Jeremiah 49
49
A Message to Ammon
1This message is to the Ammonite people.
This is what the Lord says:
“Do you think that Israel has no children?
Do you think there is no one to take the land when the parents die?
If that were true, why did Molech take Gad’s land
and why did Molech’s people settle in Gad’s towns?”
2The Lord says,
“The time will come when I will make Rabbah,
the capital city of the Ammonites, hear the battle cry.
It will become a hill covered with ruins,
and the towns around it will be burned.
Those people forced Israel out of that land,
but now Israel will force them out!” says the Lord.
3“People in the town of Heshbon, cry sadly because the town of Ai is destroyed!
Those who live in Rabbah, cry out!
Put on your rough cloth to show your sadness, and cry loudly.
Run here and there for safety inside the walls,
because Molech will be taken captive
and his priests and officers with him.
4You brag about your valleys
and about the fruit in your valleys.
You are like an unfaithful child
who believes his treasures will save him.
You think, ‘Who would attack me?’
5I will soon bring terror on you
from everyone around you,”
says the Lord God All-Powerful.
“You will all be forced to run away,
and no one will be able to gather you.
6“But the time will come
when I will make good things happen to the Ammonites again,”
says the Lord.
A Message to Edom
7This message is to Edom. This is what the Lord All-Powerful says:
“Is there no more wisdom in the town of Teman?
Can the wise men of Edom no longer give good advice?
Have they lost their wisdom?
8You people living in the town of Dedan,
run away and hide in deep caves,
because I will bring disaster on the people of Esau.
It is time for me to punish them.
9If workers came and picked the grapes from your vines,
they would leave a few grapes behind.
If robbers came at night,
they would steal only enough for themselves.
10But I will strip Edom bare.
I will find all their hiding places,
so they will not be able to hide from me.
The children, relatives, and neighbors will die,
and Edom will be no more.
11Leave the orphans, and I will take care of them.
Your widows also can trust in me.”
12This is what the Lord says: “Some people did not deserve to be punished, but they had to drink from the cup of suffering anyway. People of Edom, you deserve to be punished, so you will not escape punishment. You must certainly drink from the cup of suffering.” 13The Lord says, “I swear by my own name that the city of Bozrah will become a pile of ruins! People will be shocked by what happened there. They will insult that city and speak evil of it. And all the towns around it will become ruins forever.”
14I have heard a message from the Lord.
A messenger has been sent among the nations, saying,
“Gather your armies to attack it!
Get ready for battle!”
15“Soon I will make you the smallest of nations,
and you will be greatly hated by everyone.
16Edom, you frightened other nations,
but your pride has fooled you.
You live in the hollow places of the cliff
and control the high places of the hills.
Even if you build your home as high as an eagle’s nest,
I will bring you down from there,” says the Lord.
17“Edom will be destroyed.
People who pass by will be shocked to see the destroyed cities,
and they will be amazed at all her injuries.
18Edom will be destroyed like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah
and the towns around them,” says the Lord.
“No one will live there!
No one will stay in Edom.”
19“Like a lion coming up from the thick bushes near the Jordan River
to attack a strong pen for sheep,
I will suddenly chase Edom from its land.
Who is the one I have chosen to do this?
There is no one like me,
no one who can take me to court.
None of their leaders can stand up against me.”
20So listen to what the Lord has planned to do against Edom.
Listen to what he has decided to do to the people in the town of Teman.
He will surely drag away the young ones of Edom.
Their hometowns will surely be shocked at what happens to them.
21At the sound of Edom’s fall, the earth will shake.
Their cry will be heard all the way to the Red Sea.
22The Lord is like an eagle swooping down
and spreading its wings over the city of Bozrah.
At that time Edom’s soldiers will become very frightened,
like a woman having a baby.
A Message to Damascus
23This message is to the city of Damascus:
“The towns of Hamath and Arpad are put to shame,
because they have heard bad news.
They are discouraged.
