1 Unto the children of Ammon thus saith the Lord, Hath Israel no sonnes? or hath he none heire? Why then hath their king possessed God? and his people dwelt in his cities? 2 Therefore beholde the dayes come, sayeth the Lord, that I will cause a noyse of warre to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites, and it shall be a desolate heape, and her daughters shall be burnt with fire: then shall Israel possesse those that possessed him, sayeth the Lord. 3 Howle, O Heshbon, for Ai is wasted: crie ye daughters of Rabbah: girde you with sackecloth: mourne and runne to and from by the hedges: for their King shall goe into captiuitie; and his Priestes, and his princes likewise. 4 Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleis? thy valley floweth away, O rebellious daughter: she trusted in her treasures, saying, Who shall come vnto me? 5 Beholde, I will bring a feare vpon thee, sayth the Lord God of hostes, of all those that be about thee, and ye shalbe scattered euery man right foorth, and none shall gather him that fleeth. 6 And afterward I will bring againe the captiuitie of the children of Ammon. 7 To Edom thus sayeth the Lord of hostes: Is wisdome no more in Teman? is counsel perished from their children? is their wisdome vanished? 8 Flee, ye inhabitants of Dedan (they are turned backe, and haue consulted to dwell) for I haue brought the destruction of Esau vpon him, and the time of his visitation. 9 If the grape gatherers come to thee, would they not leaue some grapes? if theeues come by night, they will destroy till they haue ynough. 10 For I haue discouered Esau: I haue vncouered his secrets, and he shall not be able to hide himselfe: his seede is wasted, and his brethren and his neighbours, and there shall be none to say, 11 Leaue thy fathers children, and I will preserue them aliue, and let thy widowes trust in me. 12 For thus sayth the Lord, Beholde, they whose iudgement was not to drinke of the cuppe, haue assuredly drunken, and art thou he that shall escape free? thou shalt not goe free, but thou shalt surely drinke of it. 13 For I haue sworne by my selfe, sayeth the Lord, that Bozrah shall be waste, and for a reproche, and a desolation, and a curse, and all the cities thereof shall be perpetuall desolations. 14 I haue heard a rumour from the Lord, and an ambassadour is sent vnto the heathen, saying, Gather you together, and come against her, and rise vp to the battell. 15 For loe, I will make thee but small among the heathen, and despised among men. 16 Thy feare, and ye pride of thine heart hath deceiued thee, thou that dwellest in the cleftes of the rocke, and keepest the height of ye hil: though thou shouldest make thy nest as hie as the eagle, I wil bring thee downe from thece, sayth the Lord. 17 Also Edom shall be desolate: euery one that goeth by it, shall be astonished, and shall hisse at all the plagues thereof, 18 As in the ouerthrowe of Sodom, and of Gomorah, and the places thereof neere about, saieth the Lord: no man shall dwell there, neither shall the sonnes of men remaine in it. 19 Beholde, hee shall come vp like a lyon from the swelling of Iorden vnto the strong dwelling place: for I will make Israel to rest, euen I will make him to haste away from her, and who is a chosen man that I may appoynt against her? for who is like mee? and who will appoint me the time? and who is the shepheard that will stande before me? 20 Therefore heare the counsell of the Lord that hee hath deuised against Edom, and his purpose that hee hath conceiued against the inhabitants of Teman: surely the least of the flocke shall drawe them out: surely he shall make their habitations desolate with them. 21 The earth is mooued at the noyse of their fall: the crie of their voice is heard in the red Sea. 22 Behold, he shall come vp, and flie as the Egle, and spreade his wings ouer Bozrah, and at that day shall the heart of the strong men of Edome be as the heart of a woman in trauaile. 23 Vnto Damascus he sayeth, Hamath is confounded and Arpad, for they haue heard euill tidings, and they are faint hearted as one on the fearefull sea that can not rest. 24 Damascus is discouraged, and turneth her selfe to flight and feare hath seased her: anguish and sorowes haue taken her as a woman in trauaile. 25 How is the glorious citie not reserued, the citie of my ioy? 26 Therefore her yong men shall fall in her streetes, and all her men of warre shall be cut off in that day, sayeth the Lord of hostes. 27 And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, which shall cosume the palaces of Benhadad. 28 Vnto Kedar, and to the kingdomes of Hazor, which Nebuchad-nezzar, king of Babel shall smite, thus sayeth the Lord, Arise, and goe vp vnto Kedar, and destroy the men of the East. 29 Their tents and their flocks shall they take away: yea, they shall take to themselues their curtaines and all their vessels, and their camels, and they shall crie vnto them, Feare is on euery side. 30 Flee, get you farre off (they haue consulted to dwell) O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith the Lord: for Nebuchad-nezzar King of Babel hath taken counsell against you, and hath deuised a purpose against you. 31 Arise, and get you vp vnto the welthy nation that dwelleth without care, saith the Lord, which haue neither gates nor barres, but dwel alone. 32 And their camels shall be a bootie, and the multitude of their cattel a spoile, and I will scatter them into all windes, and to the vtmost corners, and I will bring their destruction from al the sides thereof, sayeth the Lord. 33 And Hazor shall be a dwelling for dragons, and desolation for euer: there shall no man dwell there, nor the sonnes of men remaine in it. 34 The woordes of the Lord that came to Ieremiah the Prophet, concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reigne of Zedekiah King of Iudah, saying, 35 Thus sayeth the Lord of hostes, Beholde, I will breake the bowe of Elam, euen the chiefe of their strength. 36 And vpon Elam I will bring the foure windes from the foure quarters of heauen, and will scatter them towardes all these windes, and there shall bee no nation, whither the fugitiues of Elam shall not come. 37 For I will cause Elam to be afraied before their enemies, and before them that seeke their liues, and will bring vpon them a plague, euen the indignation of my wrath, saieth the Lord, and I wil sende the sworde after them till I haue consumed them. 38 And I wil set my throne in Elam, and I wil destroy both the King and the princes from thence, saith the Lord: but in the latter daies I wil bring againe the captiuitie of Elam, sayeth the Lord.
