Jeremiah 49:1–50:46
1 Concerning the sons of aAmmon. Thus says the Lord:
“Does Israel have no sons?
Or has he no heirs?
Why then has 1Malcam taken possession of Gad
And his people settled in its cities?
2 “Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“That I will cause a 1atrumpet blast of war to be heard
Against bRabbah of the sons of Ammon;
And it will become a desolate heap,
And her ctowns will be set on fire.
Then Israel will take dpossession of his possessors,”
Says the Lord.
3 “Wail, O aHeshbon, for bAi has been destroyed!
Cry out, O daughters of Rabbah,
cGird yourselves with sackcloth and lament,
And rush back and forth inside the walls;
For 1Malcam will dgo into exile
Together with his priests and his princes.
4 “How aboastful you are about the valleys!
Your valley is flowing away,
O bbacksliding daughter
Who trusts in her ctreasures, saying,
‘dWho will come against me?’
5 “Behold, I am going to bring aterror upon you,”
Declares the Lord 1God of hosts,
“From all directions around you;
And each of you will be bdriven out 2headlong,
With no one to gather the cfugitives together.
6 “But afterward I will arestore
The 1fortunes of the sons of Ammon,”
Declares the Lord.
7 Concerning aEdom.
Thus says the Lord of hosts,
“Is there no longer any bwisdom in cTeman?
Has good counsel been lost to the prudent?
Has their wisdom decayed?
8 “Flee away, turn back, dwell in the depths,
O inhabitants of aDedan,
For I 1will bring the bdisaster of Esau upon him
At the time I 2punish him.
9 “aIf grape gatherers came to you,
Would they not leave gleanings?
If thieves came by night,
They would destroy only 1until they had enough.
10 “But I have astripped Esau bare,
I have uncovered his hiding places
So that he will not be able to conceal himself;
His 1offspring has been destroyed along with his 2relatives
And his neighbors, and bhe is no more.
11 “Leave your 1aorphans behind, I will keep them alive;
And let your bwidows trust in Me.”
12 For thus says the Lord, “Behold, those 1who were not sentenced to drink the acup will certainly drink it, and are you the one who will be bcompletely acquitted? You will not be acquitted, but you will certainly drink it.
13 “For I have asworn by Myself,” declares the Lord, “that bBozrah will become an cobject of horror, a reproach, a ruin and a curse; and all its cities will become perpetual ruins.”
14 I have aheard a message from the Lord,
And an benvoy is sent among the nations, saying,
“cGather yourselves together and come against her,
And rise up for battle!”
15 “For behold, I have made you small among the nations,
Despised among men.
The arrogance of your heart has deceived you,
O you who live in the clefts of 1the arock,
Who occupy the height of the hill.
Though you make your nest as bhigh as an eagle’s,
I will cbring you down from there,” declares the Lord.
17 “Edom will become an aobject of horror; everyone who passes by it will be horrified and will bhiss at all its wounds.
18 “Like the aoverthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah with its neighbors,” says the Lord, “bno one will live there, nor will a son of man reside in it.
19 “aBehold, one will come up like a lion from the 1bthickets of the Jordan against 2a perennially watered pasture; for in an instant I will make him run away from it, and whoever is cchosen I shall appoint over it. For who is dlike Me, and who will summon Me into court? And who then is the shepherd ewho can stand against Me?”
20 Therefore hear the aplan of the Lord which He has planned against Edom, and His purposes which He has purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: surely they will drag them off, even the little ones of the flock; surely He will make their 1pasture bdesolate because of them.
21 The aearth has quaked at the noise of their downfall. There is an outcry! The noise of it has been heard at the 1Red Sea.
22 Behold, 1He will mount up and aswoop like an eagle and spread out His wings 2against Bozrah; and the bhearts of the mighty men of Edom in that day will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
23 Concerning aDamascus.
“bHamath and cArpad are put to shame,
For they have heard bad news;
They are ddisheartened.
There is anxiety by the sea,
It ecannot be calmed.
24 “Damascus has become helpless;
She has turned away to flee,
And panic has gripped her;
aDistress and pangs have taken hold of her
Like a woman in childbirth.
25 “How 1the acity of praise has not been deserted,
The town of My joy!
26 “Therefore, her ayoung men will fall in her streets,
And all the men of war will be 1silenced in that day,” declares the Lord of hosts.
27 “I will aset fire to the wall of Damascus,
And it will devour the 1fortified towers of bBen-hadad.”
Prophecy against Kedar and Hazor
28 Concerning aKedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated. Thus says the Lord,
“Arise, go up to Kedar
And devastate the 1bmen of the east.
