Jeremiah
Chapter 49
1
1 Concerning the Ammonites, thus says the LORD: Has Israel no sons? has he no heir? Why then has Milcom disinherited Gad, why have his people settled in Gad's cities?
2
2 But the days are coming, says the LORD, when against Rabbah of the Ammonites I will sound the battle alarm; She shall become a mound of ruins, and her daughter cities shall be destroyed by fire. Israel shall inherit those who disinherited her, says the LORD.
3
Howl, Heshbon, for the ravager approaches, shriek, daughters of Rabbah! Put on sackcloth and mourn, run to and fro, gashing yourselves; For Milcom goes into exile along with his priests and captains.
4
Why do you glory in your strength, your ebbing strength, rebellious daughter? You who trust in your treasures, saying, "Who can come against me?"
5
I am bringing terror upon you, says the Lord GOD of hosts, from all round about you; You shall be scattered, each man in headlong flight, with no one to rally the fugitives.
6
But afterward I will change the lot of the Ammonites, says the LORD.
7
3 4 Concerning Edom, thus says the LORD of hosts: Is there no more wisdom in Teman, has counsel perished from the prudent, has their wisdom become corrupt?
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5 Flee, retreat, hide in deep holes, you who live in Dedan: For I will bring destruction upon Esau when I come to punish him.
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If vintagers came upon you, they would leave no gleanings; If thieves by night, they would destroy as they pleased.
10
So I myself will strip Esau; I will uncover his retreats so that he cannot hide. He is ruined: sons, and brothers, and neighbors, so that he is no more.
11
Leave your orphans behind, I will keep them alive; your widows, let them trust in me.
12
For thus says the LORD: Even those not sentenced to drink the cup must drink it! Shall you then go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished; you shall surely drink it.
13
6 By my own self I have sworn, says the LORD: Bozrah shall become an object of horror and a disgrace, a desolation and a curse; she and all her cities shall become ruins forever.
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I have heard a report from the LORD, a herald has been sent among the nations: Gather together, move against her, rise up for battle.
15
Small will I make you among the nations, despised among men!
16
The terror you spread beguiled you, and your presumption of heart; You that live in rocky crags, that hold the heights of the hill: Though you build your nest high as the eagle, from there I will drag you down, says the LORD.
17
Edom shall become an object of horror. Every passer-by shall be appalled and catch his breath at all her wounds.
18
As when Sodom, Gomorrah, and their neighbors were overthrown, says the LORD, not a man shall dwell there: no one shall visit there.
19
As when a lion comes up from the thicket of Jordan to the permanent feeding grounds, So I, in an instant, will drive men off; and whom I choose I will establish there! For who is like me? who can call me to account? What shepherd can stand against me?
20
Therefore, hear the counsel of the LORD, which he has taken against Edom; Hear the plans he has made against those that live in Teman: They shall be dragged away, even the smallest sheep, their own pasture shall be aghast because of them.
21
At the noise of their fall the earth quakes, to the Red Sea the outcry is heard!
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See! like an eagle he soars aloft, and spreads his wings over Bozrah; On that day the hearts of Edom's heroes shall be like the heart of a woman in travail.Concerning Damascus:
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7 Hamath and Arpad are covered with shame, they have heard bad news; Worried, they toss like the sea which cannot rest.
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Damascus is weakened, she turns to flee, panic has seized her. Distress and pangs take hold of her, like those of a woman in travail.
25
How can the city of glory be forsaken, the town of delight!
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But now her young men shall fall in her streets, and all her warriors shall be stilled. On that day, says the LORD of hosts,
27
8 I will set fire to the wall of Damascus, and it shall devour the palaces of Ben-hadad.
28
Of Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, defeated by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, thus says the LORD: Rise up, attack Kedar, ravage the Easterners.
29
Their tents and herds shall be taken away, their tent curtains and all their goods; Their camels they shall carry off for themselves, and shout from upon them, "Terror on every side!"
30
Flee! leave your homes, hide in deep holes, you that live in Hazor, says the LORD; For counsel has been taken against you, a plan has been formed against you (Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon).
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Rise up! set out against a nation that is at peace, that lives secure, says the LORD, That has no gates or bars, and dwells alone.
32
Their camels shall be your booty, their many herds your spoil; I will scatter to the winds those who shave their temples, from all sides I will bring ruin upon them, says the LORD.
33
Hazor shall become a haunt of jackals, a desert forever, Where no man lives, no human being stays.
34
9 The following word of the LORD against Elam came to the prophet Jeremiah at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah:
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Thus says the LORD of hosts: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the mainstay of their might.
36
I will bring upon Elam the four winds from the four ends of the heavens: I will scatter them to all these winds, till there is no nation to which the outcasts of Elam shall not come.
37
I will break Elam before their foes, before those who seek their life; I will bring evil upon them, my burning wrath, says the LORD. I will send the sword to pursue them until I have completely made an end of them;
38
My throne I will set up in Elam and destroy from there king and princes, says the LORD.
39
But in the days to come I will change the lot of Elam, says the LORD.
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Footnotes

1 [1] Milcom: chief god of the Ammonites. The Transjordan tribe of Gad bordered on Ammon, and after the collapse of the northern kingdom the Ammonites occupied its territory.

2 [2] Rabbah of the Ammonites: or Rabbath-Ammon, capital of the Ammonite kingdom. The modern Amman is the capital of the kingdom of Jordan.

3 [7-22] Edom: this implacable enemy from ancient times profited from Judah's downfall; cf Ob 11f.

4 [7] Teman: a district of Edom, used here for the whole country; it was famous for its wise men; cf Job 2:11.

5 [8] Esau: Jacob's brother, the traditional ancestor of the Edomites; cf Genesis 36.

6 [13] Bozrah: capital of Edom, southeast of the Dead Sea.

7 [23] Hamath and Arpad: independent Aramean states to the north of Damascus; the invasion is conceived as coming from the north. The situation is of the eighth century B.C. Cf Isaiah 10:9-10.

8 [27] The palaces of Ben-hadad: the royal palaces in Damascus where at least three kings bore this name; cf 1 Kings 15:18; 20.

9 [34] Elam: the ancient kingdom to the east of Babylonia.


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