Jeremiah 49

1 Of the children of Ammon. The LORD says: “Has Israel no sons? Has he no heir? Why then does Malcam possess Gad, and his people dwell in its cities?

Concerning the sons of Ammon: “Thus said YHWH: Has Israel no sons? Has he no heir? Why has Malcam possessed Gad, And his people have dwelt in its cities?

2 Therefore behold, the days come,” says the LORD, “that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and it will become a desolate heap, and her daughters will be burned with fire; then Israel will possess those who possessed him,” says the LORD.

Therefore, behold, days are coming, A declaration of YHWH, And I have sounded a shout of battle in Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, And it has been for a heap—a desolation, And her daughters are burned with fire, And Israel has succeeded its heirs, said YHWH.

3 “Wail, Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste! Cry, you daughters of Rabbah! Clothe yourself in sackcloth. Lament, and run back and forth among the fences; for Malcam will go into captivity, his priests and his princes together.

Howl, Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled, Cry, daughters of Rabbah, gird on sackcloth, Lament, and go to and fro by the hedges, For Malcam goes into captivity, His priests and his princes together.

4 Why do you boast in the valleys, your flowing valley, backsliding daughter? You trusted in her treasures, saying, ‘Who will come to me?’

Why do you boast yourself in valleys? Your valley is flowing, O backsliding daughter, Who is trusting in her treasures: Who comes to me?

5 Behold, I will bring a terror on you,” says the Lord, GOD of Armies, “from all who are around you. All of you will be driven completely out, and there will be no one to gather together the fugitives.

Behold, I am bringing fear in on you, A declaration of Lord YHWH of Hosts, From all around you, And you have each been driven out before it, And there is no gatherer of the wandering.

6 “But afterward I will reverse the captivity of the children of Ammon,” says the LORD.

And after this I return the captivity of the sons of Ammon, A declaration of YHWH.”

7 Of Edom, the LORD of Armies says: “Is wisdom no more in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom vanished?

Concerning Edom: “Thus said YHWH of Hosts: Is wisdom no longer in Teman? Has counsel perished from the intelligent? Has their wisdom vanished?

8 Flee! Turn back! Dwell in the depths, inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau on him when I visit him.

Flee, turn, go deep to dwell, you inhabitants of Dedan, For I brought the calamity of Esau on him, The time I inspected him.

9 If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? If thieves came by night, wouldn’t they steal until they had enough?

If gatherers have come to you, They do not leave gleanings, If thieves in the night, They have destroyed their sufficiency!

10 But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he will not be able to hide himself. His offspring is destroyed, with his brothers and his neighbors; and he is no more.

For I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, And he is not able to be hidden, Spoiled [is] his seed, and his brothers, And his neighbors, and he is not.

11 Leave your fatherless children. I will preserve them alive. Let your widows trust in me.”

Leave your orphans—I keep alive, And your widows—trust on Me,

12 For the LORD says: “Behold, they to whom it didn’t pertain to drink of the cup will certainly drink; and are you he who will altogether go unpunished? You won’t go unpunished, but you will surely drink.

For thus said YHWH: They whose judgment is not to drink of the cup, Do certainly drink, And you [are] he that is entirely acquitted! You are not acquitted, for you certainly drink.

13 For I have sworn by myself,” says the LORD, “that Bozrah will become an astonishment, a reproach, a waste, and a curse. All its cities will be perpetual wastes.”

For I have sworn by Myself, A declaration of YHWH, That for a desolation, for a reproach, For a dry place, and for a reviling—is Bozrah, And all her cities are for continuous ruins.

14 I have heard news from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the nations, saying, “Gather yourselves together! Come against her! Rise up to the battle!”

I have heard a report from YHWH, And an ambassador is sent among nations, Gather yourselves and come in against her, And rise for battle.

15 “For, behold, I have made you small among the nations, and despised among men.

For behold, I have made you little among nations, Despised among men.

16 As for your terror, the pride of your heart has deceived you, O you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, who hold the height of the hill, though you should make your nest as high as the eagle, I will bring you down from there,” says the LORD.

Your terribleness has lifted you up, The pride of your heart, O dweller in clefts of the rock, Holding the high place of the height, For you make your nest high as an eagle, From there I bring you down, A declaration of YHWH.

17 “Edom will become an astonishment. Everyone who passes by it will be astonished, and will hiss at all its plagues.

And Edom has been for a desolation, Everyone passing by her is astonished, And hisses because of all her plagues.

18 As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and its neighbor cities,” says the LORD, “no man will dwell there, neither will any son of man live therein.

As the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, And its neighbors, said YHWH, No one dwells there, Nor does a son of man sojourn in her.

19 “Behold, he will come up like a lion from the pride of the Jordan against the strong habitation; for I will suddenly make them run away from it, and whoever is chosen, I will appoint him over it. For who is like me? Who will appoint me a time? Who is the shepherd who will stand before me?”

