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?
About the people of Ammon, Yahweh says this, “Does Israel have no children? Is there no one to inherit anything in Israel? Why does Molech occupy Gad, and his people live in its cities?
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.
So look, the days are coming—this is Yahweh's declaration—when I will sound the signal for battle against Rabbah among the people of Ammon, so it will become a deserted heap and its villages will be set on fire. For Israel will possess those who possessed him,” says 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 in lament, Heshbon, for Ai will be devastated! Shout out, daughters of Rabbah! Put on sackcloth. Lament and run about in futility, for Molech is going into captivity, together with his priests and leaders.
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 do you brag about your valleys, your valleys that are so fruitful, faithless daughter? you who trust in your wealth and say, 'Who will come against 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].'
See, I am about to bring terror on you—this is the declaration of Lord Yahweh of hosts— this terror will come from all those who surround you. Each one of you will be scattered before it. There will be no one to gather those running away.
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 after this I will restore the fortunes of the people of Ammon—this is Yahweh's declaration.”
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.
About Edom, Yahweh of hosts says this, “Is there no longer any wisdom to be found in Teman? Has good advice disappeared from those who have understanding? Has their wisdom become corrupted?
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! Turn back! Stay in holes in the ground, inhabitants of Dedan. For I am bringing the disaster of Esau on him at the time that I punish him.
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 harvesters came to you, would they not leave a little bit behind? If thieves came in the night, would they not steal only as much as they wanted?
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 revealed his hiding places. So he will not be able to hide himself. His children, his brothers, and his neighbors are destroyed, and he is gone.
11 But I will protect the orphans, and the widows [also] will [be able to] depend on me [to help them].”
Leave your orphans behind. I will take care of their lives, and your widows can trust in me.”
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 Yahweh says this, “See, those who did not deserve it must certainly drink some of the cup. Do you yourself think you will go without punishment? You will not, for you will certainly 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 I have sworn by myself—this is Yahweh's declaration—that Bozrah will become a horror, a disgrace, a devastation, and an object for cursing. All of its cities will become devastations forever.
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!”
I have heard news from Yahweh, and a messenger has been sent out to the nations, 'Gather together and attack her. Get ready for 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 see, I have made you small compared to the other nations, despised by people.
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.
As for your fearsomeness, your heart's pride has deceived you, inhabitants of places on the cliff, you who have occupied the highest hills so that you may make your nest high like an eagle. I will bring you down from there—this is Yahweh's declaration.
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.
Edom will become a horror to everyone passing by it. Every such person will tremble and hiss because all of its disasters.
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 their neighbors,” says Yahweh, “no one will live there; no person will stay there.
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.
See, he will go up like a lion from the forests of the Jordan to the green pasturelands. For I will quickly make Edom run from it, and I will put someone who will be chosen in charge of it. For who is like me, and who will summon me? What shepherd is able to resist 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.
“So listen to the plans that Yahweh has decided against Edom, the plans that he has formed against the inhabitants of Teman. They will certainly be dragged away, even the smallest flock. Their pasturelands will be turned into ruined places.
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 sound of their falling the earth shakes. The sound of distressed shouts is heard at the Sea of Reeds.
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.”
See, someone will attack like an eagle, and swoop down and spread his wings over Bozrah. Then on that day, the hearts of Edom's soldiers will become like the heart of a woman in birth labor.”
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.
About Damascus: “Hamath and Arpad will be ashamed, for they have heard news of disaster. They melt away! They become as troubled as the sea, which cannot stay calm.
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.
Damascus has become very weak. It turns away to flee; terror seizes it. Distress and pain seize it, like the pain of a woman giving birth.
25 That famous city, that I was [previously] pleased with, will be abandoned.
How has the city of praise not been forsaken, the town of my joy?
26 Its young men will fall in the streets. Its soldiers will all be killed in one day.
Therefore its young men will fall in its plazas, and all the fighting men will perish on that day—this is the declaration of 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.”
“For I will light a fire on the wall of Damascus, and it will devour the strongholds 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].
About Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, Yahweh says this to Nebuchadnezzar (now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon was going to attack these places): “Arise and attack Kedar and destroy those people 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 will be taken, along with their tent curtains and all of their equipment; their camels will be led away from them, and men will shout to them, “Terror is on every side!”
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! Wander far away! Stay in holes in the ground, inhabitants of Hazor—this is Yahweh's declaration— for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devised a plan against you. Flee! Turn back!
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! Attack the nation at ease, that lives in safety,” says Yahweh. “They have no gates or bars in them, and its people live by themselves.
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.
For their camels will become plunder, and the abundance of their property will become war plunder. Then I will scatter to every wind those who cut the corners of their hair, and I will bring disaster on them from every side—this is Yahweh's declaration.
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].’”
Hazor will become a lair of jackals, a permanent wasteland. No one will live there; no human being will stay there.”
34 I received this message from Yahweh when King Zedekiah was starting to rule Judah.
This is the word of Yahweh that came to Jeremiah the prophet about Elam. This happened at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, and he said,
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].
“Yahweh of hosts says this: See, I am about to break the bowmen of Elam, the main part of their power.
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].
For I will bring the four winds from the four corners of the heavens, and I will scatter the people of Elam to all of those winds. There is no nation to which those scattered from Elam will not go.
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.
So I will shatter Elam before their enemies and before those who seek their lives. for I will bring disaster against them, the fury of my wrath—this is Yahweh's declaration— and I will send the sword after them until I have annihilated them.
38 I, Yahweh, will judge them there [MTY], and [then] I will get rid of their king and [his] officials.
Then I will put my throne in Elam and will destroy its king and leaders from there—this is Yahweh's declaration—
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.”
and it will happen in later days that I will bring back the fortunes of Elam—this is Yahweh's declaration.”
