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49 Of the children of Ammon. Yahweh says:

“Has Israel no sons?
    Has he no heir?
Why then does Malcam possess Gad,
    and his people dwell in its cities?
Therefore behold, the days come,”
    says Yahweh,
“that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard against Rabbah of the children of Ammon;
    and it will become a desolate heap,
    and her daughters will be burned with fire:
then Israel will possess those who possessed him,”
    says Yahweh.
“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 Malcam will go into captivity,
    his priests and his princes together.
Why do you boast in the valleys,
    your flowing valley, backsliding daughter?
You trusted in her treasures,
    saying, ‘Who will come to me?’
Behold, I will bring a terror on you,”
    says the Lord, Yahweh of Armies,
“from all who are around you.
    All of you will be driven completely out,
    and there will be no one to gather together the fugitives.

“But afterward I will reverse the captivity of the children of Ammon,”
    says Yahweh.

Of Edom, Yahweh of Armies says:

“Is wisdom no more in Teman?
    Has counsel perished from the prudent?
    Has their wisdom vanished?
Flee! Turn back!
    Dwell in the depths, inhabitants of Dedan;
    for I will bring the calamity of Esau on him when I visit him.
If grape gatherers came to you,
    would they not leave some gleaning grapes?
If thieves came by night,
    wouldn’t they steal until they had enough?
10 But I have made Esau bare,
    I have uncovered his secret places,
    and he will not be able to hide himself.
His offspring is destroyed,
    with his brothers and his neighbors;
    and he is no more.
11 Leave your fatherless children.
    I will preserve them alive.
    Let your widows trust in me.”

12 For Yahweh says: “Behold, they to whom it didn’t pertain to drink of the cup will certainly drink; and are you he who will altogether go unpunished? You won’t go unpunished, but you will surely drink. 13 For I have sworn by myself,” says Yahweh, “that Bozrah will become an astonishment, a reproach, a waste, and a curse. All its cities will be perpetual wastes.”

14 I have heard news from Yahweh,
    and an ambassador is sent among the nations,
saying, “Gather yourselves together!
    Come against her!
    Rise up to the battle!”

15 “For, behold, I have made you small among the nations,
    and despised among men.
16 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 Yahweh.
17 “Edom will become an astonishment.
    Everyone who passes by it will be astonished,
    and will hiss at all its plagues.
18 As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and its neighbor cities,” says Yahweh,
    “no man will dwell there,
    neither will any son of man live therein.

19 “Behold, he will 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,
    I will appoint him over it.
For who is like me?
    Who will appoint me a time?
    Who is the shepherd who will stand before me?”
20 Therefore hear the counsel of Yahweh, that he has taken against Edom;
    and his purposes, that he has purposed against the inhabitants of Teman:
Surely they will drag them away,
    the little ones of the flock.
    Surely he will make their habitation desolate over them.
21 The earth trembles at the noise of their fall;
    there is a cry, the noise which is heard in the Red Sea.
22 Behold, he will come up and fly as the eagle,
    and spread out his wings against Bozrah.
    The heart of the mighty men of Edom at that day will be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.

23 Of Damascus:

“Hamath is confounded, and Arpad;
    for they have heard evil news.
    They have melted away.
There is sorrow on the sea.
    It can’t be quiet.
24 Damascus has grown feeble,
    she turns herself to flee,
    and trembling has seized 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 city of my joy?
26 Therefore her young men will fall in her streets,
    and all the men of war will be brought to silence in that day,”
    says Yahweh of Armies.
27 “I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus,
    and it will devour the palaces of Ben Hadad.”

28 Of Kedar, and of the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck. Yahweh says:
“Arise, go up to Kedar,
    and destroy the children of the east.
29 They will take their tents and their flocks.
    they will carry away for themselves their curtains,
    all their vessels, and their camels;
    and they will cry to them, ‘Terror on every side!’
30 Flee!
    Wander far off!
Dwell in the depths, you inhabitants of Hazor,” says Yahweh;
    “for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has taken counsel against you,
    and has conceived a purpose against you.
31 Arise! Go up to a nation that is at ease,
    that dwells without care,” says Yahweh;
    “that has neither gates nor bars,
    that dwells alone.
32 Their camels will be a booty,
    and the multitude of their livestock a plunder.
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 Yahweh.
33 Hazor will be a dwelling place of jackals,
    a desolation forever.
No man will dwell there,
    neither will any son of man live therein.”

34 Yahweh’s word that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, 35 “Yahweh of Armies says:

‘Behold, I will break the bow of Elam,
    the chief of their might.
36 I will bring on Elam the four winds from the four quarters of the sky,
    and will scatter them toward all those winds.
    There will be no nation where the outcasts of Elam will not come.
37 I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies,
    and before those who seek their life.
I will bring evil on them, even my fierce anger,’ says Yahweh;
    ‘and I will send the sword after them,
    until I have consumed them.
38 I will set my throne in Elam,
    and will destroy from there king and princes,’ says Yahweh.
39 ‘But it will happen in the latter days
    that I will reverse the captivity of Elam,’ says Yahweh.”

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?
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.
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.

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.
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.
Afterward, though, I will bring back
    the Ammonites from captivity,
        declares the Lord.

Prophecy against Edom

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?
Turn, flee, and run for cover,
    you inhabitants of Dedan.
I’m bringing disaster on Esau:
    its day of reckoning.
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

  1. Jeremiah 49:3 Heb uncertain; or run back and forth in the sheepfolds
  2. Jeremiah 49:4 Heb uncertain
  3. Jeremiah 49:10 LXX; MT and there will ( or he will) be no more
  4. Jeremiah 49:19 Heb uncertain
  5. Jeremiah 49:19 Heb uncertain
  6. Jeremiah 49:20 Heb uncertain
  7. Jeremiah 49:21 Or Red Sea
  8. Jeremiah 49:25 Vulg; MT Not forsaken
  9. Jeremiah 49:29 Or They will seize…they will take off
  10. Jeremiah 49:32 Or those who have temples that are shaved