kedar, and lay waste the men of the east.
A prophecy about the land of Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor that were attacked by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. This is what the Lord says: Go and attack Kedar; destroy the people of the east!
29 Their tents and their flocks shall they take away: they shall take to themselves their curtains, and all their vessels, and their camels; and they shall cry to them, Fear is on every side.
Take their tents and their flocks! Carry off their tent curtains and all their possessions! Take their camels for yourselves. Shout out to them: “Terror is everywhere!”
30 Flee, go far off, dwell deep, O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith the LORD; for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon hath taken counsel against you, and hath conceived a purpose against you.
Run! Get away as far as you can! Find somewhere to hide, people of Hazor, declares the Lord. For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has made plans to attack and destroy you.
31 Arise, go up to the wealthy nation, that dwelleth without care, saith the LORD, which have neither gates nor bars, which dwell alone.
Go and attack that self-satisfied nation that thinks it's safe, declares the Lord. They don't have any barred gates and have no allies.
32 And their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil: and I will scatter into all winds them that are in the utmost corners; and I will bring their calamity from all sides of it, saith the LORD.
Their camels and large herds will be plunder for you. I will scatter them everywhere, these desert people who trim their hair on the sides of their heads. I will bring disaster down on them from all directions, declares the Lord.
33 And Hazor shall be a dwelling for dragons, and a desolation for ever: there shall no man abide there, nor any son of man dwell in it.
Hazor will become a place where jackals live, a place abandoned forever. No one will live there; it will become uninhabited.
34 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,
This is the Lord's message that came to Jeremiah the prophet about Elam. This was at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah.
35 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might.
This is what the Lord Almighty says: Look! I'm going to smash the bows of the Elamites, the weapon they rely on for their power.
36 And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation where the outcasts of Elam shall not come.
I will bring winds from all directions to attack Elam, and I will scatter them in all directions. There won't be a nation that doesn't have some of Elam's exiles.
37 For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger, saith the LORD; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them:
I will smash the Elamites in front of their enemies, before those who want to kill them. In my furious anger I will bring disaster down on them, declares the Lord. I will chase them down with the sword until I have destroyed them.
38 And I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from there the king and the princes, saith the LORD.
I will set up my throne in Elam, and destroy its king and officials, declares the Lord.
39 But it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring again the captives of Elam, saith the LORD.
However, later on I will bring the Elamites back from exile, declares the Lord.
