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1Yahweh says to the Ammonites:[#49:1 Ammon means “tribal.” It was the northern brother-nation of Moab (see Gen. 19:30–38). Rabbah, modern-day Amman in the kingdom of Jordan, was Ammon’s capital city. For other messages concerning Ammon, see Ezek. 21:28–32; 25:1–7; Amos 1:13–15; Zeph. 2:8–11.]
“Has Israel no sons?
Is there no one to inherit her land?
What right did your god Molech have to take the territory of Gad,
and the people of Molech to occupy its towns?
2Therefore, I say to you,
The days are coming when I will cause the Ammonites of Rabbah
to hear the battle cries of their attackers.
I will turn her into a heap of ruins
and her surrounding villages will be set on fire.
Then Israel will drive out those who drove her out.
I, Yahweh , affirm it!
3Weep and wail, Heshbon, for Ai has been destroyed!
Shriek, women of Rabbah!
Put on sackcloth and mourn;
run back and forth in confusion!
For enemies will lead Molech away and take him captive
with all his priests and servants.
4Why do you glory in your ebbing strength,
you rebellious ones?
For you trust in your great wealth and say,
‘Who will dare to attack me?’
5Look, I will bring terror upon you,”
says Lord Yahweh , Commander of Angel Armies.
“Terror will come from every side;
everyone will run away,
and no one will be there to bring them back together.
6But I affirm to you,
I will one day bring back the captive Ammonites.”
7Yahweh , Commander of Angel Armies, says to Edom:[#49:7 The people of Edom were despised by the Jews. After the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC, they occupied parts of southern Judah. Jeremiah’s message was of judgment, not hope, for the Edomites. For other messages concerning Edom, see Isa. 34:5–17; 63:1–6; Ezek. 25:12–14; 35:1–15; Amos 1:11–12; Obad. 1–14; Mal. 1:2–5.]
“Is there no wise person left in Teman?
Have all the advisers run out of common sense?
Has all their wisdom vanished?
8People of Dedan, turn and run![#49:8 Dedan was a city southeast of Edom.]
Go into hiding, for I will bring ruin on Esau
when my time to punish him has come.
9People who harvest grapes
always leave some for the poor.
Thieves who break in at night
only take what they want.
10However, I have taken everything from Esau’s descendants.
I have uncovered his hiding places
so that he can hide no longer.
All the Edomites are ruined,
along with their relatives and neighbors, with no one left to say ,
11‘Leave your orphans, I’ll take care of them;
let your widows depend on me!’ ”
12For Yahweh says, “Even those nations that don’t deserve to be punished must drink from the cup filled with my anger. So how do you hope to escape? You will not go unpunished but will certainly have to drink from that same cup.
13For I have sworn by my great name, Yahweh , that your capital city of Bozrah and all its surrounding villages will become nothing but desert ruins. Bozrah will be a laughingstock, a curse, and an object of horror forever.”
14I have received a word from Yahweh .
A messenger has been sent to tell the nations:
“Assemble your armies for battle
and get ready to attack Edom .”
15“Behold, I will make you the least of nations;
all the world will despise you.
16Your proud heart has deceived you.
Your pride rests in thinking everyone is afraid of you.
But I, Yahweh , say to you whose home is in the rocky cliffs,
who live high on the mountaintop,
though you make your nest as high as the eagle’s,
I will topple you from your high place!
17“I will make Edom an object of horror and astonishment; everyone who passes by it will be appalled and will make insulting remarks because of all its disasters![#49:17 Or “something to hiss at”; see footnote on 18:16.]
18I, Yahweh , say to you: As Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns were destroyed and no one will live there again, not one person will ever settle in Edom again.
19“Behold, just as a lion suddenly comes out of the thickets of the Jordan[#49:19 Jesus is like a lion who, after his baptism, came up from “the thickets of the Jordan” to do the Father’s pleasure.]
to a rich pastureland,
I will suddenly make the people of Edom run away.
And I will appoint a leader that I choose.
For who can be compared to me?
Who is able to challenge me?
Name for me the ruler
who can stand up to me.
20So now listen to the plans
that I have against you, Edom.
Listen to what I have in store
for the people of Teman.
Like little lambs, your children will be dragged away
before your own eyes,
and everyone will be horrified!
21The earth will shudder at the sound of their downfall
while the echoes of their cry reach to the Red Sea.
22Look, an enemy will swoop down on Bozrah[#49:22 That is, Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian armies.]
and attack Edom without warning,
like an eagle diving from the sky.
The enemy will capture the cities and the fortresses.
And on that day Edom’s warriors will be as frightened
as a woman in her birth pains.”
23Yahweh says to Damascus:[#49:23 Damascus, the capital of Syria, was conquered in 732 BC by the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III. For other messages concerning Damascus and Syria, see Isa. 17:1–3; Amos 1:3–5; Zech. 9:1.]
“Your neighboring cities of Hamath and Arpad are humiliated,
for they have heard the bad news.
They are shaken with anxiety
like the troubled sea that cannot be calmed.
24The people of Damascus are in a panic.
They have lost their courage and have turned to run.
Anguish and travail have taken hold of them,
like a woman in labor.
25You were once famous, and I was pleased with you,
but now I warn you, ‘Escape while you can!’
26Nevertheless, I, Yahweh , Commander of Angel Armies, say to you:
On that day, the enemy will kill your young men in the streets,
and all your warriors will perish.
27I will light a fire inside the walls of Damascus,
to devour the palaces of Ben-Hadad.”
28Yahweh says to the tribe of Kedar and the areas controlled by Hazor, all conquered by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon:[#49:28 Hazor, although the name of a city, is used here in a collective sense for the Arab tribes of the eastern desert that lived in small, unwalled villages. The Hebrew text has “kingdoms of Hazor.” The word kingdoms is to be understood loosely as a people group under the leadership of a tribal chieftain. Hazor was the largest fortified city in the land of Israel at one time (see Josh. 11:10). It traded extensively with Babylon and Syria.]
“Rise up! Advance to Kedar,
destroy the Arab tribes of the east.
29Capture their tents, flocks,
tent curtains, camels, and all their gear.
Tell the people there is terror on every side!”
30Yahweh says to the people of Hazor:
“Run away and hide in caves as fast as you can,
for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has plans to attack you;
he has a scheme in mind to defeat you.
31“Rise up! March on an unsuspecting people
who feel safe and secure,” says Yahweh .
“They are complacent, living off by themselves
without walls or gates.
32Take all their camels and many sheep
as the spoils of war.
Those who live in the edges of the desert
I will scatter to the four winds.
And I, Yahweh , will bring disaster on them from every side.
33Hazor will become desolate, the haunt of jackals,
an empty, uninhabited desert.”
34-35In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, Yahweh , Commander of Angel Armies, gave me a word for the land of Elam.[#49:34–35 Some Jewish scholars identify Elam as an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of modern-day Iran. However, it was absorbed into (and became a province of) Persia during the Achaemenid Period (539–331 BC).]
“Behold, I will break the strength of Elam’s archers,
the boast of their might.
36I will bring storms of judgment from everywhere
to break out against them.
I will scatter them to the four winds.
And there will not be a single nation
that will not take you captive.
37Elamites! I will shatter your confidence before your enemies,
who are determined to kill you.
In my burning anger, I, Yahweh ,
will bring disaster on you
and pursue you with the sword
until I have eliminated you all.
38Then I, Yahweh , will destroy your kings and leaders
and establish my rule in Elam.
39Then later on, I will bring your captives back,”
says Yahweh .