A Prophecy against Ammon
49 This is what Yahweh says about the people of Ammon:
Doesn’t Israel have any children? Doesn’t it have any heirs?
Why, then, has the god Milcom[a] taken over the inheritance
of Gad’s descendants?
Why do Milcom’s people live in Gad’s cities?
2 That is why the days are coming, declares Yahweh,
when I will sound the battle cry against Rabbah,
where the people of Ammon live.
It will become a pile of rubble.
Its villages will be burned down.
Then Israel will take possession of its inheritance, says Yahweh.
3 Cry loudly, Heshbon, because Ai is destroyed.
Cry, people of Rabbah, put on your sackcloth, and mourn.
Run back and forth between the walls.
Milcom will be taken away into captivity
with its priests and officials.
4 Why do you brag about your valleys,
your fertile valleys, you unfaithful people?
You trust your treasures.
You think, “Who would attack me?”
5 I am going to bring terror on you from all around,
declares Adonay Yahweh Tsebaoth.
Everyone will be scattered.
No one will gather the refugees.
6 But afterward, I will return the captives of Ammon, declares Yahweh.
A Prophecy against Edom(A)
7 This is what Yahweh Tsebaoth says about Edom:
Is there no longer any wisdom in Teman?
Has wisdom disappeared from your people?
Has their wisdom vanished?
8 Turn and run.
Hide in deep caves, inhabitants of Dedan.
When I punish them,
I will bring disaster on the descendants of Esau.
9 If people come to pick your grapes,
won’t they leave a few grapes behind?
If thieves come during the night,
won’t they steal only until they’ve had enough?
10 Yet, I will strip the descendants of Esau.
I will find their hiding places.
They won’t be able to hide.
Their children and relatives will be destroyed.
None of their neighbors will say,
11 “Abandon your orphans, and I will keep them alive.
Your widows can trust me.”
12 This is what Yahweh says: If those who don’t deserve to drink from the cup still drink from it, why should you go unpunished? You won’t go unpunished. You must drink from it. 13 I take an oath on myself, declares Yahweh, that Bozrah will become a pile of rubble. It will become something horrifying, ridiculed, ruined, and cursed. All its cities will lie in ruins permanently.
14 I heard a message from Yahweh.
A messenger was sent among the nations to say,
“Assemble, and attack Edom.
Get ready for battle.”
15 “Edom, I will make you the smallest of nations
and despised among humanity.
16 You have frightened other people.
Your arrogance has deceived you.
You live on rocky cliffs
and occupy the highest places in the hills.
Even though you build your nest as high as an eagle,
I will bring you down from there,” declares Yahweh.
17 “Then Edom will become something horrible.
Everyone who passes by it will be horrified
and hiss at all its wounds.
18 Edom will be like Sodom, Gomorrah, and their neighboring cities
when they were destroyed.
No one will live there.
No human will stay there,” says Yahweh.
19 “I will suddenly chase them from their places
like a lion coming out of the jungle
along the Jordan River into pastureland.
I will appoint over Edom whomever I choose.
Who is like me? Who can challenge me?
Is there any leader who can stand up to me?”
20 Listen to the plans that Yahweh is making against Edom
and the things he intends to do to those who live in Teman.
He will surely drag away the little ones of the flock.
He will surely destroy the pasture
because of the people who live in Teman.
21 The earth will quake at the sound of their downfall.
The sound of their crying will be heard at the Red Sea.
22 The enemy will swoop down like eagles
and spread their wings over Bozrah.
On that day Edom’s soldiers will be like women in childbirth.
A Prophecy against Damascus
23 This is a message about Damascus.
“Hamath and Arpad are worried because they heard the bad news.
They melt in fear.
They are troubled like a sea that can’t be calmed.
24 The people of Damascus are weak.
They turn to flee, but panic grips them.
Anguish and pain grip them like a woman in labor.
25 Why isn’t that famous, happy city abandoned?
26 That is why its young men will die in the streets,
and its soldiers will be silenced that day,”
declares Yahweh Tsebaoth.
27 “I will set fire to the walls of Damascus
and burn down Benhadad’s palaces.”
A Prophecy against Kedar and Hazor
28 This is about the tribe of Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon defeated. This is what Yahweh says:
Get ready, attack Kedar,
and loot the people from the east.
29 Their tents and their flocks will be taken.
Their tent curtains, utensils, and camels will be carried away.
People will shout to them, “Terror is all around!”
30 Run far away! Find a place to hide,
inhabitants of Hazor, declares Yahweh.
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has made plans against you
and intends to attack you.
31 Get ready! Attack the nation living peacefully and securely,
declares Yahweh.
It is a nation with no gates or bars.
Its people live alone.
32 Their camels will be taken as prizes.
Their large herds will be taken as loot.
I will scatter to the winds
those who shave the hair on their foreheads.
I will bring disaster on them from every side,
declares Yahweh.
33 Hazor will be a place where only jackals live.
It will become a permanent wasteland.
No one will live there.
No human will stay there.
A Prophecy against Elam
34 Early in the rule of King Zedekiah of Judah, Yahweh spoke his word to the prophet Jeremiah about Elam.
35 This is what Yahweh Tsebaoth says:
I’m going to break the bows of Elam’s archers,
the most important weapon of their strength.
36 I’ll bring the four winds
from the four corners of heaven against Elam
and scatter its people in every direction.
There won’t be a nation
where Elam’s refugees won’t go.
37 I’ll defeat the people of Elam in the presence of their enemies,
in the presence of those who want to kill them.
I’ll bring disaster with my burning anger, declares Yahweh.
I’ll send armies after them until I put an end to them.
38 I’ll set my throne in Elam and destroy its king and officials,
declares Yahweh.
39 But afterward, I’ll return the captives of Elam, declares Yahweh.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 49:1 Or “Molech.”