49 1 The word of the Lord against the Ammonites, 7 Edom, 23 Damascus, 28 Kedar, 34 and Elam.
1 Unto the children of [a]Ammon thus saith the Lord, Hath Israel no sons? or hath he none heir? Why then hath their king [b]possessed Gad? and his people dwelt in [c]his cities?
2 Therefore behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will cause a noise of war to be heard in [d]Rabbah of the Ammonites, and it shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burnt with fire: then shall Israel possess those that possessed him, saith the Lord.
3 Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is wasted: cry ye daughters of Rabbah: gird you with sackcloth: mourn and run to and fro by the hedges: for their king shall go into captivity; and his Priests, and his Princes likewise.
4 Wherefore gloriest thou in the [e]valleys? thy valley floweth away, O rebellious daughter: she trusted in her treasures, saying, Who shall come unto me?
5 Behold, I will bring [f]a fear upon thee, saith the Lord God of hosts, of all those that be about thee, and ye shall be scattered every man [g]right forth, and none shall gather him that fleeth.
6 And [h]afterward I will bring again the captivity of the children of Ammon.
7 ¶ To Edom thus saith the Lord of hosts, Is wisdom no more in [i]Teman? is counsel perished from their children? is their wisdom vanished?
8 Flee, ye inhabitants of Dedan ([j]they are turned back, and have consulted to dwell) for I have brought the destruction of Esau upon him, and the time of his visitation.
9 If the [k]grape gatherers come to thee, would they not leave some grapes? if thieves come by night, they will destroy till they have enough.
10 For I have discovered Esau: I have uncovered his secrets, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is wasted, and his brethren and his neighbors, and there shall be none to say,
11 Leave thy [l]fatherless children, and I will preserve them alive, and let thy widows trust in me.
12 For thus saith the Lord, [m]Behold, they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup, have assuredly drunken, and art thou he that shall escape free? thou shalt not go free, but thou shalt surely drink of it.
13 For I have sworn by myself, saith the Lord, that [n]Bozrah shall be waste, and for a reproach, and a desolation, and a curse, and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual desolations.
14 I have heard a rumor from the Lord, and an ambassador is sent unto the heathen, saying, Gather you together, and come against [o]her, and rise up to the battle.
15 For lo, I will make thee but small among the heathen, and despised among men.
16 Thy [p]fear, and the pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, and keepest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the Lord.
17 Also Edom shall be desolate: everyone that goeth by it, shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof,
18 As in the overthrow of Sodom and of Gomorrah, and the places thereof near about, saith the Lord: no man shall dwell there, neither shall the sons of men remain in it.
19 Behold, [q]he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan unto the strong dwelling place: for I will make Israel to rest, even I will make [r]him to haste away from her, and who is a chosen man that I may appoint against her? for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who is the [s]shepherd that will stand before me?
20 Therefore hear the counsel of the Lord that he hath devised against Edom, and his purpose that he hath conceived, against the inhabitants of Teman: surely the least [t]of the flock shall draw them out: surely [u]he shall make their habitations desolate with them.
21 The earth is moved at the noise of their fall: the cry of their voice is heard in the red sea.
22 Behold, he shall come up, and fly as the eagle, [v]and spread his wings over Bozrah, and at that day shall the heart of the strong men of Edom be as the heart of a woman in travail.
23 ¶ Unto [w]Damascus he saith, Hamath is confounded and Arpad, for they have heard evil tidings, and they are faint hearted as one on the fearful sea that can not rest:
24 Damascus is discouraged, and turneth herself to flight, [x]and fear hath seized her: anguish and sorrows have taken her as a woman in travail.
25 How is the glorious [y]city not reserved, the city of my joy?
26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all her men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the Lord of hosts.
27 And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, which shall consume the palaces of [z]Ben-Hadad.
28 Unto [aa]Kedar, and to the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel shall smite, thus saith the Lord, Arise, and go up unto Kedar, and destroy the men of the East.
29 Their tents and their flocks shall they take away: yea, they shall take to themselves their [ab]curtains and all their vessels, and their camels, and they shall cry unto them, Fear is on every side.
30 Flee, get you far off ([ac]they have consulted to dwell) O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith the Lord: for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel hath taken counsel against you, and hath devised a purpose against you.
31 [ad]Arise, and get you up unto the wealthy nation that dwelleth without care, saith the Lord, which have neither gates nor bars, but dwell alone.
