Jeremiah 49

Concerning the Children of Ammon

1Concerning the children of Ammon.

Thus says the LORD:

“Does Israel have no sons?
Does he have no heir?
Why then has Milcom possessed Gad,
and his people lived in its cities? 2Therefore look, days are coming,”
says the LORD,
“when I will make the sound of the battle cry
heard against Rabbah of the children of Ammon.
It will become a desolate mound,
and its daughter towns will be burned with fire.
Then Israel will possess
those who possessed him,”
says the LORD. 3“Wail, Heshbon, for Ai is devastated!
Cry out, daughters of Rabbah!
Put on sackcloth; lament,
and run back and forth among the walls,
for Milcom will go into exile,
his priests and his officials together. 4Why do you boast in the valleys,
your flowing valley,
backsliding daughter,
who trusts in her treasures, saying,
‘Who will come against me?’ 5Look, I am bringing terror upon you,”
says the Lord GOD of Hosts,
“from all those around you.
You will be driven out, each straight ahead,
and no one will gather the fugitives. 6But afterward I will restore
the fortunes of the children of Ammon,”
says the LORD.

Concerning Edom

7Concerning Edom.

Thus says the LORD of Hosts:

“Is there no longer wisdom in Teman?
Has counsel perished from the discerning?
Has their wisdom decayed? 8Flee! Turn back!
Dwell deep, inhabitants of Dedan,
for I will bring the disaster of Esau upon him
at the time I attend to him. 9If grape gatherers came to you,
would they not leave gleanings?
If thieves came by night,
would they not destroy only enough for themselves? 10But I have stripped Esau bare;
I have uncovered his hiding places,
and he cannot conceal himself.
His offspring are destroyed,
and his brothers and his neighbors,
and he is no more. 11Leave your orphans;
I will preserve them alive,
and let your widows trust in me.”

Edom Will Become a Horror

12For thus says the LORD: “Look, those whose judgment was not to drink the cup must surely drink. And you—will you go entirely unpunished? You will not go unpunished, but you shall surely drink. 13For I have sworn by myself,” says the LORD, “that Bozrah will become a horror, a reproach, a ruin, and a curse, and all its cities will become everlasting ruins.” 14I have heard a report from the LORD,
and a messenger has been sent among the nations:

“Gather yourselves and come against her!
Rise for battle!” 15For look, I have made you small among the nations,
despised among humanity. 16The terror you inspire
and the pride of your heart have deceived you,
you who live in the clefts of the rock,
who hold the height of the hill.
Though you make your nest as high as the eagle,
from there I will bring you down,”
says the LORD. 17“Edom will become a horror. Everyone who passes by it will be horrified and hiss because of all its wounds. 18As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors,” says the LORD, “no one will live there, and no human being will stay in it.

The Counsel of the LORD against Edom

19“Look, like a lion coming up
from the pride of the Jordan
against an enduring pasture,
so suddenly I will make him run away from her.
And whoever is chosen
I will appoint over her.
For who is like me?
Who will summon me?
And what shepherd can stand before me? 20Therefore hear the counsel of the LORD
that he has counseled against Edom,
and his purposes
that he has purposed against the inhabitants of Teman:
Surely they will drag away the little ones of the flock;
surely he will make their pasture desolate over them. 21At the sound of their fall
the earth trembles;
their cry—
its sound is heard at the Sea of Reeds. 22Look, one will rise and fly like an eagle
and spread his wings over Bozrah.
The heart of Edom’s warriors on that day
will be like the heart of a woman in labor.”

Concerning Damascus

23Concerning Damascus.

“Hamath and Arpad are put to shame,
for they have heard bad news.
They melt in fear;
there is anxiety like the sea
that cannot be quiet. 24Damascus has become weak;
she turns to flee,
and panic has seized her.
Distress and pains have taken hold of her
like a woman giving birth. 25How has the city of praise
not been abandoned,
the city of my joy? 26Therefore her young men will fall
in her public squares,
and all the men of war
will be silenced on that day,”
says the LORD of Hosts. 27“I will kindle a fire
in the wall of Damascus,
and it will consume
the palaces of Ben-Hadad.”

Concerning Kedar and Hazor

28Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck.

Thus says the LORD:

“Rise, go up against Kedar;
destroy the children of the east! 29Their tents and their flocks they will take;
their curtains and all their vessels
and their camels they will carry away.
They will cry to them,
‘Terror is all around!’ 30Flee! Wander far away!
Dwell deep, inhabitants of Hazor,”
says the LORD,
“for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
has counseled counsel against you
and purposed a purpose against you. 31Rise, go up against a nation at ease,
living securely,”
says the LORD,
“which has neither gates nor bars
and dwells alone. 32Their camels will become plunder,
and the multitude of their livestock spoil.
I will scatter to every wind
those who clip the corners of their hair,
and from every side
I will bring their disaster,”
says the LORD. 33“Hazor will become a dwelling for jackals,
a desolation forever.
No one will live there,
and no human being will stay in it.”

Concerning Elam

34The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying: 35Thus says the LORD of Hosts:

“Look, I am breaking the bow of Elam,
the chief of their might. 36I will bring upon Elam four winds
from the four ends of the heavens,
and I will scatter them
to all these winds.
There will be no nation
to which the outcasts of Elam will not come. 37I will make Elam terrified
before their enemies
and before those who seek their lives.
I will bring disaster upon them,
my fierce anger,”
says the LORD.
“I will send the sword after them
until I have consumed them. 38I will set my throne in Elam
and destroy from there
king and officials,”
says the LORD. 39“But it will be in the latter days
that I will restore
the fortunes of Elam,”
says the LORD.