Jeremiah 49
1 Unto the children of Ammon thus saith the Lord, Hath Israel no sonnes? or hath he none heire? Why then hath their king possessed God? and his people dwelt in his cities?
[This message is] about the Ammon people-group. This is what Yahweh says: “There are [RHQ] plenty of Israeli people left to occupy [the land of the tribe of] Gad. So, why are [RHQ] [the people who worship the god] Molech living in those towns?
2 Therefore beholde the dayes come, sayeth the Lord, that I will cause a noyse of warre to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites, and it shall be a desolate heape, and her daughters shall be burnt with fire: then shall Israel possesse those that possessed him, sayeth the Lord.
There will be a time when I will sound the battle-cry [for their enemies] to attack [their capital city], Rabbah. [Then] it will become a heap of ruins, and [all] the nearby towns will be burned. Then [the people of] Israel will again possess the land that the Ammon people-group took away from them.
3 Howle, O Heshbon, for Ai is wasted: crie ye daughters of Rabbah: girde you with sackecloth: mourne and runne to and from by the hedges: for their King shall goe into captiuitie; and his Priestes, and his princes likewise.
You people of Heshbon [city] [MTY], wail, because Ai [town nearby] will be destroyed. You people of Rabbah [city], weep; put on (rough clothing/sackcloth) [to show you are mourning]; run back and forth [in confusion] inside the city walls, because [your god] Milcom, along with its priests and officials, will be taken away (in exile/to other countries).
4 Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleis? thy valley floweth away, O rebellious daughter: she trusted in her treasures, saying, Who shall come vnto me?
You are [RHQ] very proud of your very fertile valleys, [but they will soon be ruined]. You rebellious people, you trusted in your wealth, and you said, ‘Certainly no [RHQ] army will be able to attack us!’
5 Beholde, I will bring a feare vpon thee, sayth the Lord God of hostes, of all those that be about thee, and ye shalbe scattered euery man right foorth, and none shall gather him that fleeth.
But listen to this: 'I, the Commander of the armies of angels, will cause you to become terrified. You will all be forced to flee [to other countries], and no one will be able to bring you together [again].'
6 And afterward I will bring againe the captiuitie of the children of Ammon.
But some day I will enable the Ammon people-group to return to their land. [That will surely happen, because I, ] Yahweh, have said it.”
7 To Edom thus sayeth the Lord of hostes: Is wisdome no more in Teman? is counsel perished from their children? is their wisdome vanished?
[This message is] about the Edom people-group. This is what the Commander of the armies of angels says: “It seems that [RHQ] there are no wise people in Teman [district in Edom]! There are no people left who can give others [good] advice. The people who were wise [PRS] have disappeared.
8 Flee, ye inhabitants of Dedan (they are turned backe, and haue consulted to dwell) for I haue brought the destruction of Esau vpon him, and the time of his visitation.
You people of Dedan [city in the south of Edom], turn and flee and hide in deep [caves], because when I cause the Edom people-group to experience disaster, I will punish you, too.
9 If the grape gatherers come to thee, would they not leaue some grapes? if theeues come by night, they will destroy till they haue ynough.
Those who harvest grapes always [RHQ] leave some on the vines. When thieves come at night, they surely [RHQ] steal only as much as they want.
10 For I haue discouered Esau: I haue vncouered his secrets, and he shall not be able to hide himselfe: his seede is wasted, and his brethren and his neighbours, and there shall be none to say,
But I will cause everything in Edom to be destroyed, and there will be nothing left, and there will be no place for people to hide. [Many of] [HYP] the children, their relatives and their neighbors, will die, and Edom will not exist any more.
11 Leaue thy fathers children, and I will preserue them aliue, and let thy widowes trust in me.
But I will protect the orphans, and the widows [also] will [be able to] depend on me [to help them].”
12 For thus sayth the Lord, Beholde, they whose iudgement was not to drinke of the cuppe, haue assuredly drunken, and art thou he that shall escape free? thou shalt not goe free, but thou shalt surely drinke of it.
And this is [also] what Yahweh says: “If those who do not deserve to suffer [MET] must suffer, you people of Edom must [RHQ] suffer much more [DOU]! You will not escape being punished.
13 For I haue sworne by my selfe, sayeth the Lord, that Bozrah shall be waste, and for a reproche, and a desolation, and a curse, and all the cities thereof shall be perpetuall desolations.