They are troubled like the tossing sea.
24The city of Damascus has become weak.
The people want to run away;
they are ready to panic.
The people feel pain and suffering,
like a woman giving birth to a baby.
25Damascus was a city of my joy.
Why have the people not left that famous city yet?
26Surely the young men will die in the city squares,
and all her soldiers will be killed at that time,” says the Lord All-Powerful.
27“I will set fire to the walls of Damascus,
and it will completely burn the strong cities of King Ben-Hadad.”
A Message to Kedar and Hazor
28This message is to the tribe of Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated. This is what the Lord says:
“Go and attack the people of Kedar,
and destroy the people of the East.
29Their tents and flocks will be taken away.
Their belongings will be carried off—
their tents, all their goods, and their camels.
Men will shout to them,
‘Terror on every side!’
30“Run away quickly!
People in Hazor, find a good place to hide!” says the Lord.
“Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has made plans against you
and wants to defeat you.
31“Get up! Attack the nation that is comfortable,
that is sure no one will defeat it,” says the Lord.
“It does not have gates or fences to protect it.
Its people live alone.
32The enemy will steal their camels
and their large herds of cattle as war prizes.
I will scatter the people who cut their hair short to every part of the earth,
and I will bring disaster on them from everywhere,” says the Lord.
33“The city of Hazor will become a home for wild dogs;
it will be an empty desert forever.
No one will live there,
and no one will stay in it.”
A Message to Elam
34Soon after Zedekiah became king of Judah, the Lord spoke this word to Jeremiah the prophet. This message is to the nation of Elam.
35This is what the Lord All-Powerful says:
“I will soon break Elam’s bow,
its greatest strength.
36I will bring the four winds against Elam
from the four corners of the skies.
I will scatter its people everywhere the four winds blow;
its captives will go to every nation.
37I will terrify Elam in front of their enemies,
who want to destroy them.
I will bring disaster to Elam
and show them how angry I am!” says the Lord.
“I will send a sword to chase Elam
until I have killed them all.
38I will set up my throne in Elam to show that I am king,
and I will destroy its king and its officers!” says the Lord.
39“But I will make good things happen to Elam again
in the future,” says the Lord.
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Jeremiah 49: NCV
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 49
49
1 Against the sons of Ammon. Thus says the Lord: "Does Israel have no sons? Or is there no heir for him? Then why has Milcom possessed the inheritance of Gad, and why have his people lived in his cities?
2 Therefore, behold, the days are approaching, says the Lord, when I will cause the noise of battle to be heard over Rabbah of the sons of Ammon. And it will be scattered into a tumult, and her daughters will be burned with fire. And Israel shall possess those who had possessed him, says the Lord.
3 Wail, O Heshbon! For Ai has been devastated. Cry out, O daughters of Rabbah! Wrap yourselves with haircloth. Mourn and circle the hedges. For Milcom will be led into the transmigration: his priests and his leaders together.
4 Why have you gloried in the valleys? Your valley has flowed away, O delicate daughter, for you had confidence in your treasures, and you were saying, 'Who can approach me?'
5 Behold, I will lead a terror over you, says the Lord, the God of hosts, from those who are all around you. And you will be dispersed, each one from before your sight. There will be no one who will gather together those who are fleeing.
6 And after this, I will cause the captives of the sons of Ammon to return, says the Lord."
7 Against Idumea. Thus says the Lord of hosts: "Is there no longer any wisdom in Teman? Counsel has perished from the sons. Their wisdom has become useless.
8 Flee and turn your backs! Descend into the chasm, O inhabitants of Dedan! For I have brought the perdition of Esau over him, the time of his visitation.
9 If those who gather grapes had passed by you, would they not have left behind a cluster? If there were thieves in the night, they would seize what was enough for themselves.
10 Yet truly, I have stripped Esau bare. I have revealed his secrets, and he is not able to be concealed. His offspring has been devastated, with his brothers and his neighbors, and he himself will not exist.
