Jeremiah 49
49
What the Lord Says about Ammon
1 #
Ez 21.28-32; 25.1-7; Am 1.13-15; Zep 2.8-11. The Lord has this to say about the nation of Ammon:
The people of Israel
have plenty of children
to inherit their lands.
So why have you worshipers
of the god Milcom#49.1 Milcom: The national god of Ammon, probably the same as the god Molech in 32.35.
taken over towns and land
belonging to the tribe of Gad?
2Someday I will send an army
to attack you in Rabbah,
your capital city.
It will be left in ruins,
and the surrounding villages
will lie in ashes.
You took some of Israel's land,
but on that day
Israel will take yours!
3Cry, people of Heshbon;#49.3 Heshbon: See also 48.45; since Heshbon was near the border of Moab and Ammon, it was probably ruled by the country that was stronger at the time.
your town will become
a pile of rubble.#49.3 your town will become a pile of rubble: Or “because the town of Ai has been destroyed”; referring to an Ammonite town named Ai, not the town of that name near Bethel in the land of Israel.
You will turn here and there,
but your path will be blocked.#49.3 You will turn … blocked: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
Put on sackcloth#49.3 sackcloth: See the note at 4.8. and mourn,
you citizens of Rabbah,
because the idol you worship#49.3 the idol you worship: Hebrew “Milcom” (see verse 1 and the note there).
will be taken
to a foreign country,
along with its priests
and temple officials.
4You rebellious Ammonites
trust your wealth and ask,
“Who could attack us?”
But I warn you not to boast
when your strength is fading.#49.4 when … fading: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
5I, the Lord All-Powerful,
will send neighboring nations
to strike you with terror.
You will be scattered,
with no one to care
for your refugees.
6Yet someday, I will bring
your people back home.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
What the Lord Says about Edom
7 #
Is 34.5-17; 63.1-6; Ez 25.12-14; 35.1-15; Am 1.11,12; Ob 1-14; Ml 1.2-5. #Ba 3.22,23. The Lord All-Powerful says about Edom:
Wisdom and common sense
have vanished from Teman.#49.7,8 Teman: The name of a town in Edom, sometimes used as the name of the northern half of the nation of Edom; here it probably stands for the whole nation.
8I will send disaster to punish
you descendants of Esau,#49.7,8 Esau: The ancestor of the nation of Edom.
so anyone from Dedan#49.7,8 Dedan: The name of a town in northwest Arabia, also used of the northwest region of Arabia along the Red Sea.
had better turn around
and run back home.#49.7,8 anyone … home: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
9People who harvest grapes
leave some for the poor.
Thieves who break in at night
take only what they want.
10But I will take everything
that belongs to you,
people of Edom,
and I will uncover every place
where you try to hide.
Then you will die,
and so will your children,
relatives, and neighbors.
11But I can be trusted
to care for your orphans
and widows.
12Even those nations that don't deserve to be punished will have to drink from the cup of my anger. So how can you possibly hope to escape? 13I, the Lord, swear in my own name that your city of Bozrah#49.13 Bozrah: The main city and capital of Edom. and all your towns will suffer a horrible fate. They will lie in ruins forever, and people will use the name “Bozrah” as a curse word.
14I have sent a messenger
to command the nations
to prepare for war
against you people of Edom.
15Your nation will be small,
yet hated by other nations.
16Pride tricks you into thinking
that other nations
look at you with fear.#49.16 Pride … fear: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
You live along the cliffs
and high in the mountains
like the eagles,
but I am the Lord,
and I will bring you down.
17People passing by your country
will be shocked and horrified
to see a disaster
18 #
Gn 19.24,25. as bad as the destruction
of Sodom and Gomorrah
and towns nearby.
The towns of Edom will be empty.
19 #
Ws 12.12. I, the Lord, will attack you
like a lion from the forest,
attacking sheep in a meadow
along the Jordan.
In a moment the flock runs,
and the land is empty.
Who will I choose to attack you?
I will do it myself!
