Jeremiah 49–50

The ’s Judgement on Ammon

49^*This is what the Lord said about Ammon: “Where are the men of Israel? Is there no one to defend their land? Why have they let the people who worship Molech take the territory of the tribe of Gad and settle there? ^2*But the time is coming when I will make the people of the capital city of Rabbah hear the noise of battle, and it will be left in ruins and its villages burnt to the ground. Then Israel will take its land back from those who took it from them. ^3*People of Heshbon, cry out! Ai is destroyed! Women of Rabbah, go into mourning! Put on sackcloth and mourn. Run about in confusion. Your god Molech will be taken into exile, together with his priests and princes. ^4*Why do you unfaithful people boast? Your strength is failing. Why do you trust in your power and say that no one would dare attack you? ^5*I will bring terror on you from every side. You will all run away. Each one will run for his life, and there will be no one to bring your troops together again.

^6*“But later on I will make Ammon prosperous again. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

The ’s Judgement on Edom

^7*This is what the Lord Almighty said about Edom: “Have the people of Edom lost their good judgement? Can their advisers no longer tell them what to do? Has all their wisdom disappeared? ^8*People of Dedan, turn and run! Hide! I am going to destroy Esau’s descendants, because the time has come for me to punish them. ^9*When people pick grapes, they leave a few on the vines, and when robbers come at night, they take only what they want. ^10*But Iⁱ have stripped Esau’s descendants completely and uncovered their hiding places, so that they can no longer hide. All the people of Edom are destroyed. Not one of them is left. ^11*Leave your orphans with me, and I will take care of them. Your widows can depend on me.

^12*“If even those who did not deserve to be punished had to drink from the cup of punishment, do you think that you will go unpunished? No, you must drink from the cup! ^13*I myself have sworn that the city of Bozrah will become a horrifying sight and a desert; people will jeer at it and use its name as a curse. All the nearby villages will be in ruins for ever. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

^14*I said, “Edom, I have received a message from the Lord. He has sent a messenger to tell the nations to assemble their armies and to get ready to attack you. ^15*The Lord is going to make you weak, and no one will respect you. ^16*Your pride has deceived you. No one fears you as much as you think they do. You live on the rocky cliffs, high on top of the mountain; but even though you live as high up as an eagle, the Lord will bring you down. The Lord has spoken.” ^17*The Lord said, “The destruction that will come on Edom will be so terrible that everyone who passes by will be shocked and terrified. ^18*The same thing will happen to Edom as happened to Sodom and Gomorrah, when they and the nearby towns were destroyed. No one will ever live there again. I, the Lord, have spoken. ^19*Like a lion coming out of the thick woods along the Jordan up to the green pasture land, I will come and make the Edomites run away suddenly from their country. Then the leader I choose will rule the nation. Who can be compared to me? Who would dare challenge me? What ruler could oppose me? ^20*So listen to the plan that I have made against the people of Edom, and to what I intend to do to the people of the city of Teman. Even their children will be dragged off, and everyone will be horrified. ^21*When Edom falls, there will be such a noise that the entire earth will shake, and the cries of alarm will be heard as far away as the Gulf of Aqaba. ^22*The enemy will attack Bozrah like an eagle swooping down with outspread wings. On that day Edom’s soldiers will be as frightened as a woman in labour.”

The ’s Judgement on Damascus

^23*This is what the Lord said about Damascus: “The people in the cities of Hamath and Arpad are worried and troubled because they have heard bad news. Anxiety rolls over them like a sea, and they cannot rest. ^24*The people of Damascus are weak and have fled in terror. They are in pain and misery like a woman in labour. ^25*The famous city that used to be happy^j is completely deserted. ^26*On that day her young men will be killed in the city streets, and all her soldiers destroyed. ^27*I will set the walls of Damascus on fire and will burn down King Benhadad’s palaces. I, the Lord Almighty, have spoken.”

Judgement on the Tribe of Kedar and the City of Hazor

²⁸This is what the Lord said about the tribe of Kedar and the districts controlled by Hazor, which were conquered by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia: “Attack the people of Kedar and destroy that tribe of eastern people! ²⁹Seize their tents and their flocks, their tent curtains and everything in their tents. Take their camels and tell the people, ‘Terror is all round you!’

