Jeremiah 49

₁This is what the LORD said about Ammon: “Where are the men of Israel? Is there no one to defend their land? Why have they let the people who worship Molech take the territory of the tribe of Gad and settle there? ₂But the time is coming when I will make the people of the capital city of Rabbah hear the noise of battle, and it will be left in ruins and its villages burnt to the ground. Then Israel will take its land back from those who took it from them. ₃People of Heshbon, cry out! Ai is destroyed! Women of Rabbah, go into mourning! Put on sackcloth and mourn. Run about in confusion. Your god Molech will be taken into exile, together with his priests and princes. ₄Why do you unfaithful people boast? Your strength is failing. Why do you trust in your power and say that no one would dare attack you? ₅I will bring terror on you from every side. You will all run away. Each one will run for his life, and there will be no one to bring your troops together again.

₆“But later on I will make Ammon prosperous again. I, the LORD, have spoken.”

₇This is what the LORD Almighty said about Edom: “Have the people of Edom lost their good judgement? Can their advisers no longer tell them what to do? Has all their wisdom disappeared? ₈People of Dedan, turn and run! Hide! I am going to destroy Esau's descendants, because the time has come for me to punish them. ₉When people pick grapes, they leave a few on the vines, and when robbers come at night, they take only what they want. ₁₀But I have stripped Esau's descendants completely and uncovered their hiding places, so that they can no longer hide. All the people of Edom are destroyed. Not one of them is left. ₁₁Leave your orphans with me, and I will take care of them. Your widows can depend on me.

₁₂“If even those who did not deserve to be punished had to drink from the cup of punishment, do you think that you will go unpunished? No, you must drink from the cup! ₁₃I myself have sworn that the city of Bozrah will become a horrifying sight and a desert; people will jeer at it and use its name as a curse. All the nearby villages will be in ruins for ever. I, the LORD, have spoken.”

₁₄I said, “Edom, I have received a message from the LORD. He has sent a messenger to tell the nations to assemble their armies and to get ready to attack you. ₁₅The LORD is going to make you weak, and no one will respect you. ₁₆Your pride has deceived you. No one fears you as much as you think they do. You live on the rocky cliffs, high on top of the mountain; but even though you live as high up as an eagle, the LORD will bring you down. The LORD has spoken.”

₁₇The LORD said, “The destruction that will come on Edom will be so terrible that everyone who passes by will be shocked and terrified. ₁₈The same thing will happen to Edom as happened to Sodom and Gomorrah, when they and the nearby towns were destroyed. No one will ever live there again. I, the LORD, have spoken. ₁₉Like a lion coming out of the thick woods along the Jordan up to the green pasture land, I will come and make the Edomites run away suddenly from their country. Then the leader I choose will rule the nation. Who can be compared to me? Who would dare challenge me? What ruler could oppose me? ₂₀So listen to the plan that I have made against the people of Edom, and to what I intend to do to the people of the city of Teman. Even their children will be dragged off, and everyone will be horrified. ₂₁When Edom falls, there will be such a noise that the entire earth will shake, and the cries of alarm will be heard as far away as the Gulf of Aqaba. ₂₂The enemy will attack Bozrah like an eagle swooping down with outspread wings. On that day Edom's soldiers will be as frightened as a woman in labour.”

₂₃This is what the LORD said about Damascus: “The people in the cities of Hamath and Arpad are worried and troubled because they have heard bad news. Anxiety rolls over them like a sea, and they cannot rest. ₂₄The people of Damascus are weak and have fled in terror. They are in pain and misery like a woman in labour. ₂₅The famous city that used to be happy is completely deserted. ₂₆On that day her young men will be killed in the city streets, and all her soldiers destroyed. ₂₇I will set the walls of Damascus on fire and will burn down King Benhadad's palaces. I, the LORD Almighty, have spoken.”

₂₈This is what the LORD said about the tribe of Kedar and the districts controlled by Hazor, which were conquered by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia: “Attack the people of Kedar and destroy that tribe of eastern people! ₂₉Seize their tents and their flocks, their tent curtains and everything in their tents. Take their camels and tell the people, ‘Terror is all round you!’

₃₀“People of Hazor, I, the LORD, warn you to run far away and hide. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia has plotted against you, and this is what he says, ₃₁‘Come on! We'll attack those people that feel safe and secure! Their city has no gates or locks and is completely unprotected.’

₃₂“Take their camels and all their livestock! I will scatter in every direction those people who cut their hair short, and I will bring disaster on them from every side. ₃₃Hazor will be made a desert for ever, a place where only jackals live. No one will ever live there again. I, the LORD, have spoken.”

₃₄Soon after Zedekiah became king of Judah, the LORD Almighty spoke to me about the country of Elam. ₃₅He said, “I will kill all the archers who have made Elam so powerful. ₃₆I will make winds blow against Elam from all directions, and I will scatter her people everywhere, until there is no country where her refugees have not gone. ₃₇I will make the people of Elam afraid of their enemies, who want to kill them. In my great anger I will destroy the people of Elam and send armies against them until I have wiped them out. ₃₈I will destroy their kings and leaders, and set up my throne there. ₃₉But later on I will make the people of Elam prosperous again. I, the LORD, have spoken.”