No one can force me to fight
or chase me away.
20Listen to my plans for you,
people of Edom.#49.20 Edom: The Hebrew text also uses the name “Teman” (see the note at 49.7,8).
Your children will be dragged off
and your country destroyed.
21The sounds of your destruction
will reach the Red Sea#49.21 Red Sea: Hebrew yam suph, here referring to the Gulf of Aqaba, since the term is extended to include the northeastern arm of the Red Sea (see also the note at Exodus 13.18).
and cause the earth to shake.
22An enemy will swoop down
to attack you,
like an eagle spreading its wings
and circling over Bozrah.
Your warriors will be as fearful
as women giving birth.#49.22 as fearful … birth: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
What the Lord Says about Damascus
23 #
Is 17.1-3; Am 1.3-5; Zec 9.1. The Lord says about Damascus:
The towns of Hamath and Arpad#49.23 Hamath and Arpad: Two towns in Syria that had been the capitals of small kingdoms allied with the more powerful kingdom whose capital was Damascus.
have heard your bad news.
They have lost hope,
and worries roll over them
like ocean waves.#49.23 worries … waves: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
24You people of Damascus
have lost your courage,
and in panic you turn to run,
gripped by fear and pain.#49.24 gripped by fear and pain: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
25Once I was pleased
with your famous city.
But now I warn you, “Escape
while you still can!”#49.25 can: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 25.
26Soon, even your best soldiers
will lie dead in your streets.
I, the Lord All-Powerful,
have spoken.
27I will set fire to your city walls
and burn down the fortresses
King Benhadad built.
Nebuchadnezzar and the People of the Desert
28Here is what the Lord says about the Kedar tribe and the desert villages#49.28 desert villages: The Hebrew text has “kingdoms of Hazor,” which probably refers to several kingdoms of desert peoples who were not nomads, but who lived in small villages. that were conquered by King Nebuchadnezzar#49.28 Nebuchadnezzar: See the note at 21.2. of Babylonia:
Listen, you people of Kedar
and the other tribes
of the eastern desert.
I have told Nebuchadnezzar
to attack and destroy you.
29His fearsome army
will surround you,
taking your tents and possessions,
your sheep and camels.
30Run and hide,
you people of the desert
who live in villages!#49.30 villages: See the note at 49.28.
Nebuchadnezzar has big plans
for you.
31You have no city walls
and no neighbors to help,
yet you think you're safe—
so I told him to attack.
32Then your camels
and large herds
will be yours no longer.
People of the Arabian Desert,#49.32 People of the Arabian Desert: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
disaster will strike you
from every side,
and you will be scattered
everywhere on earth.
33Only jackals#49.33 jackals: See the note at 9.11. will live
where your villages#49.33 villages: See the note at 49.28. once stood.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
What the Lord Says about Elam
34-35Not long after Zedekiah#49.34,35 Zedekiah: See the note at 1.3. became king of Judah, the Lord told me to say:
People of Elam,#49.34,35 Elam: A nation east of Babylonia, attacked by Nebuchadnezzar about 596 b.c.
I, the Lord All-Powerful,
will kill the archers
who make your army strong.
36Enemies will attack
from all directions,
and you will be led captive
to every nation on earth.
37Their armies will crush
and kill you,
and you will face the disaster
that my anger brings.
38Your king and his officials
will die, and I will rule
in their place.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
39But I promise that someday
I will bring your people
back to their land.
Currently Selected:
Jeremiah 49: CEVDCI
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 49
49
Jeremiah 49
1¶ Concerning the Ammonites, thus hath the Lord said: Does Israel have no sons? does he have no heir? why then does their king inherit Gad and his people dwell in his cities?
2Therefore, behold, the days come, said the Lord, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites; and it shall be made a desolate heap, and her cities shall be burned with fire; then shall Israel be heir unto those that were his heirs, said the Lord.
3Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled; cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird yourselves with sackcloth; lament and run to and fro by the hedges, for their king shall go into captivity, and his priests and his princes together.
