Prophecies against Ammon

49 About the Ammonites,(A) this is what the Lord says:

Does Israel have no sons?
Is he without an heir?
Why then has Milcom[a][b] dispossessed Gad(B)
and his people settled in their cities?
Therefore look, the days are coming(C)
this is the Lord’s declaration—
when I will make the shout of battle(D) heard
against Rabbah(E) of the Ammonites.
It will become a desolate mound,
and its surrounding villages will be set on fire.
Israel will dispossess their dispossessors,
says the Lord.
Wail, Heshbon,(F) for Ai is devastated;
cry out, daughters of Rabbah!
Clothe yourselves with sackcloth,(G) and lament;
run back and forth within your walls,[c]
because Milcom will go into exile
together with his priests and officials.(H)
Why do you boast about your valleys,
your flowing valley,[d]
you faithless daughter—
you who trust in your treasures
and say, “Who can attack me?”
Look, I am about to bring terror on you(I)
this is the declaration of the Lord God of Armies—
from all those around you.
You will be banished, each person headlong,
with no one to gather up the fugitives.
But after that, I will restore the fortunes[e] of the Ammonites.(J)
This is the Lord’s declaration.

Prophecies against Edom

About Edom,(K) this is what the Lord of Armies says:

Is there no longer wisdom in Teman?(L)
Has counsel perished from the prudent?
Has their wisdom rotted away?(M)
Run! Turn back! Lie low,
residents of Dedan,(N)
for I will bring Esau’s calamity on him(O)
at the time I punish him.(P)
If grape harvesters came to you,
wouldn’t they leave a few grapes?(Q)
Were thieves to come in the night,
they would destroy only what they wanted.(R)
10 But I will strip Esau bare;
I will uncover his secret places.(S)
He will try to hide,(T) but he will be unable.
His descendants will be destroyed
along with his relatives and neighbors.
He will exist no longer.(U)
11 Abandon your fatherless; I will preserve them;
let your widows trust in me.(V)

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 remain unpunished, for you must drink it too. 13 For by myself I have sworn”(W)—this is the Lord’s declaration—“Bozrah[f] will become a desolation, a disgrace, a ruin, and an example for cursing, and all its surrounding cities will become ruins forever.”(X)

14 I have heard an envoy from the Lord;
a messenger has been sent among the nations:
Assemble yourselves to come against her.
Rise up for war!

15 I will certainly make you insignificant among the nations,
despised among humanity.
16 As to the terror you cause,[g]
your arrogant heart has deceived you.
You who live in the clefts of the rock,[h]
you who occupy the mountain summit,
though you elevate your nest like the eagles,
even from there I will bring you down.
This is the Lord’s declaration.(Y)

17 “Edom will become a desolation. Everyone who passes by her will be appalled and scoff because of all her wounds.(Z) 18 As when Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown along with their neighbors,”(AA) says the Lord, “no one will live there; no human being will stay in it even temporarily.(AB)

19 “Look, it will be like a lion coming from the thickets[i] of the Jordan to the watered grazing land.(AC) I will chase Edom away from her land in a flash. I will appoint whoever is chosen for her. For who is like me?(AD) Who will issue me a summons?(AE) Who is the shepherd who can stand against me?” (AF)

20 Therefore, hear the plans that the Lord has drawn up against Edom and the strategies he has devised against the people of Teman:(AG) The flock’s little lambs will certainly be dragged away,(AH) and their grazing land will be made desolate because of them.(AI) 21 At the sound of their fall the earth will quake;(AJ) the sound of her cry will be heard at the Red Sea.(AK) 22 Look! It will be like an eagle soaring upward, then swooping down and spreading its wings over Bozrah. In that day the hearts of Edom’s warriors will be like the heart of a woman with contractions.(AL)

Prophecies against Damascus

23 About Damascus:(AM)

Hamath and Arpad are put to shame,(AN)
for they have heard a bad report and are agitated,
like[j] the anxious sea that cannot be calmed.
24 Damascus has become weak;
she has turned to run;
panic has gripped her.
Distress and labor pains have seized her
like a woman in labor.(AO)
25 How can the city of praise not be abandoned,(AP)
the town that brings me joy?
26 Therefore, her young men will fall in her public squares;
all the warriors will perish in that day.
This is the declaration of the Lord of Armies.(AQ)
27 I will set fire to the wall of Damascus;
it will consume Ben-hadad’s citadels.(AR)

Prophecies against Kedar and Hazor

28 About Kedar(AS) and the kingdoms of Hazor, which King Nebuchadnezzar(AT) of Babylon defeated, this is what the Lord says:

Rise up, attack Kedar,
and destroy the people of the east!
29 They will take their tents and their flocks
along with their tent curtains and all their equipment.
They will take their camels for themselves.
They will call out to them,
“Terror is on every side!” (AU)
30 Run! Escape quickly! Lie low,
residents of Hazor—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
for King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon
has drawn up a plan against you;
he has devised a strategy against you.

