Jeremiah 49:1–39
49 aConcerning the Ammonites.
Thus says the Lord:
“Has Israel no sons?
Has he no heir?
Why then has bMilcom1 cdispossessed Gad,
and his people settled in its cities?
2 Therefore, behold, the days are coming,
declares the Lord,
when I will cause dthe battle cry to be heard
against eRabbah of the Ammonites;
it shall become a desolate fmound,
and its villages shall be burned with fire;
then Israel shall dispossess those who dispossessed him,
says the Lord.
3 “Wail, O gHeshbon, for Ai is laid waste!
Cry out, O daughters of eRabbah!
hPut on sackcloth,
lament, and run to and fro among the hedges!
For iMilcom shall go into exile,
jwith his priests and his officials.
4 Why do you boast of your valleys,2
kO faithless daughter,
lwho trusted in her treasures, saying,
‘Who will come against me?’
5 Behold, mI will bring terror upon you,
declares the Lord God of hosts,
from all who are around you,
and you shall be driven out, every man straight before him,
with none to gather the fugitives.
6 “But nafterward I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites, declares the Lord.”
7 Concerning oEdom.
Thus says the Lord of hosts:
p“Is wisdom no more in pTeman?
qHas counsel perished from the prudent?
qHas their wisdom vanished?
8 rFlee, turn back, dwell in the depths,
O inhabitants of sDedan!
For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him,
tthe time when I punish him.
9 uIf grape gatherers came to you,
would they not leave vgleanings?
uIf thieves came by night,
would they not destroy only enough for themselves?
10 wBut I have stripped Esau bare;
uI have uncovered his hiding places,
and he is not able to conceal himself.
His children are destroyed, and his brothers,
and his neighbors; and xhe is no more.
11 yLeave your fatherless children; I will keep them alive;
yand let your widows trust in me.”
12 For thus says the Lord: z“If those who did not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, awill you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, but you must drink. 13 bFor I have sworn by myself, declares the Lord, that cBozrah shall become da horror, a taunt, a waste, and a curse, and all her cities shall be perpetual wastes.”
14 eI have heard a message from the Lord,
and an envoy has been sent among the nations:
f“Gather yourselves together and come against her,
and rise up for battle!
15 For behold, I will make you small among the nations,
despised among mankind.
16 The horror you inspire has deceived you,
and the pride of your heart,
you who live in the clefts of the rock,3
who hold the height of the hill.
Though you gmake your nest as high as the eagle’s,
I will bring you down from there,
declares the Lord.
17 h“Edom shall become a horror. iEveryone who passes by it will be horrified iand will hiss because of all its disasters. 18 jAs when Sodom and Gomorrah and their kneighboring cities were overthrown, says the Lord, lno man shall dwell there, lno man shall sojourn in her. 19 mBehold, nlike a lion coming up from othe jungle of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make him4 run away from her. And I will appoint over her whomever I choose. pFor who is like me? qWho will summon me? rWhat shepherd can stand before me? 20 Therefore hear the plan that the Lord has made against sEdom and the purposes that he has formed against the inhabitants of tTeman: uEven the little ones of the flock shall be dragged away. Surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate. 21 At the sound of their fall vthe earth shall tremble; the sound of their cry shall be heard at the Red Sea. 22 Behold, wone shall mount up and fly swiftly like an eagle and spread his wings against xBozrah, and the heart of the warriors of Edom shall be in that day like the heart yof a woman in her birth pains.”
23 Concerning zDamascus:
a“Hamath and bArpad are confounded,
for they have heard bad news;
they melt in fear,
cthey are troubled like the sea that cannot be quiet.
24 zDamascus has become feeble, dshe turned to flee,
and panic seized her;
anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her,
as yof a woman in labor.
25 How is ethe famous city not forsaken,
the city of my joy?
26 fTherefore her young men shall fall in her squares,
and all her soldiers shall be destroyed in that day,
declares the Lord of hosts.
27 And gI will kindle a fire in the wall of zDamascus,
and it shall devour the strongholds of hBen-hadad.”
28 Concerning iKedar and the kingdoms of Hazor that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck down.
Thus says the Lord:
j“Rise up, advance against iKedar!
Destroy kthe people of the east!
29 lTheir tents and their flocks shall be taken,
their lcurtains and all their goods;
their camels shall be led away from them,
and men shall cry to them: m‘Terror on every side!’
30 nFlee, wander far away, dwell in the depths,
O inhabitants of Hazor!
declares the Lord.
For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
has made a plan against you
and formed a purpose against you.
31 j“Rise up, advance against a nation oat ease,
pthat dwells securely,
declares the Lord,
pthat has no gates or bars,
that dwells alone.
32 qTheir camels shall become plunder,
their herds of livestock a spoil.
rI will scatter to every wind
sthose who cut the corners of their hair,
and I will bring their calamity
from every side of them,
declares the Lord.
33 Hazor shall become ta haunt of jackals,
an everlasting waste;
uno man shall dwell there;
uno man shall sojourn in her.”
34 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning vElam, in the beginning of the reign of wZedekiah king of Judah.
35 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Behold, I will break xthe bow of vElam, the mainstay of their might. 36 And I will bring upon vElam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven. And I will scatter them to all those winds, and there shall be no nation to which those driven out of vElam shall not come. 37 I will yterrify vElam before their enemies and before those who seek their life. I will bring disaster upon them, zmy fierce anger, declares the Lord. aI will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them, 38 and I will set my throne in vElam and destroy their king and officials, declares the Lord.
39 “But in the latter days bI will restore the fortunes of vElam, declares the Lord.”