29 “They will take away their tents and their flocks;
They will carry off for themselves
Their tent acurtains, all their goods and their bcamels,
And they will call out to one another, ‘cTerror on every side!’
30 “Run away, flee! Dwell in the depths,
O inhabitants of Hazor,” declares the Lord;
“For aNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has formed a plan against you
And devised a scheme against you.
31 “Arise, go up against a nation which is aat ease,
Which lives securely,” declares the Lord.
“It has bno gates or bars;
They cdwell alone.
32 “Their camels will become plunder,
And their many cattle for booty,
And I will ascatter to all the winds those who bcut the corners of their hair;
And I will bring their disaster from every side,” declares the Lord.
33 “Hazor will become a ahaunt of jackals,
A desolation forever;
No one will live there,
Nor will a son of man reside in it.”
34 That which came as the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet concerning aElam, bat the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying:
35 “Thus says the Lord of hosts,
‘Behold, I am going to abreak the bow of Elam,
The 1finest of their might.
36 ‘I will bring upon Elam the afour winds
From the four ends of heaven,
And will bscatter them to all these winds;
And there will be no nation
To which the outcasts of Elam will not go.
37 ‘So I will 1shatter Elam before their enemies
And before those who seek their lives;
And I will abring calamity upon them,
Even My bfierce anger,’ declares the Lord,
‘And I will csend out the sword after them
Until I have consumed them.
38 ‘Then I will set My throne in Elam
And destroy 1out of it king and princes,’
Declares the Lord.
39 ‘But it will come about in the last days
That I will arestore the 1fortunes of Elam,’ ”
Declares the Lord.
1 The word which the Lord spoke concerning aBabylon, the land of the Chaldeans, through Jeremiah the prophet:
2 “aDeclare and proclaim among the nations.
Proclaim it and blift up a standard.
Do not conceal it but say,
‘cBabylon has been captured,
dBel has been put to shame, 1Marduk has been 2shattered;
Her eimages have been put to shame, her idols have been shattered.’
3 “For a nation has come up against her out of the anorth; it will make her land ban object of horror, and there will be cno inhabitant in it. Both man and beast have wandered off, they have gone away!
4 “In those days and at that time,” declares the Lord, “the sons of Israel will come, both they and the sons of Judah aas well; they will go along bweeping as they go, and it will be cthe Lord their God they will seek.
5 “They will aask for the way to Zion, turning their faces 1in its direction; 2they 3will come that they may join themselves to the Lord in an beverlasting covenant that will not be forgotten.
6 “My people have become alost sheep;
bTheir shepherds have led them astray.
They have made them turn aside on the cmountains;
They have gone along from mountain to hill
And have forgotten their dresting place.
7 “All who came upon them have devoured them;
And their adversaries have said, ‘aWe are not guilty,
Inasmuch as they have sinned against the Lord who is the bhabitation of righteousness,
Even the Lord, the chope of their fathers.’
8 “Wander away from the amidst of Babylon
And 1go forth from the land of the Chaldeans;
Be also like male goats 2at the head of the flock.
9 “For behold, I am going to aarouse and bring up against Babylon
A horde of great nations from the land of the north,
And they will draw up their battle lines against her;
From there she will be taken captive.
Their arrows will be like 1an expert warrior
Who does not return empty-handed.
10 “1aChaldea will become plunder;
All who plunder her will have enough,” declares the Lord.
11 “Because you are glad, because you are jubilant,
O you who apillage My heritage,
Because you skip about 1like a threshing bheifer
And neigh like 2stallions,
12 Your amother 1will be greatly ashamed,
She who gave you birth 1will be humiliated.
Behold, she will be the least of the nations,
A bwilderness, a parched land and a desert.
13 “Because of the indignation of the Lord she will anot be inhabited,
But she will be bcompletely desolate;
Everyone who passes by Babylon cwill be horrified
And will hiss because of all her wounds.
14 “Draw up your battle lines against Babylon on every side,
All you who 1bend the bow;
Shoot at her, do not be sparing with your arrows,
For she has asinned against the Lord.
15 “Raise your battle cry against her on every side!
She has agiven 1herself up, her pillars have fallen,
Her bwalls have been torn down.
For this is the cvengeance of the Lord:
Take vengeance on her;
dAs she has done to others, so do to her.
16 “Cut off the asower from Babylon
And the one who wields the sickle at the time of harvest;
From before 1the bsword of the oppressor
cThey will each turn back to his own people
And they will each flee to his own land.
17 “Israel is a ascattered 1flock, the blions have driven them away. The first one who devoured him was the cking of Assyria, and this …