31 Rise up, attack a nation at ease,
one living in security.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
They have no doors, not even a gate bar;
they live alone.(AV)
32 Their camels will become plunder,
and their massive herds of cattle will become spoil.(AW)
I will scatter them to the wind in every direction,
those who clip the hair on their temples;
I will bring calamity on them across all their borders.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
33 Hazor will become a jackals’ den,(AX)
a desolation forever.
No one will live there;
no human being will stay in it even temporarily.(AY)

Prophecies against Elam

34 This is the word of the Lord that came to the prophet Jeremiah about Elam[k] at the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah.(AZ) 35 This is what the Lord of Armies says:

I am about to shatter Elam’s bow,(BA)
the source[l] 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 banished ones will not go.
37 I will devastate Elam before their enemies,
before those who intend to take their lives.
I will bring disaster on them,
my burning anger.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
I will send the sword after them(BB)
until I finish them off.
38 I will set my throne in Elam,
and I will destroy the king and officials from there.
This is the Lord’s declaration.

39 Yet, in the last days,
I will restore the fortunes of Elam.(BC)
This is the Lord’s declaration.

Footnotes

  1. 49:1 LXX, Syr, Vg; MT reads Malkam
  2. 49:1 = Molech
  3. 49:3 Or sheep pens
  4. 49:4 Or about your strength, your ebbing strength
  5. 49:6 Or will end the captivity, also in v. 39
  6. 49:13 = Edom’s capital
  7. 49:16 Lit Your horror
  8. 49:16 = Petra
  9. 49:19 Lit pride
  10. 49:23 Lit in
  11. 49:34 = modern Iran
  12. 49:35 Lit first

Judgment on Ammon

49 Against the (A)Ammonites.

Thus says the Lord:

“Has Israel no sons?
Has he no heir?
Why then does [a]Milcom inherit (B)Gad,
And his people dwell in its cities?
(C)Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord,
“That I will cause to be heard an alarm of war
In (D)Rabbah of the Ammonites;
It shall be a desolate mound,
And her [b]villages shall be burned with fire.
Then Israel shall take possession of his inheritance,” says the Lord.

“Wail, O (E)Heshbon, for Ai is plundered!
Cry, you daughters of Rabbah,
(F)Gird yourselves with sackcloth!
Lament and run to and fro by the walls;
For [c]Milcom shall go into captivity
With his (G)priests and his princes together.
Why (H)do you boast in the valleys,
[d]Your flowing valley, O (I)backsliding daughter?
Who trusted in her (J)treasures, (K)saying,
‘Who will come against me?’
Behold, I will bring fear upon you,”
Says the Lord God of hosts,
“From all those who are around you;
You shall be driven out, everyone headlong,
And no one will gather those who wander off.
But (L)afterward I will bring back
The captives of the people of Ammon,” says the Lord.

Judgment on Edom

(M)Against Edom.

Thus says the Lord of hosts:

(N)Is wisdom no more in Teman?
(O)Has counsel perished from the prudent?
Has their wisdom (P)vanished?
Flee, turn back, dwell in the depths, O inhabitants of (Q)Dedan!
For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him,
The time that I will punish him.
(R)If grape-gatherers came to you,
Would they not leave some gleaning grapes?
If thieves by night,
Would they not destroy until they have enough?
10 (S)But I have made Esau bare;
I have uncovered his secret places,
And he shall not be able to hide himself.
His descendants are plundered,
His brethren and his neighbors,
And (T)he is no more.
11 Leave your fatherless children,
I will preserve them alive;
And let your widows trust in Me.”

12 For thus says the Lord: “Behold, (U)those whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunk. And are you the one who will altogether go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, but you shall surely drink of it. 13 For (V)I have sworn by Myself,” says the Lord, “that (W)Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a [e]waste, and a curse. And all its cities shall be perpetual [f]wastes.”

14 (X)I have heard a message from the Lord,
And an ambassador has been sent to the nations:
“Gather together, come against her,
And rise up to battle!

15 “For indeed, I will make you small among nations,
Despised among men.
16 Your fierceness has deceived you,
The (Y)pride of your heart,
O you who dwell in the clefts of the rock,
Who hold the height of the hill!
(Z)Though you make your (AA)nest as high as the eagle,
(AB)I will bring you down from there,” says the Lord.

17 “Edom also shall be an astonishment;
(AC)Everyone who goes by it will be astonished
And will hiss at all its plagues.
18 (AD)As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah
And their neighbors,” says the Lord,
“No one shall remain there,
Nor shall a son of man dwell in it.

19 “Behold,(AE) he shall come up like a lion from (AF)the [g]floodplain of the Jordan
Against the dwelling place 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 (AG)who is like Me?
Who will arraign Me?
And (AH)who is that shepherd
Who will withstand Me?”

20 (AI)Therefore hear the counsel of the Lord that He has taken against Edom,
And His purposes that He has proposed against the inhabitants of Teman:
Surely the least of the flock shall [h]draw them out;
Surely He shall make their dwelling places desolate with them.
21 (AJ)The earth shakes at the noise of their fall;
At the cry its noise is heard at the Red Sea.
22 Behold, (AK)He shall come up and fly like the eagle,
And spread His wings over Bozrah;
The heart of the mighty men of Edom in that day shall be
Like the heart of a woman in birth pangs.

