Jeremiah 49–50

Chapter 49

A Message about Ammon

This message was given concerning the Ammonites. This is what the Lord says:

“Are there no descendants of Israel

to inherit the land of Gad?

Why are you, who worship Molech,*

living in its towns?

2 In the days to come,” says the Lord,

“I will sound the battle cry against your city of Rabbah.

It will become a desolate heap of ruins,

and the neighboring towns will be burned.

Then Israel will take back the land

you took from her,” says the Lord.

3 “Cry out, O Heshbon,

for the town of Ai is destroyed.

Weep, O people of Rabbah!

Put on your clothes of mourning.

Weep and wail, hiding in the hedges,

for your god Molech, with his priests and officials,

will be hauled off to distant lands.

4 You are proud of your fertile valleys,

but they will soon be ruined.

You trusted in your wealth,

you rebellious daughter,

and thought no one could ever harm you.

5 But look! I will bring terror upon you,”

says the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

“Your neighbors will chase you from your land,

and no one will help your exiles as they flee.

6 But I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites

in days to come.

I, the Lord, have spoken.”

Messages about Edom

7 This message was given concerning Edom. This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says:

“Is there no wisdom in Teman?

Is no one left to give wise counsel?

8 Turn and flee!

Hide in deep caves, you people of Dedan!

For when I bring disaster on Edom,*

I will punish you, too!

9 Those who harvest grapes

always leave a few for the poor.

If thieves came at night,

they would not take everything.

10 But I will strip bare the land of Edom,

and there will be no place left to hide.

Its children, its brothers, and its neighbors

will all be destroyed,

and Edom itself will be no more.

11 But I will protect the orphans who remain among you.

Your widows, too, can depend on me for help.”

12 And this is what the Lord says: “If the innocent must suffer, how much more must you! You will not go unpunished! You must drink this cup of judgment! 13 For I have sworn by my own name,” says the Lord, “that Bozrah will become an object of horror and a heap of ruins; it will be mocked and cursed. All its towns and villages will be desolate forever.”

14 I have heard a message from the Lord

that an ambassador was sent to the nations to say,

“Form a coalition against Edom,

and prepare for battle!”

15 The Lord says to Edom,

“I will cut you down to size among the nations.

You will be despised by all.

16 You have been deceived

by the fear you inspire in others

and by your own pride.

You live in a rock fortress

and control the mountain heights.

But even if you make your nest among the peaks with the eagles,

I will bring you crashing down,”

says the Lord.

17 “Edom will be an object of horror.

All who pass by will be appalled

and will gasp at the destruction they see there.

18 It will be like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

and their neighboring towns,” says the Lord.

“No one will live there;

no one will inhabit it.

19 I will come like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan,

leaping on the sheep in the pasture.

I will chase Edom from its land,

and I will appoint the leader of my choice.

For who is like me, and who can challenge me?

What ruler can oppose my will?”

20 Listen to the Lord’s plans against Edom

and the people of Teman.

Even the little children will be dragged off like sheep,

and their homes will be destroyed.

21 The earth will shake with the noise of Edom’s fall,

and its cry of despair will be heard all the way to the Red Sea.*

22 Look! The enemy swoops down like an eagle,

spreading his wings over Bozrah.

Even the mightiest warriors will be in anguish

like a woman in labor.

A Message about Damascus

23 This message was given concerning Damascus. This is what the Lord says:

“The towns of Hamath and Arpad are struck with fear,

for they have heard the news of their destruction.

Their hearts are troubled

like a wild sea in a raging storm.

24 Damascus has become feeble,

and all her people turn to flee.

Fear, anguish, and pain have gripped her

as they grip a woman in labor.

25 That famous city, a city of joy,

will be forsaken!

26 Her young men will fall in the streets and die.

Her soldiers will all be killed,”

says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

27 “And I will set fire to the walls of Damascus

that will burn up the palaces of Ben-hadad.”

A Message about Kedar and Hazor

28 This message was given concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which were attacked by King Nebuchadnezzar* of Babylon. This is what the Lord says:

“Advance against Kedar!

Destroy the warriors from the East!

29 Their flocks and tents will be captured,

and their household goods and camels will be taken away.

Everywhere shouts of panic will be heard:

‘We are terrorized at every turn!’

30 Run for your lives,” says the Lord.

“Hide yourselves in deep caves, you people of Hazor,

for King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has plotted against you

and is preparing to destroy you.

31 “Go up and attack that complacent nation,”

says the Lord.

“Its people live alone in the desert

without walls or gates.

