Beginning
A Message Concerning Ammon
49 Concerning the Ammonites:[a] Thus says Yahweh,
“Are there no sons for Israel?
Or is there no heir for him?
Why has Milcom taken possession of Gad,
and his people dwelled in its towns?
2 Therefore[b] look, days are coming,” declares[c] Yahweh,
“and I will sound against Rabbah, the Ammonites,[d]
the alarm of the war,
and it will become as a mound of desolation,
and its daughters will burn in the fire.
Then Israel will dispossess his dispossessors,” says Yahweh.
3 “Wail, Heshbon, for Ai is devastated.
Cry out, O daughters of Rabbah, put on sackcloth.
Lament and run back and forth among the walls.
For Milcom will go into exile,
his priests and his officials together.
4 Why do you boast in your valleys?
Your valleys[e] are ebbing.
O unfaithful daughter, who trusted in her treasures,
who said, ‘Who will come against me?’
5 Look, I am going to bring dread on you,”
declares[f] Lord Yahweh of hosts,
“from all your surrounding neighbors.
And you will be scattered,
each one before it,[g]
and there is no one who gathers the fugitives.[h]
6 Yet afterward[i] I will restore
the fortunes[j] of the Ammonites,”[k] declares[l] Yahweh.
A Message Concerning Edom
7 Concerning Edom, thus says Yahweh of hosts:
“Is there no longer wisdom in Teman?
Has counsel become lost from those who understand?
Is their wisdom rotting?
8 Flee! Turn back! Get down low![m]
O inhabitants of Dedan.
For I will bring upon him the disaster of Esau
at the time when I will punish him.
9 If grape-gatherers come to you,
would they not leave gleanings?
If thieves in the night,
they destroy only enough for them.[n]
10 But I have stripped Esau bare.
I have uncovered his hiding places,
and he is not able to hide himself.
His offspring are devastated, along with[o] his brothers,
and his neighbors, and he is no more.[p]
11 Leave your orphans. I will let them[q] live.
And your widows, let them trust in me.”
12 For thus says Yahweh, “Look, those who are not condemned[r] to drink the cup must certainly drink it.[s] And are you the one who will go entirely unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for you must certainly drink it.[t] 13 For I have sworn by myself,” declares[u] Yahweh, “that Bozrah will become as a horror, as a disgrace, as a waste, and as a curse. And all her towns will be everlasting sites of ruins.”[v]
14 I have heard a message from Yahweh,
and a messenger has been sent among the nations.
“Gather and come against her,
and rise for the battle.”
15 “For look, I will make you small among the nations,
despised by the humankind.
16 Your terror has deceived you,
the pride of your heart,
O you who dwell in the clefts of the rock,
you who seize the height of the hill.
Though you make your nest high like the eagle,
from there I will bring you down,” declares[w] Yahweh.
17 “And Edom will become as a horror,
everyone who passes by it[x] will be appalled,
and will hiss because of all its blows.
18 As the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah
and their neighbors,” says Yahweh,
“no one[y] will live there,
and the son of humankind will not dwell as an alien in it.
19 Look, like a lion he comes up from the thickets of the Jordan
to a pastureland by a constantly flowing stream.[z]
So I will chase him away hurriedly[aa] from it.
And whoever is chosen I will appoint over it.
For who is like me, and who can summon me?
And who is this, the shepherd who can stand before me?”[ab]
20 Therefore[ac] hear the plan of Yahweh that he has planned against Edom,
and his plans that he has planned against the inhabitants of Teman.
Surely[ad] they will drag them away,
the little ones of the flock.
Surely[ae] he will cause to be desolated over them
their grazing place.
21 The earth will quake from the sound of their falling.
A cry of distress! Their voice will be heard at the Red Sea.[af]
22 Look, like an eagle he will go up and he will swoop down,
and he will spread out his wings against Bozrah.
And the heart of the warriors of Edom will be in that day
like the heart of a woman who is in labor.
A Message Concerning Damascus
23 Concerning Damascus:
“Hamath and Arpad are ashamed,
for they have heard bad news;
they melt.
There is concern in the sea.
It is not able to keep quiet.
24 Damascus has grown slack.
She has turned away to flee and panic.
Anxiety has seized her,
and labor pains have grasped her,
like a woman in labor.
25 How the city of praise has not been abandoned!
The city of my joy!
26 Therefore[ag] her young men will fall in her public squares,
and all the soldiers[ah] will perish in that day,” declares[ai] Yahweh of hosts.
27 “And I will kindle a fire at the wall of Damascus,
and it will devour the citadel fortresses of Ben-hadad.”
A Message Concerning Kedar and the Kingdoms of Hazor
28 Concerning Kedar and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor that Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon defeated. Thus says Yahweh:
“Rise up, go up against Kedar
and destroy the people[aj] of the east.
