Jeremiah 49

Judgment on Ammon

1  a Concerning the Ammonites.

Thus says the  Lord:

“Has Israel no sons?
Has he no heir?
Why then has b Milcom c dispossessed Gad,
and his people settled in its cities?
 2 Therefore, behold, the days are coming,
declares the  Lord,
when I will cause d the battle cry to be heard
against e Rabbah of the Ammonites;
it shall become a desolate f mound,
and its villages shall be burned with fire;
then Israel shall dispossess those who dispossessed him,
says the  Lord.
 3  “Wail, O g Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste!
Cry out, O daughters of h Rabbah!
i Put on sackcloth,
lament, and run to and fro among the hedges!
For j Milcom shall go into exile,
k with his priests and his officials.
 4 Why do you boast of your valleys ▼
▼ Hebrew  boast of your valleys, your valley flows

m O faithless daughter,
n who trusted in her treasures, saying,
‘Who will come against me?’
 5 Behold o I will bring terror upon you,
declares the Lord  God of hosts,
from all who are around you,
and you shall be driven out, every man straight before him,
with none to gather the fugitives.

6 “But p afterward I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites, declares the  Lord.”

Judgment on Edom

7 Concerning q Edom.

Thus says the  Lord of hosts:

r “Is wisdom no more in s Teman?
t Has counsel perished from the prudent?
u Has their wisdom vanished?
 8  v Flee, turn back, dwell in the depths,
O inhabitants of w Dedan!
For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him,
x the time when I punish him.
 9  y If grape gatherers came to you,
would they not leave z gleanings?
aa If thieves came by night,
would they not destroy only enough for themselves?
 10  ab But I have stripped Esau bare;
ac I have uncovered his hiding places,
and he is not able to conceal himself.
His children are destroyed, and his brothers,
and his neighbors; and ad he is no more.
 11  ae Leave your fatherless children; I will keep them alive;
af and let your widows trust in me.”

12 For thus says the  Lord: ag “If those who did not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, ah will you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, but you must drink. 13  ai For I have sworn by myself, declares the  Lord, that aj Bozrah shall become ak a horror, a taunt, a waste, and a curse, and all her cities shall be perpetual wastes.”

14  al I have heard a message from the  Lord,
and an envoy has been sent among the nations:
am “Gather yourselves together and come against her,
and rise up for battle!
 15 For behold, I will make you small among the nations,
despised among mankind.
 16 The horror you inspire has deceived you,
and the pride of your heart,
you who live in the clefts of the rock ▼
▼ Or  of Sela

who hold the height of the hill.
Though you ao make your nest as high as the eagle’s,
I will bring you down from there,

declares the  Lord.

17  ap “Edom shall become a horror. aq Everyone who passes by it will be horrified ar and will hiss because of all its disasters. 18  as As when Sodom and Gomorrah and their at neighboring cities were overthrown, says the  Lord au no man shall dwell there av no man shall sojourn in her. 19  aw Behold ax like a lion coming up from ay the jungle of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make him ▼
▼ Septuagint, Syriac them
 run away from her. And I will appoint over her whomever I choose. ba For who is like me? bb Who will summon me? bc What shepherd can stand before me? 20 Therefore hear the plan that the  Lord has made against bd Edom and the purposes that he has formed against the inhabitants of be Teman: bf Even the little ones of the flock shall be dragged away. Surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate. 21 At the sound of their fall bg the earth shall tremble; the sound of their cry shall be heard at the Red Sea. 22 Behold bh one shall mount up and fly swiftly like an eagle and spread his wings against bi Bozrah, and the heart of the warriors of Edom shall be in that day like the heart bj of a woman in her birth pains.”

Judgment on Damascus

23 Concerning bk Damascus:

bl “Hamath and bm Arpad are confounded,
for they have heard bad news;
they melt in fear,
bn they are troubled like the sea that cannot be quiet.
 24  bo Damascus has become feeble bp she turned to flee,
and panic seized her;
anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her,
as bq of a woman in labor.
 25 How is br the famous city not forsaken,
the city of my joy?
 26  bs Therefore her young men shall fall in her squares,
and all her soldiers shall be destroyed in that day,

declares the  Lord of hosts.
 27 And bt I will kindle a fire in the wall of bu Damascus,
and it shall devour the strongholds of bv Ben-hadad.”

Judgment on Kedar and Hazor

28 Concerning bw Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck down.

Thus says the  Lord:
bx “Rise up, advance against by Kedar!
Destroy bz the people of the east!
 29  ca Their tents and their flocks shall be taken,
their cb curtains and all their goods;
their camels shall be led away from them,
and men shall cry to them: cc ‘Terror on every side!’
 30  cd Flee, wander far away, dwell in the depths,
O inhabitants of Hazor!

declares the  Lord.
For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
has made a plan against you
and formed a purpose against you.
 31  ce “Rise up, advance against a nation cf at ease,
cg that dwells securely,

declares the  Lord,
ch that has no gates or bars,
that dwells alone.
 32  ci Their camels shall become plunder,
their herds of livestock a spoil.
cj I will scatter to every wind
ck those who cut the corners of their hair,
and I will bring their calamity
from every side of them,

declares the  Lord.
 33 Hazor shall become cl a haunt of jackals,
an everlasting waste;
cm no man shall dwell there;
cn no man shall sojourn in her.”

Judgment on Elam

34 The word of the  Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning co Elam, in the beginning of the reign of cp Zedekiah king of Judah.

35 Thus says the  Lord of hosts: “Behold, I will break cq the bow of cr Elam, the mainstay of their might. 36 And I will bring upon cs Elam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven. And I will scatter them to all those winds, and there shall be no nation to which those driven out of ct Elam shall not come. 37 I will cu terrify cv Elam before their enemies and before those who seek their life. I will bring disaster upon them, cw my fierce anger, declares the  Lord. cx I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them, 38 and I will set my throne in cy Elam and destroy their king and officials, declares the  Lord.

39 “But in the latter days cz I will restore the fortunes of da Elam, declares the  Lord.”

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