32 Their camels and other livestock will all be yours.

I will scatter to the winds these people

who live in remote places.*

I will bring calamity upon them

from every direction,” says the Lord.

33 “Hazor will be inhabited by jackals,

and it will be desolate forever.

No one will live there;

no one will inhabit it.”

A Message about Elam

34 This message concerning Elam came to the prophet Jeremiah from the Lord at the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah. 35 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says:

“I will destroy the archers of Elam—

the best of their forces.

36 I will bring enemies from all directions,

and I will scatter the people of Elam to the four winds.

They will be exiled to countries around the world.

37 I myself will go with Elam’s enemies to shatter it.

In my fierce anger, I will bring great disaster

upon the people of Elam,” says the Lord.

“Their enemies will chase them with the sword

until I have destroyed them completely.

38 I will set my throne in Elam,” says the Lord,

“and I will destroy its king and officials.

39 But I will restore the fortunes of Elam

in days to come.

I, the Lord, have spoken!”

Chapter 50

A Message about Babylon

The Lord gave Jeremiah the prophet this message concerning Babylon and the land of the Babylonians.* 2 This is what the Lord says:

“Tell the whole world,

and keep nothing back.

Raise a signal flag

to tell everyone that Babylon will fall!

Her images and idols* will be shattered.

Her gods Bel and Marduk will be utterly disgraced.

3 For a nation will attack her from the north

and bring such destruction that no one will live there again.

Everything will be gone;

both people and animals will flee.

Hope for Israel and Judah

4 “In those coming days,”

says the Lord,

“the people of Israel will return home

together with the people of Judah.

They will come weeping

and seeking the Lord their God.

5 They will ask the way to Jerusalem*

and will start back home again.

They will bind themselves to the Lord

with an eternal covenant that will never be forgotten.

6 “My people have been lost sheep.

Their shepherds have led them astray

and turned them loose in the mountains.

They have lost their way

and can’t remember how to get back to the sheepfold.

7 All who found them devoured them.

Their enemies said,

‘We did nothing wrong in attacking them,

for they sinned against the Lord,

their true place of rest,

and the hope of their ancestors.’

8 “But now, flee from Babylon!

Leave the land of the Babylonians.

Like male goats at the head of the flock,

lead my people home again.

9 For I am raising up an army

of great nations from the north.

They will join forces to attack Babylon,

and she will be captured.

The enemies’ arrows will go straight to the mark;

they will not miss!

10 Babylonia* will be looted

until the attackers are glutted with loot.

I, the Lord, have spoken!

Babylon’s Sure Fall

11 “You rejoice and are glad,

you who plundered my chosen people.

You frisk about like a calf in a meadow

and neigh like a stallion.

12 But your homeland* will be overwhelmed

with shame and disgrace.

You will become the least of nations—

a wilderness, a dry and desolate land.

13 Because of the Lord’s anger,

Babylon will become a deserted wasteland.

All who pass by will be horrified

and will gasp at the destruction they see there.

14 “Yes, prepare to attack Babylon,

all you surrounding nations.

Let your archers shoot at her; spare no arrows.

For she has sinned against the Lord.

15 Shout war cries against her from every side.

Look! She surrenders!

Her walls have fallen.

It is the Lord’s vengeance,

so take vengeance on her.

Do to her as she has done to others!

16 Take from Babylon all those who plant crops;

send all the harvesters away.

Because of the sword of the enemy,

everyone will run away and rush back to their own lands.

Hope for God’s People

17 “The Israelites are like sheep

that have been scattered by lions.

First the king of Assyria ate them up.

Then King Nebuchadnezzar* of Babylon cracked their bones.”

18 Therefore, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,

the God of Israel, says:

“Now I will punish the king of Babylon and his land,

just as I punished the king of Assyria.

19 And I will bring Israel home again to its own land,

to feed in the fields of Carmel and Bashan,

and to be satisfied once more

in the hill country of Ephraim and Gilead.

20 In those days,” says the Lord,

“no sin will be found in Israel or in Judah,

for I will forgive the remnant I preserve.

The Lord’s Judgment on Babylon

21 “Go up, my warriors, against the land of Merathaim

and against the people of Pekod.

Pursue, kill, and completely destroy* them,

as I have commanded you,” says the Lord.

22 “Let the battle cry be heard in the land,

a shout of great destruction.

23 Babylon, the mightiest hammer in all the earth,

lies broken and shattered.

Babylon is desolate among the nations!

24 Listen, Babylon, for I have set a trap for you.

You are caught, for you…