29 They will take their tents, and their flocks,
their tent curtains, and all their equipment,
and their camels they will carry away for themselves,
and they will call to them, ‘Terror is from all around.’
30 Flee! Wander far away! Get down low![ak]
O inhabitants of Hazor,” declares[al] Yahweh.
“For Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, has planned a plan against you.
And he has schemed[am] a scheme[an] against you.
31 Rise up, go up against a nation which is at ease,
living securely,”[ao] declares[ap] Yahweh.
“There are no gates and there are no bars[aq] for them,
they dwell alone.
32 And their camels will become as plunder,
and the multitude of their livestock as spoil.
And I will scatter to every wind those who are trimmed to the side,
and from every side[ar] I will bring their disaster,” declares[as] Yahweh.
33 “And Hazor will become as a lair of jackals,
a waste forever;
no one will live there,
and no son of humankind will dwell as an alien in it.”
A Message Concerning Elam
34 The word of Yahweh that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah the king of Judah, saying,[at] 35 “Thus says Yahweh of hosts:
‘Look, I am going to break the bow of Elam,
the first and best of their might.
36 And I will bring to Elam four winds,
from the four corners of heaven,
and I will scatter them to all these winds,
and there will not be a nation
where the scattered people of Elam will not go.
37 So I will shatter Elam before[au] their enemies,
and before[av] the seekers of their life.
And I will bring disaster upon them,
my burning anger,[aw]’ declares[ax] Yahweh.
‘And I will send after them the sword
until I have destroyed them.
38 And I will set my throne in Elam
and I will destroy from there king and officials,’ declares[ay] Yahweh.
39 ‘And then[az] in the last of the days
I will restore the fortunes[ba] of Elam,’ declares[bb] Yahweh.”
A Message Concerning Babylon
50 The word that Yahweh spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by the hand of Jeremiah the prophet:
2 “Declare among the nations and proclaim,
and lift up a banner.
Proclaim, you must not conceal it.
Say, ‘Babylon is captured,
Bel is ashamed,
Merodach is filled with terror,
her idols are ashamed,
her idols are filled with terror.
3 For a nation will come up against her from the north.
It will make her land as a horror,
and an inhabitant will not be in her.
From humans[bc] to animals[bd] they all will wander off.
They will go away.
4 In those days and in that time,’” declares[be] Yahweh,
“the people[bf] of Israel will come,
they and the people[bg] of Judah together.
Weeping as they go,[bh] they will go,
and Yahweh their God they will seek.
5 They will ask the way to Zion,
turning their faces there.
They will come and join themselves to Yahweh
by an everlasting covenant[bi] that will not be forgotten.
6 My people have become lost sheep,
their shepherds have caused them to go astray.
They led them away to the mountains.
From mountain to hill they have gone,
they have forgotten their resting place.
7 All those who found them have devoured them.
And their foes have said, ‘We are not guilty,
because[bj] they have sinned against Yahweh, the true pasture,[bk]
even Yahweh, the hope of their ancestors.’[bl]
8 Flee from the midst of Babylon,
and from the land of the Chaldeans.
Go out and be like he-goats
before[bm] the flock.
9 For look, I am going to stir up,
and I am going to bring against Babylon
a contingent of great nations
from the land of the north.
And they will draw up a battle formation against her,
from there she will be captured.
Their arrows are like a warrior who has achieved success,
he does not return without success.
10 And Chaldea will be as booty,
all those who plunder her will be satisfied,” declares[bn] Yahweh.
11 “Though you rejoice, though you exult,
O plunderers of my inheritance,
though you frisk about like a heifer on the grass,
and you neigh like the powerful stallions,
12 your mother will be very ashamed.
She who gave birth to you will be humiliated.[bo]
Look, she will be the least of the nations,
a desert,[bp] dry land, and wilderness.[bq]
13 Because of the anger of Yahweh she will not be inhabited,
but she will be a wasteland, all of her.
Everyone who passes by Babylon will be appalled
and will hiss because of all her wounds.
14 Draw up a battle formation at Babylon all around,
all those who bend the bow, shoot at her.
You must not spare arrows,[br]
for she has sinned against Yahweh.
15 Raise a war cry against her on all sides.
She has surrendered.[bs]
Her towers have fallen,
her walls are ruined.
For this is the vengeance of Yahweh.
Take revenge on her.
As she has done to others,
so do to her.
16 Cut off the sower from Babylon,
and the one who uses the sickle in the time of harvest.
Because of[bt] the sword of the oppressor
each one will turn to their people,
and each one will flee to their land.
17 Israel is a sheep scattered,
lions drove them away.