I, Yahweh, have solemnly promised, using my own name, that [your chief city] Bozrah will become a place that people will be horrified about. It will be a heap of ruins. People will make fun of it and use its name when they curse people. All the nearby towns and villages will be a ruins forever.”
14 I haue heard a rumour from the Lord, and an ambassadour is sent vnto the heathen, saying, Gather you together, and come against her, and rise vp to the battell.
I heard this message from Yahweh: “I have sent an ambassador to [many] nations, [to tell them to] gather together to attack Edom. They must prepare for battle!”
15 For loe, I will make thee but small among the heathen, and despised among men.
[And Yahweh says to the people of Edom, ] “I will cause your nation to become very unimportant among the [other] nations. They will all despise your country.
16 Thy feare, and ye pride of thine heart hath deceiued thee, thou that dwellest in the cleftes of the rocke, and keepest the height of ye hil: though thou shouldest make thy nest as hie as the eagle, I wil bring thee downe from thece, sayth the Lord.
You have caused [people of other nations] to be terrified, and you [MTY] have been very proud, but you have deceived yourselves. You live in caves in the rock cliffs; [you think that you are safe there because] you live high up there. But even if you make your homes as high up as the eagles’ nests, I will cause you to come [crashing] down.
17 Also Edom shall be desolate: euery one that goeth by it, shall be astonished, and shall hisse at all the plagues thereof,
Edom will become a place about which people are horrified; people who pass by will be horrified and will (gasp/be shocked) when they see the destruction.
18 As in the ouerthrowe of Sodom, and of Gomorah, and the places thereof neere about, saieth the Lord: no man shall dwell there, neither shall the sonnes of men remaine in it.
Edom will be destroyed as [completely as] Sodom and Gomorrah and the nearby towns were destroyed [long ago]. [As a result, ] no one will live there [any more] [DOU].
19 Beholde, hee shall come vp like a lyon from the swelling of Iorden vnto the strong dwelling place: for I will make Israel to rest, euen I will make him to haste away from her, and who is a chosen man that I may appoynt against her? for who is like mee? and who will appoint me the time? and who is the shepheard that will stande before me?
I will come to Edom [suddenly] like [SIM] a lion comes out of the jungle and [leaps on the sheep that are] eating in the good pastureland. I will quickly chase the people of Edom from their land. And [then] I will appoint for them a leader whom I will choose; [I can do that] because there is no one [RHQ] like me who can object to what I do. No ruler can oppose me.
20 Therefore heare the counsell of the Lord that hee hath deuised against Edom, and his purpose that hee hath conceiued against the inhabitants of Teman: surely the least of the flocke shall drawe them out: surely he shall make their habitations desolate with them.
Listen to what I have planned to do to the people of Teman [town] and [the rest of] Edom: Even the little children will be dragged away, and I will completely get rid of the people [MET] who live there.
21 The earth is mooued at the noyse of their fall: the crie of their voice is heard in the red Sea.
When Edom is destroyed, the noise [will be extremely great], with the result that the earth will shake, and the wailing of the people will be heard [as far away as] the Red Sea.
22 Behold, he shall come vp, and flie as the Egle, and spreade his wings ouer Bozrah, and at that day shall the heart of the strong men of Edome be as the heart of a woman in trauaile.
Look! The enemy troops will swoop/rush down over Bozrah like an eagle spreads its wings when it swoops down [to seize an animal]. On that day, [even the strongest] warriors of Edom will [be afraid] like [SIM] a woman who is about to give birth.”
23 Vnto Damascus he sayeth, Hamath is confounded and Arpad, for they haue heard euill tidings, and they are faint hearted as one on the fearefull sea that can not rest.
[This message is] about Damascus. [This is what Yahweh says]: “[The people in the nearby cities of] Hamath and Arpad are confused, because they have heard bad news [about Damascus]. They are very anxious and restless, like [SIM] a sea in a big storm.
24 Damascus is discouraged, and turneth her selfe to flight and feare hath seased her: anguish and sorowes haue taken her as a woman in trauaile.
The people of Damascus have become very weak, and [they all] have (panicked/fled [because] they are very afraid). The people are anguished and in pain like [SIM] a woman [experiences] who is about to give birth.
