Jeremiah 49

A Message to Ammon

1 This 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?”

2 The 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.

4 You 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?’

5 I 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

7 This 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?

8 You 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.

9 If 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.

10 But 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.

11 Leave the orphans, and I will take care of them. Your widows also can trust in me.”
12 This 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.”

13 The 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.”

14 I 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.

16 Edom, 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.

18 Edom 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.”

20 So 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.

21 At the sound of Edom’s fall, the earth will shake. Their cry will be heard all the way to the Red Sea.

22 The 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.

A Message to Damascus

23 This message is to the city of Damascus:
“The towns of Hamath and Arpad are put to shame, because they have heard bad news.
They are discouraged. They are troubled like the tossing sea.

24 The city of Damascus has become weak. The people want to run away; they are ready to panic.
The people feel pain and suffering, like a woman giving birth to a baby.

25 Damascus was a city of my joy. Why have the people not left that famous city yet?

26 Surely the young men will die in the city squares, and all her soldiers will be killed at that time,” says the Lord All-Powerful.

27 “I will set fire to the walls of Damascus, and it will completely burn the strong cities of King Ben-Hadad.”

A Message to Kedar and Hazor

28 This message is to the tribe of Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated. This is what the Lord says:
“Go and attack the people of Kedar, and destroy the people of the East.

29 Their tents and flocks will be taken away. Their belongings will be carried off— their tents, all their goods, and their camels.
Men will shout to them, ‘Terror on every side!’

30 “Run away quickly! People in Hazor, find a good place to hide!” says the Lord.
“Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has made plans against you and wants to defeat you.

31 “Get up! Attack the nation that is comfortable, that is sure no one will defeat it,” says the Lord.
“It does not have gates or fences to protect it. Its people live alone.

32 The enemy will steal their camels and their large herds of cattle as war prizes.
I will scatter the people who cut their hair short to every part of the earth, and I will bring disaster on them from everywhere,” says the Lord.

33 “The city of Hazor will become a home for wild dogs; it will be an empty desert forever.
No one will live there, and no one will stay in it.”

A Message to Elam

34 Soon after Zedekiah became king of Judah, the Lord spoke this word to Jeremiah the prophet. This message is to the nation of Elam.

35 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says:
“I will soon break Elam’s bow, its greatest strength.

36 I will bring the four winds against Elam from the four corners of the skies.
I will scatter its people everywhere the four winds blow; its captives will go to every nation.

37 I will terrify Elam in front of their enemies, who want to destroy them.
I will bring disaster to Elam and show them how angry I am!” says the Lord.
“I will send a sword to chase Elam until I have killed them all.

38 I will set up my throne in Elam to show that I am king, and I will destroy its king and its officers!” says the Lord.
39 “But I will make good things happen to Elam again in the future,” says the Lord.

Jeremiah 49

Judgment Against Ammon

1 The Lord spoke about the Ammonites.s
“Do you think there are not any people of the nation of Israel remaining?
Do you think there are not any of them remaining to reinherit their land?
Is that why you people who worship the god Milcoms
have taken possession of the territory of Gad and live in his cities?t

2 Because you did that,
I, the Lord, affirm thatt a time is coming
when I will make Rabbah, the capital city of Ammon,
hear the sound of the battle cry.
It will become a mound covered with ruins.t
Its villages will be burned to the ground.t
Then Israel will take back its land
from those who took their land from them.
I, the Lord, affirm it!t

3 Wail, you people in Heshbon, because Ai in Ammon is destroyed.
Cry out in anguish, you people in the villages surroundingt Rabbah.
Put on sackcloth and cry out in mourning.
Run about covered with gashes.s
For your god Milcom will go into exile
along with his priests and officials.s

4 Why do you brag about your great power?
Your power is ebbing away,t you rebellious people of Ammon,t
who trust in your riches and say,
‘Who would dare to attack us?’

5 I will bring terror on you from every side,”
says the Lord God who rules over all.t
“You will be scattered in every direction.t
No one will gather the fugitives back together.

6 Yet in days to come
I will reverse Ammon’s ill fortune.”t
says the Lord.t

Judgment Against Edom

7 The Lord who rules over allt spoke about Edom.s
“Is wisdom no longer to be found in Teman?s
Can Edom’s counselors not give her any good advice?t
Has all of their wisdom turned bad?t

8 Turn and flee! Take up refuge in remote places,t
you people who live in Dedan.s
For I will bring disaster on the descendants of Esau.
I have decided it is time for me to punish them.t

9 If grape pickers came to pick your grapes,
would they not leave a few grapes behind?t
If robbers came at night,
would they not pillage only what they needed?t

10 But I will strip everything away from Esau’s descendants.
I will uncover their hiding places so they cannot hide.
Their children, relatives, and neighbors will all be destroyed.
Not one of them will be left!