32 And their camels shall be a bootie, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil, and I will scatter them into all winds, and to the utmost corners, and I will bring their destruction from all the sides thereof, saith the Lord.
33 And Hazor shall be a dwelling for dragons, and desolation forever: there shall no man dwell there, nor the sons of men remain in it.
34 ¶ The words of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the Prophet, concerning [ae]Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,
35 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, I will break the [af]bow of Elam, even the chief of their strength.
36 And upon Elam I will bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them towards all these winds, and there shall be no nation, whither the fugitives of Elam shall not come.
37 For I will cause Elam to be afraid before their enemies, and before them that seek their lives, and will bring upon them a plague, even the indignation of my wrath, saith the Lord, and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them.
38 And I will set my [ag]throne in Elam, and I will destroy both the king and the princes from thence, saith the Lord: but [ah]in the latter days I will bring again the captivity of Elam, saith the Lord.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 49:1 They were separated from the Moabites by the river Arnon, and after that the ten tribes were carried away into captivity, they invaded the country of Gad.
- Jeremiah 49:1 To wit, of the Ammonites.
- Jeremiah 49:1 Meaning, of the Israelites.
- Jeremiah 49:2 Which was one of the chief cities of the Ammonites, as were Heshbon and Ai: there was also a city called Heshbon among the Moabites.
- Jeremiah 49:4 In thy plentiful country.
- Jeremiah 49:5 Signifying, that power and riches cannot prevail, when as God will execute his judgments.
- Jeremiah 49:5 That is, without looking back, and as everyone can find a way to escape.
- Jeremiah 49:6 In the time of Christ, when the Gentiles shall be called.
- Jeremiah 49:7 Which was a city of Edom, called by the name of Teman Eliphaz’ son, who came of Esau.
- Jeremiah 49:8 The enemies that shall dissemble as though they fled away, shall turn back and invade your land, and possess it.
- Jeremiah 49:9 Meaning, that God would utterly destroy them, and not spare one, though the grape gatherers leave some grapes, and thieves seek but till they have enough, Obad. 1:5.
- Jeremiah 49:11 The destruction shall be so great, that there shall be none left to take care over the widows and the fatherless.
- Jeremiah 49:12 I have not spared mine own people, and how should I pity thee?
- Jeremiah 49:13 Which was a chief city of Edom.
- Jeremiah 49:14 That is, Bozrah.
- Jeremiah 49:16 Or, idol.
- Jeremiah 49:19 To wit, Nebuchadnezzar after he hath overcome Judah, which is meant by the swelling of Jordan, shall come against mount Seir and Edom.
- Jeremiah 49:19 That is, the Israelites, whom the Edomites kept as prisoners, to haste away from thence.
- Jeremiah 49:19 The captain and governor of the army, meaning, Nebuchadnezzar.
- Jeremiah 49:20 They shall not be able to resist his petty captains.
- Jeremiah 49:20 To visit, the enemy.
- Jeremiah 49:22 As Jer. 48:40, was said of Moab.
- Jeremiah 49:23 Which was the chief city of Syria, whereby he meaneth the whole country.
- Jeremiah 49:24 When she heard the sudden coming of the enemy.
- Jeremiah 49:25 He speaketh this in the person of the king and of them of the country, who shall wonder to see Damascus the chief city destroyed.
- Jeremiah 49:27 Who was king of Syria, 1 Kings 20:26, and had built these palaces, which were still called the palaces of Ben-Hadad.
- Jeremiah 49:28 Meaning, the Arabians, and their borderers.
- Jeremiah 49:29 Because they used to dwell in tents, he nameth the things that pertain thereunto.
- Jeremiah 49:30 The enemies will dwell in your places.
- Jeremiah 49:31 He showeth that they of Hazor will flee to the Arabians for succor, but that shall not avail them.
- Jeremiah 49:34 That is, Persia, so called of Elam the son of Shem.
- Jeremiah 49:35 Because the Persians were good archers, he showeth that the thing wherein they put their trust, should not profit them.
- Jeremiah 49:38 I will place Nebuchadnezzar there, and in these prophecies Jeremiah speaketh of those countries, which should be subdued under the first of those four monarchies whereof Daniel maketh mention.
- Jeremiah 49:38 This may be referred to the Empire of Persians and Medes after the Chaldeans, or unto the time of Christ, as Jer. 48:47.