Jeremiah 49:1–22

A Message to Ammon

49This message is to the Ammonite people.

This is what the Lord says:

“Do you think that Israel has no children?

Do you think there is no one to take the land when the parents die?

If that were true, why did Molech take Gad’s land

and why did Molech’s people settle in Gad’s towns?”

²The Lord says,

“The time will come when I will make Rabbah,

the capital city of the Ammonites, hear the battle cry.

It will become a hill covered with ruins,

and the towns around it will be burned.

Those people forced Israel out of that land,

but now Israel will force them out!” says the Lord.

³“People in the town of Heshbon, cry sadly because the town of Ai is destroyed!

Those who live in Rabbah, cry out!

Put on your rough cloth to show your sadness, and cry loudly.

Run here and there for safety inside the walls,

because Molech will be taken captive

and his priests and officers with him.

⁴You brag about your valleys

and about the fruit in your valleys.

You are like an unfaithful child

who believes his treasures will save him.

You think, ‘Who would attack me?’

⁵I will soon bring terror on you

from everyone around you,”

says the Lord God All-Powerful.

“You will all be forced to run away,

and no one will be able to gather you.

⁶“But the time will come

when I will make good things happen to the Ammonites again,”

says the Lord.

A Message to Edom

⁷This message is to Edom. This is what the Lord All-Powerful says:

“Is there no more wisdom in the town of Teman?

Can the wise men of Edom no longer give good advice?

Have they lost their wisdom?

⁸You people living in the town of Dedan,

run away and hide in deep caves,

because I will bring disaster on the people of Esau.

It is time for me to punish them.

⁹If workers came and picked the grapes from your vines,

they would leave a few grapes behind.

If robbers came at night,

they would steal only enough for themselves.

¹⁰But I will strip Edom bare.

I will find all their hiding places,

so they will not be able to hide from me.

The children, relatives, and neighbors will die,

and Edom will be no more.

¹¹Leave the orphans, and I will take care of them.

Your widows also can trust in me.”

¹²This is what the Lord says: “Some people did not deserve to be punished, but they had to drink from the cup of suffering anyway. People of Edom, you deserve to be punished, so you will not escape punishment. You must certainly drink from the cup of suffering.” ¹³The Lord says, “I swear by my own name that the city of Bozrah will become a pile of ruins! People will be shocked by what happened there. They will insult that city and speak evil of it. And all the towns around it will become ruins forever.”

¹⁴I have heard a message from the Lord.

A messenger has been sent among the nations, saying,

“Gather your armies to attack it!

Get ready for battle!”

¹⁵“Soon I will make you the smallest of nations,

and you will be greatly hated by everyone.

¹⁶Edom, you frightened other nations,

but your pride has fooled you.

You live in the hollow places of the cliff

and control the high places of the hills.

Even if you build your home as high as an eagle’s nest,

I will bring you down from there,” says the Lord.

¹⁷“Edom will be destroyed.

People who pass by will be shocked to see the destroyed cities,

and they will be amazed at all her injuries.

¹⁸Edom will be destroyed like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah

and the towns around them,” says the Lord.

“No one will live there!

No one will stay in Edom.”

¹⁹“Like a lion coming up from the thick bushes near the Jordan River

to attack a strong pen for sheep,

I will suddenly chase Edom from its land.

Who is the one I have chosen to do this?

There is no one like me,

no one who can take me to court.

None of their leaders can stand up against me.”

²⁰So listen to what the Lord has planned to do against Edom.

Listen to what he has decided to do to the people in the town of Teman.

He will surely drag away the young ones of Edom.

Their hometowns will surely be shocked at what happens to them.

²¹At the sound of Edom’s fall, the earth will shake.

Their cry will be heard all the way to the Red Sea.

²²The Lord is like an eagle swooping down

and spreading its wings over the city of Bozrah.

At that time Edom’s soldiers will become very frightened,

like a woman having a baby.