The people of Israel
have plenty of children
    to inherit their lands.
So why have you worshipers
    of the god Milcom^[a]
taken over towns and land
    belonging to the Gad tribe?
² Someday I will send an army
to attack you in Rabbah,
    your capital city.
It will be left in ruins,
and the surrounding villages
    will lie in ashes.
You took some of Israel’s land,
but on that day
    Israel will take yours!

³ Cry, people of Heshbon;^[b]
your town will become
    a pile of rubble.^[c]
You will turn here and there,
    but your path will be blocked.^[d]

Put on sackcloth^[e] and mourn,
    you citizens of Rabbah,
because the idol you worship^[f]
will be taken
    to a foreign country,
along with its priests
    and temple officials.
⁴ You rebellious Ammonites
trust your wealth
and ask,
    “Who could attack us?”
But I warn you not to boast
    when your strength is fading.^[g]
5 I, the Lord All-Powerful,
will send neighboring nations
    to strike you with terror.
You will be scattered,
with no one to care
    for your refugees.
⁶ Yet someday, I will bring
    your people back home.
I, the Lord, have spoken.

Wisdom and common sense
    have vanished from Teman.^[h]
I will send disaster to punish
    you descendants of Esau,^[i]
so anyone from Dedan^[j]
had better turn around
    and run back home.^[k]
9 People who harvest grapes
    leave some for the poor.
Thieves who break in at night
    take only what they want.
¹⁰ But I will take everything
that belongs to you,
    people of Edom,
and I will uncover every place
    where you try to hide.
Then you will die,
and so will your children,
    relatives, and neighbors.
¹¹ But I can be trusted
to care for your orphans
    and widows.

¹⁴ I have sent a messenger
    to command the nations
to prepare for war
    against you people of Edom.
¹⁵ Your nation will be small,
    yet hated by other nations.
¹⁶ Pride tricks you into thinking
that other nations
    look at you with fear.^[m]
You live along the cliffs
and high in the mountains
    like the eagles,
but I am the Lord,
    and I will bring you down.
¹⁷ People passing by your country
will be shocked and horrified
    to see a disaster
¹⁸ as bad as the destruction
of Sodom and Gomorrah
    and towns nearby.
The towns of Edom will be empty.

¹⁹ I will attack you
    like a lion from the forest,
attacking sheep in a meadow
    along the Jordan.
In a moment the flock runs,
    and the land is empty.
Who will I choose to attack you?
    I will do it myself!
No one can force me to fight
    or chase me away.
²⁰ Listen to my plans for you,
    people of Edom.^[n]
Your children will be dragged off
    and your country destroyed.
²¹ The sounds of your destruction
will reach the Red Sea^[o]
    and cause the earth to shake.
²² An enemy will swoop down
    to attack you,
like an eagle spreading its wings
    and circling over Bozrah.
Your warriors will be gripped
    by fear.^[p]

The towns of Hamath and Arpad^[q]
    have heard your bad news.
They have lost hope,
and worries roll over them
    like ocean waves.^[r]
24 You people of Damascus
    have lost your courage,
and in panic you turn to run,
    gripped by fear and pain.^[s]

²⁵ I once was pleased
    with your famous city.
But now I warn you, “Escape
    while you still can!”^[t]
26 Soon, even your best soldiers
    will lie dead in your streets.
I, the Lord All-Powerful,
    have spoken.

²⁷ I will set fire to your city walls
and burn down the fortresses
    King Benhadad built.

Listen, you people of Kedar
and the other tribes
    of the eastern desert.
I have told Nebuchadnezzar
    to attack and destroy you.
²⁹ His fearsome army
    will surround you,
taking your tents and possessions,
    your sheep and camels.

³⁰ Run and hide,
you people of the desert
    who live in villages!^[w]
Nebuchadnezzar has big plans
    for you.
³¹ You have no city walls
    and no neighbors to help,
yet you think you’re safe—
    so I told him to attack.
³² Then your camels
and large herds
    will be yours no longer.

People of the Arabian Desert,^[x]
disaster will strike you
    from every side,
and you will be scattered
    everywhere on earth.
³³ Only jackals^[y] will live
where your villages^[z] once stood.
    I, the Lord, have spoken.

People of Elam,^[ab]
    I, the Lord All-Powerful,
will kill the archers
    who make your army strong.
³⁶ Enemies will attack
    from all directions,
and you will be led captive
    to every nation on earth.
³⁷ Their armies will crush
    and kill you,
and you will face the disaster
    that my anger brings.
³⁸ Your king and his officials
will die,
and I will rule
    in their place.
I, the Lord, have spoken.

³⁹ But I promise that someday
I will bring your people
    back to their land.