Jeremiah 49
1 [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?
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?
2 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.
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.
3 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).
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.
4 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!’
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?
5 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].'
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;
6 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.”
But afterwards, will I bring back the captivity of the sons of Ammon, Declareth Yahweh.
7 [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.
Of Edom—Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts, Is there no longer wisdom in Teman? Hath counsel perished from the discerning? Is their wisdom corrupt?
8 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.
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.
9 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.
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?
10 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.
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.
11 But I will protect the orphans, and the widows [also] will [be able to] depend on me [to help them].”
Leave thy fatherless children I, will preserve them alive, —And thy widows, In me, let them trust.
12 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.
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.
13 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.”
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.
14 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!”
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.
15 [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.
For lo! Small, have I made thee among the nations, —Despised among men!
16 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.
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;
17 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.
So shall, Edom, become an astonishment, —Every one passing by her, will be astonished and hiss, over all her plagues:
18 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].
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.
19 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.
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?
20 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.
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.
21 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.
At the noise of their fall, hath trembled the earth, At the outcry, in the Red Sea, was heard its noise.
22 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.”
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.
23 [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.
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.
24 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.
Enfeebled is Damascus She hath turned to flee But terror, hath seized her, —Anguish and pangs, have seized her as a woman in childbirth.
25 That famous city, that I was [previously] pleased with, will be abandoned.
Alas! is she not forsaken—The city so praised! The citadel I rejoiced in!
26 Its young men will fall in the streets. Its soldiers will all be killed in one day.
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;
27 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.”
Then will I kindle a fire in the walls of Damascus, —And it shall devour the palaces of Ben-hadad.
28 [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].
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:
29 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!’
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!
30 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!’
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.
31 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.
Arise ye, go up against a nation at ease—dwelling securely, Commandeth Yahweh, —Having neither doors nor bars, Alone, do they dwell:
32 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.
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.
33 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].’”
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.
34 I received this message from Yahweh when King Zedekiah was starting to rule Judah.
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: —
35 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].
Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts, Behold me! breaking the bow of Elam, —The beginning of their might;
36 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].
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;
37 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.
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;
38 I, Yahweh, will judge them there [MTY], and [then] I will get rid of their king and [his] officials.
And I will set my throne in Elam, —And will destroy, from thence king and princes, Declareth Yahweh;
39 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.”
But it shall come to pass In the afterpart of the days, That I will bring back the captivity of Elam, Declareth Yahweh.
