Jeremiah 49
49
A Prophecy against Ammon
1This is what the Lord says about the people of Ammon:
Doesn’t Israel have any children? Doesn’t it have any heirs?
Why, then, has the god Milcom #49:1 Or “Molech.” taken over the inheritance
of Gad’s descendants?
Why do Milcom’s people live in Gad’s cities?
2That is why the days are coming, declares the Lord,
when I will sound the battle cry against Rabbah,
where the people of Ammon live.
It will become a pile of rubble.
Its villages will be burned down.
Then Israel will take possession of its inheritance, says the Lord.
3Cry loudly, Heshbon, because Ai is destroyed.
Cry, people of Rabbah, put on your sackcloth, and mourn.
Run back and forth between the walls.
Milcom will be taken away into captivity
with its priests and officials.
4Why do you brag about your valleys,
your fertile valleys, you unfaithful people?
You trust your treasures.
You think, “Who would attack me?”
5I am going to bring terror on you from all around,
declares the Almighty Lord of Armies.
Everyone will be scattered.
No one will gather the refugees.
6But afterward, I will return the captives of Ammon, declares the Lord.
A Prophecy against Edom
(Obadiah 1–5)
7This is what the Lord of Armies says about Edom:
Is there no longer any wisdom in Teman?
Has wisdom disappeared from your people?
Has their wisdom vanished?
8Turn and run.
Hide in deep caves, inhabitants of Dedan.
When I punish them,
I will bring disaster on the descendants of Esau.
9If people come to pick your grapes,
won’t they leave a few grapes behind?
If thieves come during the night,
won’t they steal only until they’ve had enough?
10Yet, I will strip the descendants of Esau.
I will find their hiding places.
They won’t be able to hide.
Their children and relatives will be destroyed.
None of their neighbors will say,
11“Abandon your orphans, and I will keep them alive.
Your widows can trust me.”
12This is what the Lord says: If those who don’t deserve to drink from the cup still drink from it, why should you go unpunished? You won’t go unpunished. You must drink from it. 13I take an oath on myself, declares the Lord, that Bozrah will become a pile of rubble. It will become something horrifying, ridiculed, ruined, and cursed. All its cities will lie in ruins permanently.
14I heard a message from the Lord.
A messenger was sent among the nations to say,
“Assemble, and attack Edom.
Get ready for battle.”
15“Edom, I will make you the smallest of nations
and despised among humanity.
16You have frightened other people.
Your arrogance has deceived you.
You live on rocky cliffs
and occupy the highest places in the hills.
Even though you build your nest as high as an eagle,
I will bring you down from there,” declares the Lord.
17“Then Edom will become something horrible.
Everyone who passes by it will be horrified
and hiss at all its wounds.
18Edom will be like Sodom, Gomorrah, and their neighboring cities
when they were destroyed.
No one will live there.
No human will stay there,” says the Lord.
19“I will suddenly chase them from their places
like a lion coming out of the jungle
along the Jordan River into pastureland.
I will appoint over Edom whomever I choose.
Who is like me? Who can challenge me?
Is there any leader who can stand up to me?”
20Listen to the plans that the Lord is making against Edom
and the things he intends to do to those who live in Teman.
He will surely drag away the little ones of the flock.
He will surely destroy the pasture
because of the people who live in Teman.
21The earth will quake at the sound of their downfall.
The sound of their crying will be heard at the Red Sea.
22The enemy will swoop down like eagles
and spread their wings over Bozrah.
On that day Edom’s soldiers will be like women in childbirth.
A Prophecy against Damascus
23This is a message about Damascus.
“Hamath and Arpad are worried because they heard the bad news.
They melt in fear.
They are troubled like a sea that can’t be calmed.
24The people of Damascus are weak.
They turn to flee, but panic grips them.
Anguish and pain grip them like a woman in labor.
25Why isn’t that famous, happy city abandoned?
26That is why its young men will die in the streets,
and its soldiers will be silenced that day,”
declares the Lord of Armies.