4Why gloriest thou in the valleys? Thy valley has slipped, O backsliding daughter that trusted in her treasures, she that saith, Who shall come against me?
5Behold, I bring fear upon thee, saith the Lord GOD of the hosts, from all sides; and ye shall be driven out each man right forth in the direction he is facing; and no one shall gather up him that wanders.
6And afterward I will turn again the captivity of the sons of Ammon, said the Lord.
7¶ Concerning Edom, thus hath the Lord of the hosts said: Is there no more wisdom in Teman? Has the counsel of the wise perished? Is their wisdom corrupted?
8Flee, turn back, hide in the deeps to remain, O inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, at the time that I have to visit him.
9If grapegatherers came against thee, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? If thieves by night, they will take what they have need of.
10But I will make Esau bare, I will uncover his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself; his seed shall be destroyed, and his brethren and his neighbours and he shall no longer be.
11Leave thy fatherless children; I will raise them; and thy widows shall trust in me.
12For thus hath the Lord said: Behold, those who were not condemned to drink of the cup have assuredly drunken; and shalt thou be absolved of everything? Thou shalt not be absolved, but thou shalt surely drink of it.
13For I have sworn by myself, said the Lord, that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all its cities shall be perpetual wastes.
14I have heard the news, that from the Lord a messenger had been sent unto the Gentiles, saying, Gather ye together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle.
15For, behold, I have placed thee as small among the Gentiles and despised among men.
16Thy arrogance has deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, O thou that dost dwell in the clefts of the rock, that dost hold the height of the mountain: though thou should make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from there, said the Lord.
17Also Edom shall be a desolation; every one that goes by it shall be astonished and shall hiss at all its plagues.
18As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, said the Lord, no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it.
19Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan to the strong habitation: for I will make rest and make him run from upon her, and he who is chosen I shall appoint over her; for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me?
20Therefore hear the counsel of the Lord that he has taken against Edom; and his thoughts, that he has purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out; surely he shall destroy their habitations with them.
21The earth is moved at the noise of their fall; at the cry the noise thereof was heard in the Red Sea.
22Behold, he shall rise up and fly as the eagle and spread his wings over Bozrah; and at that day the heart of the mighty men of Edom shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.
23¶ Concerning Damascus. Hamath is confounded, and Arpad, for they have heard bad news; they have melted in waters of feebleness; they cannot be reassured.
24Damascus is waxed feeble and turns herself to flee, and fear has seized on her; anguish and sorrows have taken her as a woman in travail.
25How did they not forgive the city of praise, the city of my joy!
26Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, said the Lord of the hosts.
27And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the houses of Benhadad.
28¶ Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote, thus hath the Lord said; Arise ye, go up to Kedar and destroy the men of the east.
29Their tents and their flocks shall they take away; they shall take to themselves their curtains and all their vessels and their camels; and they shall invoke fear on every side against them.
30Flee, get you far off, dwell in the deeps that ye may stand, O ye inhabitants of Hazor, said the Lord; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon has taken counsel against you and has conceived a purpose against you.
31Arise, get you up unto the wealthy nation that dwells without care, saith the Lord, which has neither gates nor bars, which dwells alone.
32And their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil: and I will scatter them into all the winds, throwing them out unto the utmost corner; and from all their sides I will bring their ruin, said the Lord.
33And Hazor shall be a dwelling for dragons and a desolation for ever: no man shall abide there, nor any son of man dwell in it.
34¶ The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet regarding Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,
35Thus hath the Lord of the hosts said: Behold, I break the bow of Elam, the foundation of their might.
36And upon Elam I will bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation where the outcasts of Elam shall not come.
37For I will cause Elam to fear before their enemies and before those that seek their soul; and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger, said the Lord; and I will send the sword after them until I have consumed them.
38And I will set my throne in Elam and will destroy from there the king and the princes, said the Lord.
39But it shall come to pass in the last of the days that I will turn again the captivity of Elam, said the Lord.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB) by Ransom Press International