Jeremiah 49:1-39
A Message About Different Cities
1 Concerning the Ammonites:
This is what the Lord says:
“Has Israel no sons?
Has Israel no heir?
Why then has Molek taken possession of Gad?
Why do his people live in its towns?
2 But the days are coming,”
declares the Lord,
“when I will sound the battle cry
against Rabbah of the Ammonites;
it will become a mound of ruins,
and its surrounding villages will be set on fire.
Then Israel will drive out
those who drove her out,”
says the Lord.
3 “Wail, Heshbon, for Ai is destroyed!
Cry out, you inhabitants of Rabbah!
Put on sackcloth and mourn;
rush here and there inside the walls,
for Molek will go into exile,
together with his priests and officials.
4 Why do you boast of your valleys,
boast of your valleys so fruitful?
Unfaithful Daughter Ammon,
you trust in your riches and say,
‘Who will attack me?’
5 I will bring terror on you
from all those around you,”
declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.
“Every one of you will be driven away,
and no one will gather the fugitives.
6 “Yet afterward, I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites,”
declares the Lord.
7 Concerning Edom:
This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“Is there no longer wisdom in Teman?
Has counsel perished from the prudent?
Has their wisdom decayed?
8 Turn and flee, hide in deep caves,
you who live in Dedan,
for I will bring disaster on Esau
at the time when I punish him.
9 If grape pickers came to you,
would they not leave a few grapes?
If thieves came during the night,
would they not steal only as much as they wanted?
10 But I will strip Esau bare;
I will uncover his hiding places,
so that he cannot conceal himself.
His armed men are destroyed,
also his allies and neighbors,
so there is no one to say,
11 ‘Leave your fatherless children; I will keep them alive.
Your widows too can depend on me.’”
12 This is what the Lord says: “If those who do not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, why should you go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, but must drink it. 13 I swear by myself,” declares the Lord, “that Bozrah will become a ruin and a curse, an object of horror and reproach; and all its towns will be in ruins forever.”
14 I have heard a message from the Lord;
an envoy was sent to the nations to say,
“Assemble yourselves to attack it!
Rise up for battle!”
15 “Now I will make you small among the nations,
despised by mankind.
16 The terror you inspire
and the pride of your heart have deceived you,
you who live in the clefts of the rocks,
who occupy the heights of the hill.
Though you build your nest as high as the eagle’s,
from there I will bring you down,”
declares the Lord.
17 “Edom will become an object of horror;
all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff
because of all its wounds.
18 As Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown,
along with their neighboring towns,”
says the Lord,
“so no one will live there;
no people will dwell in it.
19 “Like a lion coming up from Jordan’s thickets
to a rich pastureland,
I will chase Edom from its land in an instant.
Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this?
Who is like me and who can challenge me?
And what shepherd can stand against me?”
20 Therefore, hear what the Lord has planned against Edom,
what he has purposed against those who live in Teman:
The young of the flock will be dragged away;
their pasture will be appalled at their fate.
21 At the sound of their fall the earth will tremble;
their cry will resound to the Red Sea.
22 Look! An eagle will soar and swoop down,
spreading its wings over Bozrah.
In that day the hearts of Edom’s warriors
will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
23 Concerning Damascus:
“Hamath and Arpad are dismayed,
for they have heard bad news.
They are disheartened,
troubled like the restless sea.
24 Damascus has become feeble,
she has turned to flee
and panic has gripped her;
anguish and pain have seized her,
pain like that of a woman in labor.
25 Why has the city of renown not been abandoned,
the town in which I delight?
26 Surely, her young men will fall in the streets;
all her soldiers will be silenced in that day,”
declares the Lord Almighty.
27 “I will set fire to the walls of Damascus;
it will consume the fortresses of Ben-Hadad.”
28 Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked:
This is what the Lord says:
“Arise, and attack Kedar
and destroy the people of the East.
29 Their tents and their flocks will be taken;
their shelters will be carried off
with all their goods and camels.
People will shout to them,
‘Terror on every side!’
30 “Flee quickly away!
Stay in deep caves, you who live in Hazor,”
declares the Lord.
“Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has plotted against you;
he has devised a plan against you.
31 “Arise and attack a nation at ease,
which lives in confidence,”
declares the Lord,
“a nation that has neither gates nor bars;
its people live far from danger.
32 Their camels will become plunder,
and their large herds will be spoils of war.
I will scatter to the winds those who are in distant places
and will bring disaster on them from every side,”
declares the Lord.
33 “Hazor will become a haunt of jackals,
a desolate place forever.
No one will live there;
no people will dwell in it.”
