Jeremiah 49
Holman Christian Standard Bible
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?
2 Therefore look, the days are coming—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
when I will make the shout of battle(C) heard
against Rabbah of the Ammonites.
It will become a desolate mound,
and its villages will be burned down.
Israel will dispossess their dispossessors,
says the Lord.
3 Wail, Heshbon,(D) for Ai is devastated;
cry out, daughters of Rabbah!
Clothe yourselves with sackcloth,(E) and lament;
run back and forth within your walls,[c]
because Milcom will go into exile
together with his priests and officials.(F)
4 Why do you brag about your valleys,
your flowing valley,[d]
you faithless daughter?
You who trust in your treasures
and boast, “Who can attack me?”
5 Look, I am about to bring terror on you(G)—
this is the declaration of
the Lord God of Hosts—
from all those around you.
You will be banished, each man headlong,
with no one to gather up the fugitives.
6 But after that, I will restore the fortunes[e] of the Ammonites.(H)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Prophecies against Edom
7 About Edom, this is what the Lord of Hosts says:
Is there no longer wisdom in Teman?[f]
Has counsel perished from the prudent?
Has their wisdom rotted away?(I)
8 Run! Turn back! Lie low,
residents of Dedan,(J)
for I will bring Esau’s calamity on him
at the time I punish him.(K)
9 If grape harvesters came to you,
wouldn’t they leave some gleanings?(L)
Were thieves to come in the night,
they would destroy only what they wanted.(M)
10 But I will strip Esau bare;
I will uncover his secret places.(N)
He will try to hide himself, but he will be unable.
His descendants will be destroyed
along with his relatives and neighbors.
He will exist no longer.
11 Abandon your fatherless; I will preserve them;
let your widows trust in Me.(O)
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”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“Bozrah[g] will become a desolation, a disgrace, a ruin, and a curse, and all her cities will become ruins forever.”(P)
14 I have heard a message from the Lord;
a messenger has been sent among the nations:
Assemble yourselves to come against her.
Rise up for war!
15 Look, I will certainly make you insignificant among the nations,
despised among humanity.
16 As to the terror you cause,[h]
your presumptuous heart has deceived you.
You who live in the clefts of the rock,[i]
you who occupy the mountain summit,
though you elevate your nest like the eagle,
even from there I will bring you down.
This is the Lord’s declaration.(Q)
17 “Edom will become a desolation. Everyone who passes by her will be horrified and scoff because of all her wounds.(R) 18 As when Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown along with their neighbors,”(S) says the Lord, “no one will live there; no human being will even stay in it as a temporary resident.(T)
19 “Look, it will be like a lion coming from the thickets[j] of the Jordan to the watered grazing land. Indeed, I will chase Edom away from her land in a flash. I will appoint whoever is chosen for her. For who is like Me? Who will summon Me?(U) Who is the shepherd who can stand against 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:(V) The flock’s little lambs will certainly be dragged away,(W) and their grazing land will be made desolate because of them. 21 At the sound of their fall the earth will quake; the sound of her cry will be heard at the Red Sea.(X) 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.(Y)
Prophecies against Damascus
23 About Damascus:(Z)
Hamath and Arpad are put to shame,(AA)
for they have heard a bad report and are agitated;
in the sea there is anxiety 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.
25 How can the city of praise not be abandoned,(AB)
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 Hosts.(AC)
27 I will set fire to the wall of Damascus;
it will consume Ben-hadad’s citadels.(AD)
Prophecies against Kedar and Hazor
28 About Kedar(AE) and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar,(AF) Babylon’s king, defeated, this is what the Lord says:
Rise up, go against 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!(AG)
30 Run! Escape quickly! Lie low,
residents of Hazor—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
has drawn up a plan against you;
he has devised a strategy against you.
31 Rise up, go up against 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.(AH)
32 Their camels will become plunder,
and their massive herds of cattle will become spoil.(AI)
I will scatter them to the wind in every direction,
those who shave 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,(AJ)
a desolation forever.
No one will live there;
no human being will even stay in it as a temporary resident.(AK)
Prophecies against Elam
34 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet about Elam[k] at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah.(AL) 35 This is what the Lord of Hosts says:
I am about to shatter Elam’s bow,(AM)
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 want 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(AN)
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.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 49:1 LXX, Syr, Vg; MT reads Malkam
- Jeremiah 49:1 = Molech
- Jeremiah 49:3 Or sheep pens
- Jeremiah 49:4 Or about your strength, your ebbing strength
- Jeremiah 49:6 Or will end the captivity
- Jeremiah 49:7 = a region or city in Edom
- Jeremiah 49:13 = Edom’s capital
- Jeremiah 49:16 Lit Your horror
- Jeremiah 49:16 = Petra
- Jeremiah 49:19 Lit pride
- Jeremiah 49:34 = modern Iran
- Jeremiah 49:35 Lit first
- Jeremiah 49:39 Or will end the captivity
Jeremiah 49
Common English Bible
Prophecy against the Ammonites
49 Concerning the Ammonites, the Lord proclaims:
Doesn’t Israel have children?
Aren’t there heirs to his land?
Why then has Milcom taken over Gad?
Why have his people settled in its towns?
2 Therefore, the time is coming,
declares the Lord,
when I will sound the battle alarm against Rabbah,
the capital city of the Ammonites.
The city will be demolished,
and its neighboring villages
will be burned to the ground.
Then Israel will repossess
the land seized by its captors,
says the Lord.
3 Weep, you people of Heshbon;
Ai has been destroyed.
