Jeremiah 49
1 Of the sons of Ammon-Thus saith Yahweh: Hath Israel no, sons? Hath he no, heir? Why hath, Malkam, taken possession of Gad, Or have, his people, in the cities thereof, made their dwelling?
This is what the Lord says about the Ammonites: Don't the Israelites have any children? Don't they have heirs to inherit their property? So why has Milcom taken over the territory belonging to the tribe of Gad? Why are his people living in their towns?
2 Therefore, lo! days are coming, Declareth Yahweh When I will cause to be heard against Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, an alarm of war, So shall she become a mound of desolation, And, her villages, with fire, shall blaze, —Then shall Israel, inherit them who inherited him, Saith Yahweh.
Watch out! The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will signal the attack on the Ammonite town of Rabbah. It will be turned into a pile of ruins, and its villages will be burned down. Then the Israelites will drive out the people who took over their land, says the Lord.
3 Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled Make outcry, ye daughters of Rabbah, Gird you with sackcloth, Lament ye and run to and fro among the fences, —For, Malkam, into captivity, shall go, His priests and his princes, together.
Weep, people of Heshbon, for the town of Ai has been destroyed. Cry for help, people of Rabbah! Put on clothes made of sackcloth and start mourning; run to and fro inside your city walls, because your god Milcom will go into exile along with his priests and leaders.
4 Why shouldst thou glory in the vales, The flowing of thy vale O apostate daughter? She who is trusting in her treasures, [saying, ] Who shall invade, me?
Why do you boast that your valleys are so productive, you unfaithful people? You trust in your wealth, saying, “Who would dare attack us?”
5 Behold me! bringing upon thee, terror Declareth My Lord, Yahweh of hosts, From all who are round about thee, —And ye shall be driven out every man before it, And there shall be none to bring home the wanderer;
Watch out! I'm going to bring the surrounding nations to terrorize you, declares the Lord God Almighty. You will all be driven out and scattered, and no one will be able to gather you refugees together again.
6 But afterwards, will I bring back the captivity of the sons of Ammon, Declareth Yahweh.
However, later on I will bring you Ammonites back from exile, declares the Lord.
7 Of Edom—Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts, Is there no longer wisdom in Teman? Hath counsel perished from the discerning? Is their wisdom corrupt?
This is what the Lord Almighty says about Edom: Aren't there any wise people left in Teman? Isn't there any good advice from those with insight? Has their wisdom rotted away?
8 Flee ye turn go down deep to dwell, O inhabitant of Dedan, —For the doom of Esau, have I brought in upon him The time of his visitation.
Turn and run away! Find somewhere to hide, people of Dedan, because I'm bringing disaster down on you descendants of Esau when I punish you.
9 If, grape-gatherers, came to thee, Would they not leave, gleanings? If, thieves in the night, Would they not have taken away what sufficed them?
If people harvesting grapes came to you, they'd leave some behind, wouldn't they? If thieves came during the night, they'd only steal what they wanted, wouldn't they?
10 But, I, have stripped Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, And to conceal himself, shall he not be able! Spoiled, are his seed, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he is not.
But I'm going to strip the whole country of bare, leaving its people with nowhere to hide. All of Esau's descendants will be destroyed, along with their relatives and friends—they will all be gone.
11 Leave thy fatherless children I, will preserve them alive, —And thy widows, In me, let them trust.
However, you can leave your orphans to me because I will protect them. Have your widows put their trust in me.
12 For, thus saith Yahweh—Lo! they who had not been adjudged to drink the cup, shall surely drink, And art thou, the one to go unpunished? Thou shalt not go unpunished, but shalt surely drink.
This is what the Lord says: If those who were not required to drink from the cup of judgment had to do so, how could you not be punished yourselves? You won't go unpunished, because you have to drink it too.
13 For by myself, have I sworn, Declareth Yahweh, That, Bozrah shall become, an astonishment: a reproach and a desolation, and a contempt, —And all her cities shall become age-abiding desolations.
I made myself a solemn promise, declares the Lord, that the town of Bozrah will become a place that horrifies people, a complete humiliation, a pile of ruins, and a name that's used as a curse word. All its surrounding towns will also be left in ruins forever.
14 A report, have I heard from Yahweh, Yea, an envoy, throughout the nations, hath been sent, —Gather yourselves together and come against her, And arise to the battle.
I received this message from the Lord. He has sent a messenger to the nations: Get yourselves ready to attack Edom! Prepare for battle!
15 For lo! Small, have I made thee among the nations, —Despised among men!
Watch as I will make you insignificant compared to other nations—everyone will look down on you.
16 Thy monstrous thing, hath deceived thee, The insolence of thy heart, O thou that inhabitest the hidden recesses of the cliff, That holdest fast the height of the hill, —Though thou set high as an eagle, thy nest, From thence, will I bring thee down, Declareth Yahweh;
The fear you once created in others, and your pride in yourselves, has fooled you into overconfidence, you people living on the rocky mountain tops. Though you make your homes high out of reach like an eagle's nest, I will tear you down, even from there, declares the Lord.
17 So shall, Edom, become an astonishment, —Every one passing by her, will be astonished and hiss, over all her plagues:
People will be horrified at what's happened to Edom. Everyone passing by will be shocked, and will sneer at all its damage.
18 Like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and her neighbours, Saith Yahweh, —There shall not dwell there—a man, Nor sojourn therein—any son of the earth-born.
Just as Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, along with their neighboring towns, says the Lord, nobody will live there—they will become uninhabited.
19 Lo! like a lion, will he come up from the majesty of the Jordan, unto the pasture perennial, But I will wink—I will make him run away therefrom, Who then shall be the Chosen One whom over it, I may set in charge? For who shall be like unto, me? And who shall appoint me, a time? And who is the Shepherd that shall stand before, me?
