Jeremiah 49

Prophecies against Ammon

49About the Ammonites, ^wthis is what the Lord says:

Does Israel have no sons?

Is he without an heir?

Why then has Milcom ^xydispossessed Gad ^z

and his people settled in their cities?

²Therefore look, the days are coming ^a—

this is the Lord’s declaration—

when I will make the shout of battle ^bheard

against Rabbah ^cof the Ammonites.

It will become a desolate mound,

and its villages will be burned down.

Israel will dispossess their dispossessors,

says the Lord.

³Wail, Heshbon, ^dfor Ai is devastated;

cry out, daughters of Rabbah!

Clothe yourselves with sackcloth, ^eand lament;

run back and forth within your walls, ^f

because Milcom will go into exile

together with his priests and officials. ^g

⁴Why do you brag about your valleys,

your flowing valley, ^h

you faithless daughter?

You who trust in your treasures

and boast, “Who can attack me?”

⁵Look, I am about to bring terror on you ⁱ—

this is the declaration of

the Lord God of Hosts—

from all those around you.

You will be banished, each man headlong,

with no one to gather up the fugitives.

⁶But after that, I will restore the fortunes ^jof the Ammonites. ^k

This is the Lord’s declaration.

Prophecies against Edom

⁷About Edom, ^lthis is what the Lord of Hosts says:

Is there no longer wisdom in Teman? ^mn

Has counsel perished from the prudent?

Has their wisdom rotted away? ^o

⁸Run! Turn back! Lie low,

residents of Dedan, ^p

for I will bring Esau’s calamity on him ^q

at the time I punish him. ^r

⁹If grape harvesters came to you,

wouldn’t they leave some gleanings? ^s

Were thieves to come in the night,

they would destroy only what they wanted. ^t

¹⁰But I will strip Esau bare;

I will uncover his secret places. ^u

He will try to hide himself, ^vbut he will be unable.

His descendants will be destroyed

along with his relatives and neighbors.

He will exist no longer. ^w

¹¹Abandon your fatherless; I will preserve them;

let your widows trust in Me. ^x

¹²“For this is what the Lord says: If those who do not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, can you possibly remain unpunished? You will not remain unpunished, for you must drink it too. ¹³For by Myself I have sworn” ^y—this is the Lord’s declaration—“Bozrah ^zwill become a desolation, a disgrace, a ruin, and a curse, and all her cities will become ruins forever.” ^a

¹⁴I have heard a message from the Lord;

a messenger has been sent among the nations:

Assemble yourselves to come against her.

Rise up for war!

¹⁵Look, I will certainly make you insignificant among the nations,

despised among humanity.

¹⁶As to the terror you cause, ^b

your presumptuous heart has deceived you.

You who live in the clefts of the rock, ^c

you who occupy the mountain summit,

though you elevate your nest like the eagle,

even from there I will bring you down.

This is the Lord’s declaration. ^d

¹⁷“Edom will become a desolation. Everyone who passes by her will be horrified and scoff because of all her wounds. ^e18As when Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown along with their neighbors,” ^fsays the Lord, “no one will live there; no human being will even stay in it as a temporary resident. ^g

¹⁹“Look, it will be like a lion coming from the thickets ^hof the Jordan to the watered grazing land. ⁱIndeed, I will chase Edom away from her land in a flash. I will appoint whoever is chosen for her. For who is like Me? ^jWho will summon Me? ^kWho is the shepherd who can stand against Me?” ^l

²⁰Therefore, hear the plans that the Lord has drawn up against Edom and the strategies He has devised against the people of Teman: ^mThe flock’s little lambs will certainly be dragged away, ⁿand their grazing land will be made desolate because of them. ^o21At the sound of their fall the earth will quake; ^pthe sound of her cry will be heard at the Red Sea. ^q22Look! It will be like an eagle soaring upward, then swooping down and spreading its wings over Bozrah. In that day the hearts of Edom’s warriors will be like the heart of a woman with contractions. ^r

Prophecies against Damascus

²³About Damascus: ^s

Hamath and Arpad are put to shame, ^t

for they have heard a bad report and are agitated;

in the sea there is anxiety that cannot be calmed.

²⁴Damascus has become weak;

she has turned to run;

panic has gripped her.

Distress and labor pains have seized her

like a woman in labor. ^u

²⁵How can the city of praise not be abandoned, ^v

the town that brings Me joy?

²⁶Therefore, her young men will fall in her public squares;

all the warriors will perish in that day.

This is the declaration of

the Lord of Hosts. ^w

²⁷I will set fire to the wall of Damascus;

it will consume Ben-hadad’s citadels. ^x

Prophecies against Kedar and Hazor

²⁸About Kedar ^yand the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar, ^zBabylon’s king, defeated, this is what the Lord says:

Rise up, go against Kedar,

and destroy the people of the east!

²⁹They will take their tents and their flocks

along with their tent curtains and all their equipment.

They will take their camels for themselves.

They will call out to them:

Terror is on every side! ^a

³⁰Run! Escape quickly! Lie low,

residents of Hazor—

this is the Lord’s declaration—

for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon

has drawn up a plan against you;

he has devised a strategy against you.

³¹Rise up, go up against a nation at ease,

one living in security.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

They have no doors, not even a gate bar;

they live alone. ^b

³²Their camels will become plunder,

and their massive herds of cattle will become spoil. ^c

I will scatter them to the wind in every direction,

those who shave their temples;

I will bring calamity on them across all their borders.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

³³Hazor will become a jackals’ den, ^d

a desolation forever.

No one will live there;

no human being will even stay in it as a temporary resident. ^e

Prophecies against Elam

³⁴This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet about Elam ^fat the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah. ^g35This is what the Lord of Hosts says:

I am about to shatter Elam’s bow, ^h

the source ⁱof their might.

³⁶I will bring the four winds against Elam

from the four corners of the heavens,

and I will scatter them to all these winds.

There will not be a nation

to which Elam’s banished ones will not go.

³⁷I will devastate Elam before their enemies,

before those who want to take their lives.

I will bring disaster on them,

My burning anger.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

I will send the sword after them ^j

until I finish them off.

³⁸I will set My throne in Elam,

and I will destroy the king and officials from there.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

³⁹In the last days,

I will restore the fortunes ^kof Elam. ^l

This is the Lord’s declaration.