Wail, you daughters of Rabbah;
put on funeral clothing,
cry your eyes out,
run for shelter.[a]
Milcom will surely go into exile,
together with his priests and ministers.
4 Why do you brag about your strength?
Your strength is exhausted,[b]
you rebellious daughter.
You trust in your treasures,
never imagining who would attack you.
5 I’m the one who will terrify you from every side,
declares the Lord of heavenly forces.
Every one of you will be scattered about;
no one will gather those who fled.
6 Afterward, though, I will bring back
the Ammonites from captivity,
declares the Lord.
Prophecy against Edom
7 Concerning Edom, the Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:
Is wisdom no longer in Teman?
Has good sense vanished from the perceptive?
Are they no longer wise?
8 Turn, flee, and run for cover,
you inhabitants of Dedan.
I’m bringing disaster on Esau:
its day of reckoning.
9 If workers would come to you to pick grapes,
they would at least leave a few on the vine.
If thieves would come in the night,
they would take only what they needed.
10 But me? I will strip Esau bare.
I will expose his hiding places,
and he will find no place to take cover.
His offspring, family, and acquaintances will perish,
and there will be no one left to say,[c]
11 “Leave me your orphans,
and I’ll look after them;
trust your widows into my care.”
12 The Lord proclaims: If the innocent must drink the cup, why do you expect to escape punishment? You won’t! You will drink it! 13 I myself swear, declares the Lord, that Bozrah will become an object of horror and scorn, a wasteland and a curse. And all of its towns will lie in ruins forever.
14 I have heard a report from the Lord
that a messenger is sent among the nations:
Join forces and come against her;
prepare for war!
15 I’m about to cut you down to size before the nations;
you will be scorned by everyone.
16 The terror you have inflicted on others has deceived you,
as has your own pride.
Though you live in a fortress
and occupy the high ground;
though you nest on high like the eagles,
I will bring you down,
declares the Lord.
17 Then Edom will become a wasteland.
All who pass by will be shocked by its injuries.
18 It will be like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
and their surrounding towns,
says the Lord.
No one will live there;
no human will dwell in it.
19 Like a lion coming up
from the jungle of the Jordan
to a well-watered meadow,[d]
so I will suddenly chase down Edom
and single out its choicest of rams.[e]
Who is like me?
Who can direct me?
What shepherd can withstand me?
20 Therefore, listen to the counsel
that the Lord has for Edom
and the plans he’s devised
against the people of Teman:
The little ones of the flock
will be dragged off,
as their pasture watches
in utter disbelief.[f]
21 The earth quakes
as the Edomites go down;
their screams echo
as far as the Reed Sea.[g]
22 Look! One who mounts up and soars like an eagle,
who swoops down and spreads his wings over Bozrah.
On that day, the heart of every soldier from Edom
will be like that of a woman in the throes of labor.
Prophecy against Damascus
23 Concerning Damascus:
Hamath and Arpad lose heart
when they hear the bad news.
They are trembling with fear,
like the raging sea,
which can’t become quiet.
24 Damascus staggers about;
she tries to flee,
but panic overwhelms her.
She’s gripped by anguish and pain,
like a woman in labor.
25 Forsaken[h] is the renowned city,
city of my delight.
26 Yes, her young men will fall in the streets,
and her soldiers will be silent on that day,
declares the Lord of heavenly forces.
27 I will set fire to the walls of Damascus;
it will burn up the fortresses of Ben-hadad.
Prophecy against Kedar and Hazor
28 Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar defeated, the Lord proclaims:
Get ready to attack Kedar;
destroy the people from the east!
29 Seize[i] their tents and their flocks,
their belongings and all their goods.
Take off with their camels
and shout as you go:
“Panic Lurks Everywhere!”
30 Run away; take cover,
you people of Hazor,
declares the Lord.
Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar
has taken counsel and devised a plan against you.
31 Get ready to attack a nation
that feels safe and secure,
declares the Lord,
one without barred gates
that lives by itself.
32 Their camels will become plunder;
their many cattle will be pillaged.
I will scatter to the winds those who are clean-shaven,[j]
and I will bring disaster on them from every side,
declares the Lord.
33 Hazor will become a den for wild dogs,
a wilderness forever.
No one will live there;
no human will dwell in it.
Prophecy against Elam
34 This is what the Lord told the prophet Jeremiah concerning Elam at the beginning of the rule of Judah’s King Zedekiah. 35 The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:
I’m going to break the bow of Elam,
the backbone of its military might.
36 I will bring against Elam four winds
from the four corners of heaven,
and I will scatter them to the winds.
Those banished from Elam will migrate to every nation.
37 I will terrify Elam before their enemies,
before those who seek to kill them.
I will bring disaster upon them,
my fierce anger,
declares the Lord.
I will send the sword to attack them
until I have destroyed them all.
38 I will establish my rule in Elam
and dispose of its king and officials,
declares the Lord.
39 But in the days to come
I will bring back the captives of Elam,
declares the Lord.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 49:3 Heb uncertain; or run back and forth in the sheepfolds
- Jeremiah 49:4 Heb uncertain
- Jeremiah 49:10 LXX; MT and there will ( or he will) be no more
- Jeremiah 49:19 Heb uncertain
- Jeremiah 49:19 Heb uncertain
- Jeremiah 49:20 Heb uncertain
- Jeremiah 49:21 Or Red Sea
- Jeremiah 49:25 Vulg; MT Not forsaken
- Jeremiah 49:29 Or They will seize…they will take off
- Jeremiah 49:32 Or those who have temples that are shaved
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