11 Leave behind your orphans. I will make sure that they live. And your widows will hope in me."
12 For thus says the Lord: "Behold, those who judged that they would not drink the cup, will certainly drink. And so, will you be released as if you were innocent? You will not be released as if innocent. Instead, you shall certainly drink.
13 For I have sworn by myself, says the Lord, that Bozrah will be a desolation, and a disgrace, and a wasteland, and a curse. And all her cities will be a perpetual wilderness.
14 I have heard a report from the Lord, and an legate has been sent to the nations: 'Gather yourselves together, and go forth against her, and let us rise up to battle.'
15 For behold, I have made you little among the nations, contemptible among men.
16 Your arrogance has deceived you, by the pride of your heart, you who live in the caverns of the rock and who strive to take hold of the height of the hill. But even if you make your nest like that of an eagle, I will pull you down from there, says the Lord.
17 And Idumea will be a desert. Everyone who passes by it will be stupefied and will hiss over all its wounds.
18 Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors were overthrown, says the Lord: there will not be a man living there, and no son of man will tend it.
19 Behold, he will ascend like a lion from the arrogance of the Jordan, against the robust beauty. For I will cause him to rush against her suddenly. And who will be the elect one, whom I may appoint over her? For who is like me? And who can endure me? And who is that pastor who can withstand my countenance?
20 Because of this, listen to the counsel of the Lord, which he has undertaken concerning Edom, and to his thoughts, which he has devised concerning the inhabitants of Teman. Certainly, the little ones of the flock will cast them down, unless they scatter them with their habitation.
21 The earth has been shaken at the noise of their destruction. The outcry of their voice has been heard at the Red Sea.
22 Behold, he will ascend like an eagle and will fly. And he will spread his wings over Bozrah. And in that day, the heart of the strong ones of Idumea will be like the heart of a woman giving birth."
23 Against Damascus. "Hamath has been confounded, with Arpad. For they have heard a most grievous report. They have been stirred up like the sea. Because of anxiousness, they were not able to rest.
24 Damascus has been broken. She has been turned to flight. Trembling has taken hold of her. Anguish and sorrows have seized her, like a woman giving birth.
25 How could they have abandoned the praiseworthy city, the city of rejoicing?
26 For this reason, her young men will fall in her streets. And all the men of battle will be silenced in that day, says the Lord of hosts.
27 And I will kindle a fire at the wall of Damascus, and it will devour the defensive walls of Ben-hadad."
28 Against Kedar and against the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, has struck down. Thus says the Lord: "Rise up and ascend to Kedar, and lay waste to the sons of the East.
29 They will seize their tabernacles and their flocks. And they will take for themselves their tents, and all their vessels, and their camels. And they will call down a terror upon them on every side.
30 Flee, go away urgently! Sit in deep pits, you who inhabit Hazor, says the Lord. For Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, has undertaken a counsel against you, and he has devised plans against you.
31 Rise up, and ascend to a nation that is quiet and lives in confidence, says the Lord. They have neither gates nor bars. They dwell alone.
32 And their camels will be a spoil, and the multitude of their cattle will be a prey. And I will disperse, into every wind, those who have shaved their hair. And from all their confines, I will lead great destruction over them, says the Lord.
33 And Hazor will be a habitation for serpents, deserted even unto eternity. No man will abide there, nor will a son of man tend it."
34 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, the king of Judah, saying:
35 "Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, and the summit of their strength.
36 And I will lead the four winds over Elam, from the four corners of heaven. And I will scatter them into all these winds. And there will be no nation to which the fugitives of Elam will not travel.
37 And I will cause Elam to be terrified before their enemies and in the sight of those who seek their life. And I will lead an evil over them, the wrath of my fury, says the Lord. And I will send the sword after them, until I consume them.
38 And I will set my throne in Elam, and I will perish the kings and princes from there, says the Lord.
39 But in the last days, I will cause the captives of Elam to return, says the Lord."
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