What the Lord Says about Ammon
1 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
taken over towns and land
belonging to the tribe of Gad?
2 Someday 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!
3 Cry, people of Heshbon;
your town will become
a pile of rubble.
You will turn here and there,
but your path will be blocked.
Put on sackcloth and mourn,
you citizens of Rabbah,
because the idol you worship
will be taken
to a foreign country,
along with its priests
and temple officials.
4 You rebellious Ammonites
trust your wealth and ask,
“Who could attack us?”
But I warn you not to boast
when your strength is fading.
5 I, 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.
6 Yet someday, I will bring
your people back home.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
What the Lord Says about Edom
7 The Lord All-Powerful says about Edom:
Wisdom and common sense
have vanished from Teman.
8 I will send disaster to punish
you descendants of Esau,
so anyone from Dedan
had better turn around
and run back home.
9 People who harvest grapes
leave some for the poor.
Thieves who break in at night
take only what they want.
10 But 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.
11 But I can be trusted
to care for your orphans
and widows.
12 Even 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? 13 I, the Lord, swear in my own name that your city of Bozrah 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.
14 I have sent a messenger
to command the nations
to prepare for war
against you people of Edom.
15 Your nation will be small,
yet hated by other nations.
16 Pride tricks you into thinking
that other nations
look at you with fear.
You live along the cliffs
and high in the mountains
like the eagles,
but I am the Lord,
and I will bring you down.
17 People passing by your country
will be shocked and horrified
to see a disaster
18 as bad as the destruction
of Sodom and Gomorrah
and towns nearby.
The towns of Edom will be empty.
19 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.
20 Listen to my plans for you,
people of Edom.
Your children will be dragged off
and your country destroyed.
21 The sounds of your destruction
will reach the Red Sea
and cause the earth to shake.
22 An 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.
What the Lord Says about Damascus
23 The Lord says about Damascus:
The towns of Hamath and Arpad
have heard your bad news.
They have lost hope,
and worries roll over them
like ocean waves.
24 You people of Damascus
have lost your courage,
and in panic you turn to run,
gripped by fear and pain.
25 Once I was pleased
with your famous city.
But now I warn you, “Escape
while you still can!”
26 Soon, even your best soldiers
will lie dead in your streets.
I, the Lord All-Powerful,
have spoken.
27 I will set fire to your city walls
and burn down the fortresses
King Benhadad built.
Nebuchadnezzar and the People of the Desert
28 Here is what the Lord says about the Kedar tribe and the desert villages that were conquered by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia:
Listen, you people of Kedar
and the other tribes
of the eastern desert.
I have told Nebuchadnezzar
to attack and destroy you.
29 His fearsome army
will surround you,
taking your tents and possessions,
your sheep and camels.
30 Run and hide,
you people of the desert
who live in villages!
Nebuchadnezzar has big plans
for you.
31 You have no city walls
and no neighbors to help,
yet you think you're safe—
so I told him to attack.
32 Then your camels
and large herds
will be yours no longer.
People of the Arabian Desert,
disaster will strike you
from every side,
and you will be scattered
everywhere on earth.
33 Only jackals will live
where your villages once stood.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
What the Lord Says about Elam
34-35 Not long after Zedekiah became king of Judah, the Lord told me to say:
People of Elam,
I, the Lord All-Powerful,
will kill the archers
who make your army strong.
36 Enemies will attack
from all directions,
and you will be led captive
to every nation on earth.
37 Their armies will crush
and kill you,
and you will face the disaster
that my anger brings.
38 Your king and his officials
will die, and I will rule
in their place.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
39 But I promise that someday
I will bring your people
back to their land.