27“I will set fire to the walls of Damascus
and burn down Benhadad’s palaces.”
A Prophecy against Kedar and Hazor
28This is about the tribe of Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon defeated. This is what the Lord says:
Get ready, attack Kedar,
and loot the people from the east.
29Their tents and their flocks will be taken.
Their tent curtains, utensils, and camels will be carried away.
People will shout to them, “Terror is all around!”
30Run far away! Find a place to hide,
inhabitants of Hazor, declares the Lord.
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has made plans against you
and intends to attack you.
31Get ready! Attack the nation living peacefully and securely,
declares the Lord.
It is a nation with no gates or bars.
Its people live alone.
32Their camels will be taken as prizes.
Their large herds will be taken as loot.
I will scatter to the winds
those who shave the hair on their foreheads.
I will bring disaster on them from every side,
declares the Lord.
33Hazor will be a place where only jackals live.
It will become a permanent wasteland.
No one will live there.
No human will stay there.
A Prophecy against Elam
34Early in the rule of King Zedekiah of Judah, the Lord spoke his word to the prophet Jeremiah about Elam.
35This is what the Lord of Armies says:
I’m going to break the bows of Elam’s archers,
the most important weapon of their strength.
36I’ll bring the four winds
from the four corners of heaven against Elam
and scatter its people in every direction.
There won’t be a nation
where Elam’s refugees won’t go.
37I’ll defeat the people of Elam in the presence of their enemies,
in the presence of those who want to kill them.
I’ll bring disaster with my burning anger, declares the Lord.
I’ll send armies after them until I put an end to them.
38I’ll set my throne in Elam and destroy its king and officials,
declares the Lord.
39But afterward, I’ll return the captives of Elam, declares the Lord.
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 49
49
You’re a Broken-Down Has-Been
1-6 God’s Message on the Ammonites:
“Doesn’t Israel have any children,
no one to step into her inheritance?
So why is the god Milcom taking over Gad’s land,
his followers moving into its towns?
But not for long! The time’s coming”
—God’s Decree—
“When I’ll fill the ears of Rabbah, Ammon’s big city,
with battle cries.
She’ll end up a pile of rubble,
all her towns burned to the ground.
Then Israel will kick out the invaders.
I, God, say so, and it will be so.
Wail Heshbon, Ai is in ruins.
Villages of Rabbah, wring your hands!
Dress in mourning, weep buckets of tears.
Go into hysterics, run around in circles!
Your god Milcom will be hauled off to exile,
and all his priests and managers right with him.
Why do you brag of your once-famous strength?
You’re a broken-down has-been, a castoff
Who fondles his trophies and dreams of glory days
and vainly thinks, ‘No one can lay a hand on me.’
Well, think again. I’ll face you with terror from all sides.”
Word of the Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
“You’ll be stampeded headlong,
with no one to round up the runaways.
Still, the time will come
when I will make things right with Ammon.” God’s Decree.
Strutting Across the Stage of History
7-11The Message of God-of-the-Angel-Armies on Edom:
“Is there nobody wise left in famous Teman?
no one with a sense of reality?
Has their wisdom gone wormy and rotten?
Run for your lives! Get out while you can!
Find a good place to hide,
you who live in Dedan!
I’m bringing doom to Esau.
It’s time to settle accounts.
When harvesters work your fields,
don’t they leave gleanings?
When burglars break into your house,
don’t they take only what they want?
But I’ll strip Esau clean.
I’ll search out every nook and cranny.
I’ll destroy everything connected with him,
children and relatives and neighbors.
There’ll be no one left who will be able to say,
‘I’ll take care of your orphans.
Your widows can depend on me.’”
12-13Indeed. God says, “I tell you, if there are people who have to drink the cup of God’s wrath even though they don’t deserve it, why would you think you’d get off? You won’t get off. You’ll drink it. Oh yes, you’ll drink every drop. And as for Bozrah, your capital, I swear by all that I am”—God’s Decree—“that that city will end up a pile of charred ruins, a stinking garbage dump, an obscenity—and all her daughter-cities with her.”