Judgment on Damascus

23 (AL)Against Damascus.

(AM)“Hamath and Arpad are shamed,
For they have heard bad news.
They are fainthearted;
(AN)There is [i]trouble on the sea;
It cannot be quiet.
24 Damascus has grown feeble;
She turns to flee,
And fear has seized her.
(AO)Anguish and sorrows have taken her like a woman in [j]labor.
25 Why is (AP)the city of praise not deserted, the city of My joy?
26 (AQ)Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets,
And all the men of war shall be cut off in that day,” says the Lord of hosts.
27 “I(AR) will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus,
And it shall consume the palaces of Ben-Hadad.”

Judgment on Kedar and Hazor

28 (AS)Against Kedar and against the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon shall strike.

Thus says the Lord:

“Arise, go up to Kedar,
And devastate (AT)the men of the East!
29 Their (AU)tents and their flocks they shall take away.
They shall take for themselves their curtains,
All their vessels and their camels;
And they shall cry out to them,
(AV)‘Fear is on every side!’

30 “Flee, get far away! Dwell in the depths,
O inhabitants of Hazor!” says the Lord.
“For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has taken counsel against you,
And has conceived a plan against you.

31 “Arise, go up to (AW)the wealthy nation that dwells securely,” says the Lord,
“Which has neither gates nor bars,
(AX)Dwelling alone.
32 Their camels shall be for booty,
And the multitude of their cattle for plunder.
I will (AY)scatter to all winds those [k]in the farthest corners,
And I will bring their calamity from all its sides,” says the Lord.
33 “Hazor (AZ)shall be a dwelling for jackals, a desolation forever;
No one shall reside there,
Nor son of man dwell in it.”

Judgment on Elam

34 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against (BA)Elam, in the (BB)beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, 35 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:

‘Behold, I will break (BC)the [l]bow of Elam,
The foremost of their might.
36 Against Elam I will bring the four winds
From the four quarters of heaven,
And scatter them toward all those winds;
There shall be no nations where the outcasts of Elam will not go.
37 For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies
And before those who seek their life.
(BD)I will bring disaster upon them,
My fierce anger,’ says the Lord;
‘And I will send the sword after them
Until I have consumed them.
38 I will (BE)set My throne in Elam,
And will destroy from there the king and the princes,’ says the Lord.

39 ‘But it shall come to pass (BF)in the latter days:
I will bring back the captives of Elam,’ says the Lord.”

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 49:1 Heb. Malcam, lit. their king; an Ammonite god, 1 Kin. 11:5; Molech, Lev. 18:21
  2. Jeremiah 49:2 Lit. daughters
  3. Jeremiah 49:3 See v. 1
  4. Jeremiah 49:4 Lit. Your valley is flowing
  5. Jeremiah 49:13 ruin
  6. Jeremiah 49:13 ruins
  7. Jeremiah 49:19 Or thicket
  8. Jeremiah 49:20 Or drag them away
  9. Jeremiah 49:23 anxiety
  10. Jeremiah 49:24 childbirth
  11. Jeremiah 49:32 Lit. cut off at the corner, Jer. 9:26; 25:23
  12. Jeremiah 49:35 Power

49 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?

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 unto them that were his heirs, saith the Lord.

Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled: cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you 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.

Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys, thy flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? that trusted in her treasures, saying, Who shall come unto me?

Behold, I will bring a fear upon thee, saith the Lord God of hosts, from all those that be about thee; and ye shall be driven out every man right forth; and none shall gather up him that wandereth.

And afterward I will bring again the captivity of the children of Ammon, saith the Lord.

Concerning Edom, thus saith the Lord of hosts; Is wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished?

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.

If grapegatherers come to thee, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? if thieves by night, they will destroy till they have enough.

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 spoiled, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he is not.

11 Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me.

12 For thus saith the Lord; Behold, they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunken; and art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink of it.

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 the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes.

14 I have heard a rumour from the Lord, and an ambassador is sent unto the heathen, saying, Gather ye together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle.

15 For, lo, I will make thee small among the heathen, and despised among men.

16 Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine 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 thence, saith the Lord.

17 Also Edom shall be a desolation: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof.

18 As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the Lord, no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it.

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?

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.

21 The earth is moved at the noise of their fall, at the cry the noise thereof was heard in 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.

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.

24 Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.

25 How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!

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.

27 And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.

28 Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon shall smite, thus saith the Lord; Arise ye, go up to Kedar, and spoil the men 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 unto them, Fear is on every side.

30 Flee, get you far off, dwell deep, O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith the Lord; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath taken counsel against you, and hath conceived a purpose against you.

31 Arise, get you up unto the wealthy nation, that dwelleth without care, saith the Lord, which have neither gates nor bars, which dwell alone.

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 thereof, saith 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.

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,

35 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might.

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 whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.

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:

38 And I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence the king and the princes, saith the Lord.

39 But it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring again the captivity of Elam, saith the Lord.