11 Leave your orphans behind and I will keep them alive.
Your widows too can depend on me.”t
12 For the Lord says, “If even those who did not deserve to drink from the cup of my wrath must drink from it, do you think you will go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, but must certainly drink from the cup of my wrath.ts

13 For I solemnly swear,”t says the Lord, “that Bozrahs will become a pile of ruins. It will become an object of horror and ridicule, an example to be used in curses.t All the towns around it will lie in ruins forever.”

14 I said,t “I have heard a message from the Lord.
A messenger has been sent among the nations to say,
‘Gather your armies and march out against her!
Prepare to do battle with her!’”t

15 The Lord says to Edom,t
“I will certainly make you small among nations.
I will make you despised by all humankind.

16 The terror you inspire in otherst
and the arrogance of your heart have deceived you.
You may make your home in the clefts of the rocks;
you may occupy the highest places in the hills.t
But even if you made your home where the eagles nest,
I would bring you down from there,”
says the Lord.

17 “Edom will become an object of horror.
All who pass by it will be filled with horror;
they will hiss out their scorn
because of all the disasters that have happened to it.s

18 Edom will be destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah
and the towns that were around them.
No one will live there.
No human being will settle in it,”
says the Lord.

19 “A lion coming up from the thick undergrowth along the Jordant
scatters the sheep in the pastureland around it.t
So too I will chase the Edomites off their land.t
Then I will appoint over it whomever I choose.t
For there is no one like me, and there is no one who can call me to account.t
There is not rulert who can stand up against me.

20 So listen to what I, the Lord, have planned against Edom,
what I intend to do tot the people who live in Teman.s
Their little ones will be dragged off.
I will completely destroy their land because of what they have done.t

21 The people of the earth will quake when they hear of their downfall.t
Their cries of anguish will be heard all the way to the Gulf of Aqaba.t

22 Look! Like an eagle with outspread wings,
a nation will soar up and swoop down on Bozrah.
At that time the soldiers of Edom will be as fearful
as a woman in labor.”s

Judgment Against Damascus

23 The Lord spoket about Damascus.s
“The people of Hamath and Arpadts will be dismayed
because they have heard bad news.
Their courage will melt away because of worry.
Their hearts will not be able to rest.s

24 The people of Damascus will lose heart and turn to flee.
Panic will grip them.
Pain and anguish will seize them
like a woman in labor.

25 How deserted will that once-famous cityt be,
that city that was once filled witht joy!s

26 For her young men will fall in her city squares.
All her soldiers will be destroyed at that time,”
says the Lord who rules over all.t

27 “I will set fire to the walls of Damascus;
it will burn up the palaces of Ben Hadad.”s

Judgment Against Kedar and Hazor

28 The Lord spoke about Kedars and the kingdoms of Hazors that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon conquered.
“Army of Babylon,t go and attack Kedar.
Lay waste those who live in the eastern desert.s

29 Their tents and their flocks will be taken away.
Their tent curtains, equipment, and camels will be carried off.
People will shoutt to them,
‘Terror is all around you!’”s

30 The Lord says,t “Flee quickly, you who live in Hazor.s
Take up refuge in remote places.t
For King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has laid out plans to attack you.
He has formed his strategy on how to defeat you.”t

31 The Lord says,t “Army of Babylon,t go and attack
a nation that lives in peace and security.
They have no gates or walls to protect them.t
They live all alone.

32 Their camels will be taken as plunder.
Their vast herds will be taken as spoil.
I will scatter to the four winds
those desert peoples who cut their hair short at the temples.t
I will bring disaster against them
from every direction,” says the Lord.t

33 “Hazor will become a permanent wasteland,
a place where only jackals live.s
No one will live there.
No human being will settle in it.”s

Judgment Against Elam

34 Early in the reignt of King Zedekiah of Judah, the Lord spoke to the prophet Jeremiah about Elam.ts

35 The Lord who rules over all said,
“I will kill all the archers of Elam,
who are the chief source of her military might.t

36 I will cause enemies to blow through Elam from every direction
like the winds blowing in from the four quarters of heaven.
I will scatter the people of Elam to the four winds.
There will not be any nation where the refugees of Elam will not go.t

37 I will make the people of Elam terrified of their enemies,
who are seeking to kill them.
I will vent my fierce anger
and bring disaster upon them,”t says the Lord.t
“I will send armies chasing after themt
until I have completely destroyed them.

38 I will establish my sovereignty over Elam.t
I will destroy their king and their leaders,”t says the Lord.t

39 “Yet in days to come
I will reverse Elam’s ill fortune.”ts
says the Lord.t