14I’ve just heard the latest from God.
He’s sent an envoy to the nations:
“Muster your troops and attack Edom.
Present arms! Go to war!”
15-16“Ah, Edom, I’m dropping you to last place among nations,
the bottom of the heap, kicked around.
You think you’re so great—
strutting across the stage of history,
Living high in the impregnable rocks,
acting like king of the mountain.
You think you’re above it all, don’t you,
like an eagle in its aerie?
Well, you’re headed for a fall.
I’ll bring you crashing to the ground.” God’s Decree.
17-18“Edom will end up trash. Stinking, despicable trash. A wonder of the world in reverse. She’ll join Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors in the sewers of history.” God says so.
“No one will live there,
no mortal soul move in there.
19“Watch this: Like a lion coming up
from the thick jungle of the Jordan
Looking for prey in the mountain pastures,
I will come upon Edom and pounce.
I’ll take my pick of the flock—and who’s to stop me?
The shepherds of Edom are helpless before me.”
20-22So, listen to this plan that God has worked out against Edom, the blueprint of what he’s prepared for those who live in Teman:
“Believe it or not, the young, the vulnerable—
mere lambs and kids—will be dragged off.
Believe it or not, the flock
in shock, helpless to help, will watch it happen.
The very earth will shudder because of their cries,
cries of anguish heard at the distant Red Sea.
Look! An eagle soars, swoops down,
spreads its wings over Bozrah.
Brave warriors will double up in pain, helpless to fight,
like a woman giving birth to a baby.”
The Blood Will Drain from the Face of Damascus
23-27The Message on Damascus:
“Hamath and Arpad will be in shock
when they hear the bad news.
Their hearts will melt in fear
as they pace back and forth in worry.
The blood will drain from the face of Damascus
as she turns to flee.
Hysterical, she’ll fall to pieces,
disabled, like a woman in childbirth.
And now how lonely—bereft, abandoned!
The once famous city, the once happy city.
Her bright young men dead in the streets,
her brave warriors silent as death.
On that day”—Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies—
“I’ll start a fire at the wall of Damascus
that will burn down all of Ben-hadad’s forts.”
Find a Safe Place to Hide
28-33The Message on Kedar and the sheikdoms of Hazor who were attacked by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. This is God’s Message:
“On your feet! Attack Kedar!
Plunder the Bedouin nomads from the east.
Grab their blankets and pots and pans.
Steal their camels.
Traumatize them, shouting, ‘Terror! Death! Doom!
Danger everywhere!’
Oh, run for your lives,
You nomads from Hazor.” God’s Decree.
“Find a safe place to hide.
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
has plans to wipe you out,
to go after you with a vengeance:
‘After them,’ he says. ‘Go after these relaxed nomads
who live free and easy in the desert,
Who live in the open with no doors to lock,
who live off by themselves.’
Their camels are there for the taking,
their herds and flocks, easy picking.
I’ll scatter them to the four winds,
these defenseless nomads on the fringes of the desert.
I’ll bring terror from every direction.
They won’t know what hit them.” God’s Decree.
“Jackals will take over the camps of Hazor,
camps abandoned to wind and sand.
No one will live there,
no mortal soul move in there.”
The Winds Will Blow Away Elam
34-39 God’s Message to the prophet Jeremiah on Elam at the outset of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah. This is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies says:
“Watch this! I’ll break Elam’s bow,
her weapon of choice, across my knee.
Then I’ll let four winds loose on Elam,
winds from the four corners of earth.
I’ll blow them away in all directions,
landing homeless Elamites in every country on earth.
They’ll live in constant fear and terror
among enemies who want to kill them.
I’ll bring doom on them,
my anger-fueled doom.
I’ll set murderous hounds on their heels
until there’s nothing left of them.
And then I’ll set up my throne in Elam,
having thrown out the king and his henchmen.
But the time will come when I make
everything right for Elam again.” God’s Decree.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.