Jeremiah 49:7-22

YAHWEH, Commander of Angel Armies, says to Edom: “Is there no wise person left in Teman? Have all the advisers run out of common sense? Has all their wisdom vanished? People of Dedan, turn and run! Go into hiding, for I will bring ruin on Esau when my time to punish him has come. People who harvest grapes always leave some for the poor. Thieves who break in at night only take what they want. However, I have taken everything from Esau’s descendants. I have uncovered his hiding places so that he can hide no longer. All the Edomites are ruined, along with their relatives and neighbors, with no one left to say, ‘Leave your orphans, I’ll take care of them; let your widows depend on me!’ ” For YAHWEH says, “Even those nations that don’t deserve to be punished must drink from the cup filled with my anger. So how do you hope to escape? You will not go unpunished but will certainly have to drink from that same cup. For I have sworn by my great name, YAHWEH, that your capital city of Bozrah and all its surrounding villages will become nothing but desert ruins. Bozrah will be a laughingstock, a curse, and an object of horror forever.” I have received a word from YAHWEH. A messenger has been sent to tell the nations: “Assemble your armies for battle and get ready to attack Edom.” “Behold, I will make you the least of nations; all the world will despise you. Your proud heart has deceived you. Your pride rests in thinking everyone is afraid of you. But I, YAHWEH, say to you whose home is in the rocky cliffs, who live high on the mountaintop, though you make your nest as high as the eagle’s, I will topple you from your high place! “I will make Edom an object of horror and astonishment; everyone who passes by it will be appalled and will make insulting remarks because of all its disasters! I, YAHWEH, say to you: As Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns were destroyed and no one will live there again, not one person will ever settle in Edom again. “Behold, just as a lion suddenly comes out of the thickets of the Jordan to a rich pastureland, I will suddenly make the people of Edom run away. And I will appoint a leader that I choose. For who can be compared to me? Who is able to challenge me? Name for me the ruler who can stand up to me. So now listen to the plans that I have against you, Edom. Listen to what I have in store for the people of Teman. Like little lambs, your children will be dragged away before your own eyes, and everyone will be horrified! The earth will shudder at the sound of their downfall while the echoes of their cry reach to the Red Sea. Look, an enemy will swoop down on Bozrah and attack Edom without warning, like an eagle diving from the sky. The enemy will capture the cities and the fortresses. And on that day Edom’s warriors will be as frightened as a woman in her birth pains.”