³⁰“People of Hazor, I, the Lord, warn you to run far away and hide. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia has plotted against you, and this is what he says, ³¹‘Come on! We’ll attack those people that feel safe and secure! Their city has no gates or locks and is completely unprotected.’

³²“Take their camels and all their livestock! I will scatter in every direction those people who cut their hair short, and I will bring disaster on them from every side. ³³Hazor will be made a desert for ever, a place where only jackals live. No one will ever live there again. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

The ’s Judgements on Elam

³⁴Soon after Zedekiah became king of Judah, the Lord Almighty spoke to me about the country of Elam. ³⁵He said, “I will kill all the archers who have made Elam so powerful. ³⁶I will make winds blow against Elam from all directions, and I will scatter her people everywhere, until there is no country where her refugees have not gone. ³⁷I will make the people of Elam afraid of their enemies, who want to kill them. In my great anger I will destroy the people of Elam and send armies against them until I have wiped them out. ³⁸I will destroy their kings and leaders, and set up my throne there. ³⁹But later on I will make the people of Elam prosperous again. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

Babylon’s Capture

50^*This is the message that the Lord gave me about the city of Babylon and its people:

^2*“Tell the news to the nations! Proclaim it!

Give the signal and announce the news!

Do not keep it a secret!

Babylon has fallen!

Her god Marduk has been shattered!

Babylon’s idols are put to shame,

her disgusting images are crushed!

^3*“A nation from the north has come to attack Babylonia and will make it a desert. People and animals will run away, and no one will live there.”

Israel’s Return

^4*The Lord says, “When that time comes, the people of both Israel and Judah will come weeping, looking for me, their God. ^5*They will ask the way to Zion and then go in that direction. They will make an eternal covenant with me and never break it.

^6*“My people are like sheep whose shepherds have let them get lost in the mountains. They have wandered like sheep from one mountain to another, and they have forgotten where their home is. ^7*They are attacked by all who find them. Their enemies say, ‘They sinned against the Lord, and so what we have done is not wrong. Their ancestors trusted in the Lord, and they themselves should have remained faithful to him.’

^8*“People of Israel, run away from Babylonia! Leave the country! Be the first to leave! ^9*I am going to stir up a group of strong nations in the north and make them attack Babylonia. They will line up in battle against the country and conquer it. They are skilful hunters, shooting arrows that never miss the mark. ^10*Babylonia will be looted, and those who loot it will take everything they want. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

Babylon’s Fall

^11*The Lord says, “People of Babylonia, you plundered my nation. You are happy and glad, going about like a cow threshing corn or like a neighing horse, ^12*but your own great city will be humiliated and disgraced. Babylonia will be the least important nation of all; it will become a dry and waterless desert.

^13*Because of my anger no one will live in Babylon; it will be left in ruins, and all who pass by will be shocked and amazed. ^14*“Archers, line up for battle against Babylon and surround it. Shoot all your arrows at Babylon, because it has sinned against me, the Lord. ^15*Raise the war cry all round the city! Now Babylon has surrendered. Its walls have been broken through and torn down.^k I am taking my revenge on the Babylonians. So take your revenge on them, and treat them as they have treated others. ^16*Do not let seeds be sown in that country or let a harvest be gathered. Every foreigner living there will be afraid of the attacking army and will go back home.”

Israel’s Return

^17*The Lord says, “The people of Israel are like sheep, chased and scattered by lions. First, they were attacked by the emperor of Assyria, and then King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia gnawed their bones. ^18*Because of this, I, the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, will punish King Nebuchadnezzar and his country, just as I punished the emperor of Assyria. ^19*I will restore the people of Israel to their land. They will eat the food that grows on Mount Carmel and in the region of Bashan, and they will eat all they want of the crops that grow in the territories of Ephraim and Gilead. ^20*When that time comes, no sin will be found in Israel and no wickedness in Judah, because I will forgive those people whose lives I have spared. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

God’s Judgements on Babylonia

^21*The Lord says, “Attack the people of Merathaim and of Pekod. Kill and destroy them.^l Do everything I command you. I, the Lord, have spoken. ^22*The noise of battle is heard in the land, and there is great destruction. ^23*Babylonia hammered the whole world to pieces, and now that hammer is shattered! All the nations are shocked at what has happened to that country. ^24*Babylonia, you fought against me, and you have been…