Behold, he comes up as a lion, Because of the rising of the Jordan, To the enduring habitation, But I cause to rest, I cause him to run from off her, And who is chosen? I lay a charge concerning her, For who is like Me? And who convenes Me? And who [is] this shepherd who stands before Me?

20 Therefore hear the counsel of the LORD, that he has taken against Edom, and his purposes that he has purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely they will drag them away, the little ones of the flock. Surely he will make their habitation desolate over them.

Therefore, hear the counsel of YHWH, That He has counseled concerning Edom, And His plans that He has devised Concerning the inhabitants of Teman: Do little ones of the flock not drag them out, Does He not make their habitation desolate?

21 The earth trembles at the noise of their fall; there is a cry, the noise which is heard in the Red Sea.

The earth has shaken from the noise of their fall, The cry—its voice is heard at the Sea of Suph.

22 Behold, he will come up and fly as the eagle, and spread out his wings against Bozrah. The heart of the mighty men of Edom at that day will be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.

Behold, He comes up as an eagle, and flies, And He spreads His wings over Bozrah, And the heart of the mighty of Edom has been in that day, As the heart of a travailing woman.”

23 Of Damascus: “Hamath and Arpad are confounded, for they have heard evil news. They have melted away. There is sorrow on the sea. It can’t be quiet.

Concerning Damascus: “Hamath and Arpad have been ashamed, For they have heard an evil report, They have been melted, sorrow [is] in the sea, It is not able to be quiet.

24 Damascus has grown feeble, she turns herself to flee, and trembling has seized her. Anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her, as of a woman in travail.

Damascus has been feeble, She turned to flee, and fear strengthened her, Distress and pangs have seized her, as a travailing woman.

25 How is the city of praise not forsaken, the city of my joy?

How it is not left—the city of praise, The city of My joy!

26 Therefore her young men will fall in her streets, and all the men of war will be brought to silence in that day,” says the LORD of Armies.

Therefore her young men fall in her broad places, And all the men of war are cut off in that day, A declaration of YHWH of Hosts.

27 “I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it will devour the palaces of Ben Hadad.”

And I have kindled a fire against the wall of Damascus, And it consumed palaces of Ben-Hadad!”

28 Of Kedar, and of the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck, The LORD says: “Arise, go up to Kedar, and destroy the children of the east.

Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has struck: “Thus said YHWH: Arise, go up to Kedar, And spoil the sons of the east.

29 They will take their tents and their flocks. they will carry away for themselves their curtains, all their vessels, and their camels; and they will cry to them, ‘Terror on every side!’

They take their tents and their flock, Their curtains, and all their vessels, And they carry away their camels for themselves, And they called concerning them, Fear [is] all around.

30 Flee! Wander far off! Dwell in the depths, you inhabitants of Hazor,” says the LORD; “for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has taken counsel against you, and has conceived a purpose against you.

Flee, bemoan mightily, go deep to dwell, You inhabitants of Hazor—a declaration of YHWH, For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has given counsel against you, Indeed, he devises a scheme against them.

31 Arise! Go up to a nation that is at ease, that dwells without care,” says the LORD; “that has neither gates nor bars, that dwells alone.

Rise, go up to a nation at rest, Dwelling confidently, a declaration of YHWH, It has no double gates nor bar, They dwell alone.

32 Their camels will be a booty, and the multitude of their livestock a plunder. I will scatter to all winds those who have the corners of their beards cut off; and I will bring their calamity from every side of them,” says the LORD.

And their camels have been for a prey, And the multitude of their livestock for a spoil, And I have scattered them to every wind, Who cut off the corner [of the beard], And from all its passages I bring in their calamity, A declaration of YHWH.

33 Hazor will be a dwelling place of jackals, a desolation forever. No man will dwell there, neither will any son of man live therein.”

And Hazor has been for a habitation of dragons, A desolation for all time, No one dwells there, nor does a son of man sojourn in it!”

34 The LORD’s word that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,

That which has been the word of YHWH to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,

35 “The LORD of Armies says: ‘Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might.

“Thus said YHWH of Hosts: Behold, I am breaking the bow of Elam, The beginning of their might.

36 I will bring on Elam the four winds from the four quarters of the sky, and will scatter them toward all those winds. There will be no nation where the outcasts of Elam will not come.

And I have brought four winds to Elam, From the four ends of the heavens, And have scattered them to all these winds, And there is no nation to where outcasts of Elam do not come in.

37 I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before those who seek their life. I will bring evil on them, even my fierce anger,’ says the LORD; ‘and I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them.

And I have frightened Elam before their enemies, And before those seeking their life, And I have brought calamity on them, The heat of My anger, A declaration of YHWH, And I have sent the sword after them, Until I have consumed them;

38 I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from there king and princes,’ says the LORD.

And I have set My throne in Elam, And I have destroyed king and princes from there, A declaration of YHWH.

39 ‘But it will happen in the latter days that I will reverse the captivity of Elam,’ says the LORD.”

And it has come to pass, in the latter end of the days, I return the captivity of Elam, A declaration of YHWH!”