The first who devoured it was the king of Assyria,
and now at the end Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, gnawed its bones.”
18 Therefore[bu] thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel,
“Look, I am going to punish the king of Babylon and his land
just as I punished the king of Assyria.
19 And I will restore Israel to its pasture,
and it will feed on Carmel, and in Bashan,
and on the hills[bv] of Ephraim, and in Gilead
its hunger will be satisfied.
20 In those days and at that time,” declares[bw] Yahweh,
“the guilt of Israel will be sought, but there is none,
and the sins of Judah, but they will not be found,
for I will forgive those I left behind.
21 To the land of Merathaim,
go up against her,
and against the inhabitants of Pekod,
massacre and destroy them,” declares[bx] Yahweh,
“and do according to all that I have commanded you.
22 The sound of battle is in the land,
and great destruction.
23 How the blacksmith’s hammer of all the earth is cut down and broken!
How Babylon has become as a horror among the nations!
24 I laid a bird snare for you, and you were caught, O Babylon.
But you yourself did not know.
You were discovered and seized,
because with Yahweh you measured yourself.
25 Yahweh has opened his armory,
and he has brought out the weapons of his wrath,
for it is a word for my Lord Yahweh of hosts
in the land of the Chaldeans.
26 Come against her from the end,
open her granaries.
Pile her up like heaps and destroy her.
Let there be no remnant for her.
27 Massacre all her bulls,
let them go down to the slaughtering.
Woe to them, for their day has come,
the time of their punishment.
28 There is the sound of fugitives and survivors
from the land of Babylon,
to declare in Zion the vengeance of Yahweh our God,
the vengeance for his temple.
29 Summon archers against Babylon,
all those who bend the bow.
Encamp all around her,
there must not be for her an escape.
Take revenge on her according to her deeds.
According to all that she has done, so do to her.
For against Yahweh she has behaved insolently,
against the Holy One of Israel.
30 Therefore[by] her young men will fall in her public squares,
and all her soldiers[bz] will perish on that day,” declares[ca] Yahweh.
31 “Look, I am against you, O arrogant one,”
declares[cb] Lord Yahweh of hosts,
“for your day has come,
the time when I will punish you.
32 And the arrogant one will stumble and fall,
and there is no one who raises him up.
And I will kindle a fire in his cities,
and it will devour everything around him.”
33 Thus says Yahweh of hosts:
“The people[cc] of Israel are oppressed,
and the people[cd] of Judah likewise,
for[ce] all their captors have seized them,
they refuse to let them go free.
34 Their redeemer is strong,
his name is Yahweh of hosts.
Surely he will plead their case,
in order to make peace for the earth,
but to cause unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon.
35 A sword against the Chaldeans,” declares[cf] Yahweh,
“and against the inhabitants of Babylon,
and against her officials,
and against her wise men.
36 A sword against the oracle priests,
and they will become foolish.
A sword against her warriors,
and they will be filled with terror.
37 A sword against his horses,
and against his chariots,[cg]
and against all the foreign troops who are in the midst of her,
so that they may become as women.
A sword against her treasures,
so that they may be plundered.
38 A drought will come against her waters,
and they will dry up,
for it is a land of images,
and because of the frightful objects, they act like madmen.
39 Therefore[ch] desert creatures will live there[ci] with jackals,
and daughters of ostriches[cj] will inhabit her.
And she will not be inhabited again forever,[ck]
and she will not be dwelt in for all generations.[cl]
40 As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah
and their neighbors,” declares[cm] Yahweh,
“no one will live there,
and the son of humankind will not dwell as an alien in her.
41 Look, a people is about to come
from the north,
and a great nation and many kings are woken up
from the remotest part of the earth.
42 They keep hold of bow and short sword.
They are cruel and they have no mercy.
Their sound is like the sea, it roars,
and upon horses they ride.
Drawn up for battle as a man for the battle,
against you, O daughter of Babylon.
43 The king of Babylon heard their report
and his hands grew slack.
Anxiety has seized him,
fear and pain like the woman who gives birth.
44 Look, like a lion he comes up from the thickets[cn] of the Jordan
against a pastureland by a constantly flowing stream,[co]
so I will chase them away quickly[cp] from her,
and I will appoint whoever is chosen over her.
For who is like me, and who can summon me,
and who is this shepherd who can stand before me?[cq]
45 Therefore[cr] hear the plan of Yahweh
that he has planned against Babylon,
and his plans
that he has planned against the land of the Chaldeans.
Surely[cs] they will drag them away,
the little ones of the flock.
Surely[ct] he will cause their grazing place
to be desolate over them.
46 At the sound, ‘Babylon has been captured,’
the earth will quake,
and a cry for help among the nations
will be heard.”
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