Jeremiah 49

Judgment on Ammon

1 Against the Ammonites. Thus says the Lord: Against the Ammonites. Thus says the Lord: Has Israel no sons? Has he no heir? Why then does Milcom inherit Gad, And his people dwell in its cities?2 Therefore behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, That I will cause to be heard an alarm of war In Rabbah of the Ammonites; It shall be a desolate mound, And her villages shall be burned with fire. Then Israel shall take possession of his inheritance, says the Lord.3 Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai is plundered! Cry, you daughters of Rabbah, Gird yourselves with sackcloth! Lament and run to and fro by the walls; For Milcom shall go into captivity With his priests and his princes together.4 Why do you boast in the valleys, Your flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? Who trusted in her treasures, saying, Who will come against me?5 Behold, I will bring fear upon you, Says the Lord God of hosts, From all those who are around you; You shall be driven out, everyone headlong, And no one will gather those who wander off.6 But afterward I will bring back The captives of the people of Ammon, says the Lord.

Judgment on Edom

7 Against Edom. Thus says the Lord of hosts: Is wisdom no more in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom vanished?8 Flee, turn back, dwell in the depths, O inhabitants of Dedan! For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, The time that I will punish him.9 If grape-gatherers came to you, Would they not leave some gleaning grapes? If thieves by night, Would they not destroy until they have enough?10 But I have made Esau bare; I have uncovered his secret places, And he shall not be able to hide himself. His descendants are plundered, His brethren and his neighbors, And he is no more.11 Leave your fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; And let your widows trust in Me.12 For thus says the Lord: Behold, those whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunk. And are you the one who will altogether go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, but you shall surely drink of it. 13 For I have sworn by Myself, says the Lord, that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse. And all its cities shall be perpetual wastes.14 I have heard a message from the Lord, And an ambassador has been sent to the nations: Gather together, come against her, And rise up to battle!15 For indeed, I will make you small among nations, Despised among men.16 Your fierceness has deceived you, The pride of your heart, O you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, Who hold the height of the hill! Though you make your nest as high as the eagle, I will bring you down from there, says the Lord.17 Edom also shall be an astonishment; Everyone who goes by it will be astonished And will hiss at all its plagues.18 As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah And their neighbors, says the Lord, No one shall remain there, Nor shall a son of man dwell in it.19 Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the floodplain of the Jordan Against the dwelling place of the strong; But I will suddenly make him run away from her. And who is a chosen man that I may appoint over her? For who is like Me? Who will arraign Me? And who is that shepherd Who will withstand Me?20 Therefore hear the counsel of the Lord that He has taken against Edom, And His purposes that He has proposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out; Surely He shall make their dwelling places desolate with them.21 The earth shakes at the noise of their fall; At the cry its noise is heard at the Red Sea.22 Behold, He shall come up and fly like the eagle, And spread His wings over Bozrah; The heart of the mighty men of Edom in that day shall be Like the heart of a woman in birth pangs.

Judgment on Damascus

23 Against Damascus. Hamath and Arpad are shamed, For they have heard bad news. They are fainthearted; There is trouble on the sea; It cannot be quiet.24 Damascus has grown feeble; She turns to flee, And fear has seized her. Anguish and sorrows have taken her like a woman in labor.25 Why is the city of praise not deserted, the city of My joy?26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, And all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, says the Lord of hosts.27 I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, And it shall consume the palaces of Ben-Hadad.

Judgment on Kedar and Hazor

28 Against Kedar and against the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon shall strike. Thus says the Lord: Arise, go up to Kedar, And devastate the men of the East!29 Their tents and their flocks they shall take away. They shall take for themselves their curtains, All their vessels and their camels; And they shall cry out to them, Fear is on every side!30 Flee, get far away! Dwell in the depths, O inhabitants of Hazor! says the Lord. For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has taken counsel against you, And has conceived a plan against you.31 Arise, go up to the wealthy nation that dwells securely, says the Lord, Which has neither gates nor bars, Dwelling alone.32 Their camels shall be for booty, And the multitude of their cattle for plunder. I will scatter to all winds those in the farthest corners, And I will bring their calamity from all its sides, says the Lord.33 Hazor shall be a dwelling for jackals, a desolation forever; No one shall reside there, Nor son of man dwell in it.

Judgment on Elam

34 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,35 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, The foremost of their might.36 Against Elam I will bring the four winds From the four quarters of heaven, And scatter them toward all those winds; There shall be no nations where the outcasts of Elam will not go.37 For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies And before those who seek their life. I will bring disaster upon them, My fierce anger, says the Lord; And I will send the sword after them Until I have consumed them.38 I will set My throne in Elam, And will destroy from there the king and the princes, says the Lord.39 But it shall come to pass in the latter days: I will bring back the captives of Elam, 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