25 How is the glorious citie not reserued, the citie of my ioy?
That famous city, that I was [previously] pleased with, will be abandoned.
26 Therefore her yong men shall fall in her streetes, and all her men of warre shall be cut off in that day, sayeth the Lord of hostes.
Its young men will fall in the streets. Its soldiers will all be killed in one day.
27 And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, which shall cosume the palaces of Benhadad.
And I, the Commander of the armies of angels, will start a fire to burn the walls that surround Damascus, and the palaces of [King] Ben-Hadad will be burned down.”
28 Vnto Kedar, and to the kingdomes of Hazor, which Nebuchad-nezzar, king of Babel shall smite, thus sayeth the Lord, Arise, and goe vp vnto Kedar, and destroy the men of the East.
[This is a message] about the Kedar [people-group] and the kingdom of Hazor which [the army of] Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon attacked. This is what Yahweh says: “[I will cause an army to] advance to attack Kedar and destroy those people who live east [of Judah].
29 Their tents and their flocks shall they take away: yea, they shall take to themselues their curtaines and all their vessels, and their camels, and they shall crie vnto them, Feare is on euery side.
Their tents and their flocks [of sheep] will be captured. The curtains [in their tents] and their camels and their other possessions will be taken away. [Everywhere] men will shout, ‘We are terrified [because terrible things are happening] all around us!’
30 Flee, get you farre off (they haue consulted to dwell) O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith the Lord: for Nebuchad-nezzar King of Babel hath taken counsell against you, and hath deuised a purpose against you.
So [I, ] Yahweh, say, ‘Run away [quickly]! You people who live in Hazor, go and hide in deep [caves], because King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon wants to attack you [with his army]; he is planning to destroy you!’
31 Arise, and get you vp vnto the welthy nation that dwelleth without care, saith the Lord, which haue neither gates nor barres, but dwel alone.
But I say [to Nebuchadnezzar], ‘Go up and attack that nation whose people feel secure; they do not have allies [who will help them] and do not have [walls with] gates that have bars in them.
32 And their camels shall be a bootie, and the multitude of their cattel a spoile, and I will scatter them into all windes, and to the vtmost corners, and I will bring their destruction from al the sides thereof, sayeth the Lord.
Your troops will seize their camels and [other] livestock. I will scatter in every direction [IDM] those people who live in remote places (OR, who cut their hair short). I will cause them to experience disasters from every direction.
33 And Hazor shall be a dwelling for dragons, and desolation for euer: there shall no man dwell there, nor the sonnes of men remaine in it.
Hazor will become a place where jackals/wolves live, and it will be deserted forever. No one will live there again; no one will settle there [DOU].’”
34 The woordes of the Lord that came to Ieremiah the Prophet, concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reigne of Zedekiah King of Iudah, saying,
I received this message from Yahweh when King Zedekiah was starting to rule Judah.
35 Thus sayeth the Lord of hostes, Beholde, I will breake the bowe of Elam, euen the chiefe of their strength.
This is what the Commander of the armies of angels says: “The men of Elam are famous (archers/men who shoot arrows well); that is how they have made their country very powerful. But I will get rid of them [MET].
36 And vpon Elam I will bring the foure windes from the foure quarters of heauen, and will scatter them towardes all these windes, and there shall bee no nation, whither the fugitiues of Elam shall not come.
I will bring their enemies from all directions [IDM, DOU], and they will scatter the people of Elam in all directions. The people of Elam will be exiled to every nation on the earth [LIT, HYP].
37 For I will cause Elam to be afraied before their enemies, and before them that seeke their liues, and will bring vpon them a plague, euen the indignation of my wrath, saieth the Lord, and I wil sende the sworde after them till I haue consumed them.
Because I am very angry with the people of Elam, I will enable their enemies to smash Elam; I will cause the people of Elam to experience great disasters. I will enable their enemies, who want to kill them, to pursue them [and kill them] with swords until I completely get rid of all of them.
38 And I wil set my throne in Elam, and I wil destroy both the King and the princes from thence, saith the Lord:
I, Yahweh, will judge them there [MTY], and [then] I will get rid of their king and [his] officials.
39 but in the latter daies I wil bring againe the captiuitie of Elam, sayeth the Lord.
But some day, I will enable the people of Elam to return to their land. [That will surely happen because I, ] Yahweh, have said it.”
