Jeremias 49
1 Then came all the leaders of the host, and Joanan, and Azarias the son of Maasaeas, and all the people great and small,
[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 to Jeremias the prophet, and said to him, Let now our supplication come before your face, and pray you to the Lord your God for this remnant; for we are left few out of many, as your eyes see.
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 And let the Lord your God declare to us the way wherein we should walk, and the thing which we should do.
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 And Jeremias said to them, I have heard [you]; behold, I will pray for you to the Lord our God, according to your words; and it shall come to pass, [that] whatever word the Lord God shall answer, I will declare [it] to you; I will not hide anything from you.
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 And they said to Jeremias, Let the Lord be between us for a just and faithful witness, if we do not according to every word which the Lord shall send to us.
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 whether [it be] good, or whether [it be] evil, we will listen to the voice of the Lord our God, to whom we send you; that it may be well with us, because we shall listen to the voice of the Lord our God.
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 And it came to pass after ten days, [that] the word of the Lord came to Jeremias.
[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 And he called Joanan, and the leaders of the host, and all the people from the least even to the greatest,
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 and he said to them, Thus says the Lord;
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 If you will indeed dwell in this land, I will build you, and will not pull [you] down, but will plant you, and in no wise pluck you up: for I have ceased from the calamities which I brought upon you.
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 Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid; be not afraid of him, says the Lord: for I am with you, to deliver you, and save you out of their hand.
But I will protect the orphans, and the widows [also] will [be able to] depend on me [to help them].”
12 And I will grant you mercy, and pity you, and will restore you to your land.
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 But if you say, We will not dwell in this land, that we may not listen to the voice of the Lord;
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 for we will go into the land of Egypt, and we shall see no war, and shall not hear the sound of a trumpet, and we shall not hunger for bread; and there we will dwell:
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 then hear the word of the Lord; thus says the Lord;
[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 If you set your face toward Egypt, and go in there to dwell; then it shall be, [that] the sword which you fear shall find you in the land of Egypt, and the famine to which you have regard, shall overtake you, [coming] after you in Egypt; and there you shall die.
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 And all the men, and all the strangers who have set their face toward the land of Egypt to dwell there, shall be consumed by the sword, and by the famine: and there shall not one of them escape from the evils which I bring upon them.
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 For thus says the Lord; As my wrath has dropped upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so shall my wrath drop upon you, when you have entered into Egypt: and you shall be a desolation, and under the power of others, and a curse and a reproach: and you shall no more see this place.
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 [These are the words] which the Lord has spoken concerning you the remnant of Juda; Enter you not into Egypt: and now know you for a certainty,
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 that you have wrought wickedness in your hearts, when you sent me, saying, Pray you for us to the Lord; and according to all that the Lord shall speak to you we will do.
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 And you have not listened to the voice of the Lord, with which he sent me to you.
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 Now therefore you shall perish by sword and by famine, in the place which you desire to go into to dwell there.
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.”
[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.
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.
That famous city, that I was [previously] pleased with, will be abandoned.
Its young men will fall in the streets. Its soldiers will all be killed in one day.
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.”
[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].
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!’
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!’
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.
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.
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].’”
I received this message from Yahweh when King Zedekiah was starting to rule Judah.
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].
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].
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.
I, Yahweh, will judge them there [MTY], and [then] I will get rid of their king and [his] officials.
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.”
