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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)

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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

A Message about Ammon

49 This message was given concerning the Ammonites. This is what the Lord says:

“Are there no descendants of Israel
    to inherit the land of Gad?
Why are you, who worship Molech,[a]
    living in its towns?
In the days to come,” says the Lord,
    “I will sound the battle cry against your city of Rabbah.
It will become a desolate heap of ruins,
    and the neighboring towns will be burned.
Then Israel will take back the land
    you took from her,” says the Lord.

“Cry out, O Heshbon,
    for the town of Ai is destroyed.
Weep, O people of Rabbah!
    Put on your clothes of mourning.
Weep and wail, hiding in the hedges,
    for your god Molech, with his priests and officials,
    will be hauled off to distant lands.
You are proud of your fertile valleys,
    but they will soon be ruined.
You trusted in your wealth,
    you rebellious daughter,
    and thought no one could ever harm you.
But look! I will bring terror upon you,”
    says the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
“Your neighbors will chase you from your land,
    and no one will help your exiles as they flee.
But I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites
    in days to come.
    I, the Lord, have spoken.”

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Footnotes

  1. 49:1 Hebrew Malcam, a variant spelling of Molech; also in 49:3.