34 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, early in the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah:
35 This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“See, I will break the bow of Elam,
the mainstay of their might.
36 I will bring against Elam the four winds
from the four quarters of heaven;
I will scatter them to the four winds,
and there will not be a nation
where Elam’s exiles do not go.
37 I will shatter Elam before their foes,
before those who want to kill them;
I will bring disaster on them,
even my fierce anger,”
declares the Lord.
“I will pursue them with the sword
until I have made an end of them.
38 I will set my throne in Elam
and destroy her king and officials,”
declares the Lord.
39 “Yet I will restore the fortunes of Elam
in days to come,”
declares the Lord.
The LORD gives messages to Jeremiah about the cities of Ammon, Edom, Damascus, Kedar, Hazor, and Elam...They are messages of anger, disaster, scattering of their people, trouble, and panic...
This message is about the Ammonites...This is what the LORD says: “Ammonites, do you think that the people of Israel don’t have children?...Do you think there are no children to take the land when the parents die?...Maybe that is why Molek took Gad’s land?”...The LORD says, “The time will come in Rabbah of Ammon when people hear the sounds of battle...Rabbah of Ammon will be destroyed...It will be an empty hill covered with ruined buildings, and the towns around it will be burned...Those people forced the people of Israel to leave their own land...But later, Israel will force them to leave.”...This is what the LORD said...“People in Heshbon, cry because the town of Ai is destroyed!...Women in Rabbah of Ammon, cry!...Put on sackcloth and cry...Run to the city for safety, because the enemy will take away the god Molek with his priests and officials...You brag about your strength, but you are losing your strength...You trust in your wealth to save you... You think no one would even think of attacking you.”...But this is what the LORD God All-Powerful says: “I will bring troubles to you from every side...You will all run away, and no one will be able to bring you together again.”...“The Ammonites will be taken away as captives...But the time will come when I will bring the Ammonites back.”...This message is from the LORD...
This message is about Edom...This is what the LORD All-Powerful says: “Is there no more wisdom in Teman?...Are the wise men of Edom not able to give good advice?...Have they lost their wisdom?...You people living in Dedan, run away and hide, because I will punish Esau for the bad things he did...“Workers pick grapes from grapevines, but they leave a few grapes on the plants...If thieves come at night, they don’t take everything...But I will take everything from Esau...I will find all his hiding places...He will not be able to hide from Me...His children, relatives, and neighbors will all die...No one will be left to care for his children...His wives will have no one to depend on.”...This is what the LORD says: “Some people don’t deserve to be punished, but they suffer...But, Edom, you deserve to be punished, so you will really be punished...You will not escape the punishment you deserve...You will be punished.”...The LORD says, “By My own power, I make this promise: I promise that the city of Bozrah will be destroyed...It will become a ruined pile of rocks...People will use it as an example when they ask for bad things to happen to other cities...People will insult that city, and all the towns around Bozrah will become ruins forever.”...I heard a message from the LORD: He sent this messenger to the nations...This is the message: “Gather your armies together!...Get ready for battle!...March against the nation of Edom!...Edom, I will make you become unimportant...Everyone will hate you...Edom, you made other nations afraid, so you thought you were important...But your pride has fooled you...You live in caves, high on the cliff...Your home is high in the hills...But even if you build your home as high as an eagle’s nest, I will bring you down from there.”...This is what the LORD said...“Edom will be destroyed...People will be shocked to see the destroyed cities...They will whistle from amazement at the destroyed cities...Edom will be destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah and the towns around them...No one will live there.”...This is what the LORD said...“Sometimes a lion will come from the thick bushes near the Jordan River...And it will go into the fields where people put their sheep and cattle...I AM like that lion...I will go to Edom...And I will frighten the people and make them run away...None of their young men will stop me...No one is like Me...No one will challenge Me...None of their leaders will stand up against Me.”...So listen to what the LORD has planned to do to the people of Edom...Listen to what he has decided to do to the people in Teman...The enemy will drag away the young kids of Edom’s flock...Edom’s pastures will be empty because of what they did...At the sound of Edom’s fall, the earth will shake...Their cry will be heard all the way to the Red Sea...Just as an eagle flies high to see the animal it will attack, so the LORD will spread his wings over Bozrah...And Edom’s soldiers will be filled with fear like a woman giving birth...
And like the messages about Ammon and Edom, similar messages are in the verses above for the cities of Damascus, Kedar, Hazor, and Elam...Young men will fall in Damascus...Kedar will be destroyed by people of the east...Hazor will become a desolate place forever, and Elam will shatter before their foes...