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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.”

Judgment on the Ammonites

49 Concerning the Ammonites.

Thus says the Lord:

Has Israel no sons?
    Has he no heir?
Why then has Milcom[a] dispossessed Gad
    and his people settled in its towns?(A)
Therefore, the time is surely coming,
    says the Lord,
when I will sound the battle alarm
    against Rabbah of the Ammonites;
it shall become a desolate mound,
    and its villages shall be burned with fire;
then Israel shall dispossess those who dispossessed him,
    says the Lord.(B)

Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste!
    Cry out, O daughters[b] of Rabbah!
Put on sackcloth,
    lament, and slash yourselves with whips![c]
For Milcom[d] shall go into exile,
    with his priests and his attendants.(C)
Why do you boast in your strength?
    Your strength is ebbing,
O faithless daughter.
    Who trusted in her treasures, saying,[e]
    “Who will attack me?”(D)
I am going to bring terror upon you,
    says the Lord God of hosts,
    from all your neighbors,
and you will be scattered, each headlong,
    with no one to gather the fugitives.(E)

But afterward I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites, says the Lord.(F)

Judgment on Edom

Concerning Edom.

Thus says the Lord of hosts:

Is there no longer wisdom in Teman?
    Has counsel perished from the prudent?
    Has their wisdom vanished?(G)
Flee; turn back; get down low,
    inhabitants of Dedan!
For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him,
    the time when I punish him.(H)
If grape gatherers came to you,
    would they not leave gleanings?
If thieves came by night,
    even they would pillage only what they wanted.(I)
10 But as for me, I have stripped Esau bare;
    I have uncovered his hiding places,
    and he is not able to conceal himself.
His offspring are destroyed, his kinsfolk
    and his neighbors, and he is no more.(J)
11 Leave your orphans; I will keep them alive,
    and let your widows trust in me.(K)

12 For thus says the Lord: If those who do not deserve to drink the cup still have to drink it, shall you be the one to go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished; you must drink it.(L) 13 For by myself I have sworn, says the Lord, that Bozrah shall become an object of horror and ridicule, a waste, and an object of cursing, and all her towns shall be perpetual wastes.(M)

14 I have heard tidings from the Lord,
    and a messenger has been sent among the nations:
“Gather yourselves together and come against her,
    and rise up for battle!”(N)
15 For I will make you least among the nations,
    despised by humankind.
16 The terror you inspire
    and the pride of your heart have deceived you,
you who live in the clefts of the rock,[f]
    who hold the height of the hill.
Although you make your nest as high as the eagle’s,
    from there I will bring you down,
            says the Lord.(O)

17 Edom shall become an object of horror; everyone who passes by it will be horrified and will hiss because of all its disasters.(P) 18 As when Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors were overthrown, says the Lord, no one shall live there, nor shall anyone settle in it.(Q) 19 Like a lion coming up from the thickets of the Jordan to a perennial pasture, I will suddenly chase Edom[g] away from it, and I will appoint over it whomever I choose.[h] For who is like me? Who can summon me? Who is the shepherd who can stand before me?(R) 20 Therefore hear the plan that the Lord has made against Edom and the purposes that he has formed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the little ones of the flock shall be dragged away; surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate.(S) 21 At the sound of their fall the earth shall tremble; the sound of their cry shall be heard at the Red Sea.[i](T) 22 Look, he shall mount up and swoop down like an eagle and spread his wings against Bozrah, and the heart of the warriors of Edom on that day shall be like the heart of a woman in labor.(U)

Judgment on Damascus

23 Concerning Damascus.

Hamath and Arpad are confounded,
    for they have heard bad news;
they melt in fear; they are troubled like the sea[j]
    that cannot be quiet.(V)
24 Damascus has become feeble; she turned to flee,
    and panic seized her;
anguish and pangs seize her,
    as of a woman in labor.
25 How is the famous city not forsaken,[k]
    the town of my joy?[l](W)
26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her squares,
    and all her soldiers shall be destroyed on that day,
            says the Lord of hosts.(X)
27 And I will kindle a fire at the wall of Damascus,
    and it shall devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad.(Y)

Judgment on Kedar and Hazor

28 Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor that King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon defeated.

Thus says the Lord:
Rise up; advance against Kedar!
    Destroy the people of the east!(Z)
29 They take their tents and their flocks,
    their curtains and all their goods;
they carry off their camels for themselves,
    and a cry shall go up: “Terror is all around!”(AA)
30 Flee; wander far away; hide in deep places,
    O inhabitants of Hazor!
            says the Lord.
For King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon
    has made a plan against you
    and formed a purpose against you.(AB)

31 Rise up; advance against a nation at ease,
    that lives secure,
            says the Lord,
that has no gates or bars,
    that lives alone.(AC)
32 Their camels shall become plunder;
    their herds of cattle a spoil.
I will scatter to every wind
    those who have shaved temples,
and I will bring calamity
    against them from every side,
            says the Lord.(AD)
33 Hazor shall become a lair of jackals,
    an everlasting waste;
no one shall live there,
    nor shall anyone settle in it.(AE)

Judgment on Elam

34 The word of the Lord that came to the prophet Jeremiah concerning Elam, at the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah.(AF)

35 Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am going to break the bow of Elam, the mainstay of their might,(AG) 36 and I will bring upon Elam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and I will scatter them to all these winds, and there shall be no nation to which the exiles from Elam shall not come.(AH) 37 I will terrify Elam before their enemies and before those who seek their life; I will bring disaster upon them, my fierce anger, says the Lord. I will send the sword after them until I have consumed them,(AI) 38 and I will set my throne in Elam and destroy their king and officials, says the Lord.

39 But in the latter days I will restore the fortunes of Elam, says the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. 49.1 Gk Vg Syr: Heb their king
  2. 49.3 Or villages
  3. 49.3 Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain
  4. 49.3 Gk Vg Syr: Heb their king
  5. 49.4 Gk: Heb lacks saying
  6. 49.16 Or of Sela
  7. 49.19 Heb him
  8. 49.19 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  9. 49.21 Or Sea of Reeds
  10. 49.23 Cn: Heb there is trouble in the sea
  11. 49.25 Vg: Heb is not forsaken
  12. 49.25 Syr Vg Tg: Heb the town of my joy