Watch out! I'm going to come like a lion from the tangled undergrowth beside the Jordan to attack the animals grazing the green pasture. In fact I'm going to chase the Edomites from their land very quickly. Who will I choose to conquer them? Who is like me? Who can challenge me? Which leader could oppose me?
20 Wherefore, hear ye The counsel of Yahweh which he hath counseled against Edom, And his devices which he hath devised against the inhabitants of Teman, —Surely the little ones of the flock shall drag them away, Surely he will cause their fold to be astounded over them.
So listen to what the Lord has planned to do to Edom and the people of Teman: Their children will be dragged away like lambs from the flock, and because of them their pasture will become a wasteland.
21 At the noise of their fall, hath trembled the earth, At the outcry, in the Red Sea, was heard its noise.
When they fall, the sound they make will make the earth shake; their cries will be heard all the way to the Red Sea.
22 Lo! as an eagle, he shall mount and dart, and spread his wings over Bozrah, —So shall the heart of the heroes of Edom, in that day, become as the heart of a woman in her pain.
Watch as an enemy like an eagle flies high, then swoops down, spreading its wings as it attacks Bozrah. At that time Edom's warriors will be as scared as a woman in labor.
23 Of Damascus. Turned pale have Hamath and Arpad, For, a calamitous report, have they heard—they tremble, —In the sea, is anxiety, it cannot, rest.
A prophecy about Damascus: The towns of Hamath and Arpad are disturbed, because they've received bad news. They are fearful, restless like the sea. Nothing can calm their worries.
24 Enfeebled is Damascus She hath turned to flee But terror, hath seized her, —Anguish and pangs, have seized her as a woman in childbirth.
The people of Damascus are demoralized—they turn and run away in panic, overcome by pain and anguish like a woman in labor.
25 Alas! is she not forsaken—The city so praised! The citadel I rejoiced in!
Why isn't the city that is praised deserted, the city that made me happy?
26 Therefore shall her young men fall in her broadways, —And, all her men of war, shall be silent in that day, Declareth Yahweh of hosts;
For on that day its young men will die in its streets, all its defenders will be killed, declares the Lord of Hosts.
27 Then will I kindle a fire in the walls of Damascus, —And it shall devour the palaces of Ben-hadad.
I'm going to set fire to the walls of Damascus; that will burn down the fortresses of Ben-hadad.
28 Of Kedar. And of the kingdoms of Hazor Which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote—Thus, saith Yahweh, —Arise ye go up against Kedar, So shall they spoil the sons of the East:
A prophecy about the land of Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor that were attacked by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. This is what the Lord says: Go and attack Kedar; destroy the people of the east!
29 Their tents and their flocks, shall they take, And their curtains and all their baggage and their camels, shall they carry off for themselves, —And shall cry out unto them, Terror round about!
Take their tents and their flocks! Carry off their tent curtains and all their possessions! Take their camels for yourselves. Shout out to them: “Terror is everywhere!”
30 Flee remove far away, go deep to dwell, Ye inhabitants of Hazor, Urgeth Yahweh; For Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon—hath counseled against you, a counsel, And devised against you a device.
Run! Get away as far as you can! Find somewhere to hide, people of Hazor, declares the Lord. For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has made plans to attack and destroy you.
31 Arise ye, go up against a nation at ease—dwelling securely, Commandeth Yahweh, —Having neither doors nor bars, Alone, do they dwell:
Go and attack that self-satisfied nation that thinks it's safe, declares the Lord. They don't have any barred gates and have no allies.
32 So shall their camels, become, a prey, And the throng of their cattle, a spoil, Then will I scatter them to every wind even the clipt-beards, —And from all sides of him, will I bring in their doom Declareth Yahweh.
Their camels and large herds will be plunder for you. I will scatter them everywhere, these desert people who trim their hair on the sides of their heads. I will bring disaster down on them from all directions, declares the Lord.
33 So shall Hazor become A habitation of jackals An astonishment unto times age-abiding: There shall not dwell there—a man, Nor sojourn therein—a son of the earth-born.
Hazor will become a place where jackals live, a place abandoned forever. No one will live there; it will become uninhabited.
34 So much of the word of Yahweh as came unto Jeremiah the prophet, Against Elam, —in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah saying: —
This is the Lord's message that came to Jeremiah the prophet about Elam. This was at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah.
35 Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts, Behold me! breaking the bow of Elam, —The beginning of their might;
This is what the Lord Almighty says: Look! I'm going to smash the bows of the Elamites, the weapon they rely on for their power.
36 Then will I bring in against Elam four winds from the four quarters of the heavens, And will scatter them to all these winds, —And there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam, shall not come;
I will bring winds from all directions to attack Elam, and I will scatter them in all directions. There won't be a nation that doesn't have some of Elam's exiles.
37 And I will cause Elam to be dismayed Before their enemies Even before them who are seeking their life, So will I bring upon them calamity, Even the glow of mine anger Declareth Yahweh, —And will send after them the sword, until I have made an end of them;
I will smash the Elamites in front of their enemies, before those who want to kill them. In my furious anger I will bring disaster down on them, declares the Lord. I will chase them down with the sword until I have destroyed them.
38 And I will set my throne in Elam, —And will destroy, from thence king and princes, Declareth Yahweh;
I will set up my throne in Elam, and destroy its king and officials, declares the Lord.
39 But it shall come to pass In the afterpart of the days, That I will bring back the captivity of Elam, Declareth Yahweh.
However, later on I will bring the Elamites back from exile, declares the Lord.
