Word Against Ammon

1Concerning the sons of Ammon. Thus says Yahweh:

“Does Israel have no sons?

Or has he no one who can take possession?

Why then has [†]Malcam taken possession of Gad

And his people settled in its cities?

2Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares Yahweh,

“That I will cause a [†]trumpet blast of war to be heard

Against Rabbah of the sons of Ammon;

And it will become a desolate heap,

And her towns will be set on fire.

Then Israel will take possession of his possessors,”

Says Yahweh.

3“Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai has been destroyed!

Cry out, O daughters of Rabbah,

Gird yourselves with sackcloth and lament,

And rush back and forth inside the walls;

For [†]Malcam will go into exile

Together with his priests and his princes.

4How boastful you are about the valleys!

Your valley is flowing away,

O faithless daughter

Who trusts in her treasures, saying,

‘Who will come against me?’

5Behold, I am going to bring dread upon you,”

Declares Lord Yahweh of hosts,

“From all around you;

And each of you will be banished [†]headlong,

With no one to gather the one who flees.

6But afterward I will [†]return

The [†]fortunes of the sons of Ammon,”

Declares Yahweh.

Word Against Edom

7Concerning Edom.

Thus says Yahweh of hosts,

“Is there no longer any wisdom in Teman?

Has counsel been lost to the understanding?

Has their wisdom decayed?

8Flee away, turn back, inhabit the depths,

O inhabitants of Dedan,

For I [†]will bring the disaster of Esau upon him

At the time I [†]punish him.

9If grape gatherers came to you,

Would they not have gleanings remain?

If thieves came by night,

They would ruin only [†]until they had enough.

10But I have stripped Esau bare;

I have uncovered his hiding places,

So that he will not be able to conceal himself;

His seed has been destroyed along with his [†]relatives

And his neighbors, and he is no more.

11Leave your [†]orphans behind, I will keep them alive;

And let your widows trust in Me.”

12For thus says Yahweh, “Behold, those who are not under judgment to drink the cup will certainly drink it, but are you the one who will go completely unpunished? You will not go unpunished, but you will certainly drink it. 13For I have sworn by Myself,” declares Yahweh, “that Bozrah will become an object of horror, a reproach, a ruin, and an imprecation; and all its cities will become perpetual [†]ruins.”

14I have heard a message from Yahweh,

And an envoy is sent among the nations, saying,

“Gather yourselves together and come against her,

And rise up for battle!”

15“For behold, I have made you small among the nations,

Despised among men.

16As for the terror of you,

The arrogance of your heart has deceived you,

O you who dwell in the clefts of [†]the rock,

Who seize the height of the hill.

Though you make your nest as high as an eagle’s,

I will bring you down from there,” declares Yahweh.

17“Edom will become [†]an object of horror; everyone who passes by it will [†]be horrified and will hiss at all its wounds. 18Like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah with its neighbors,” says Yahweh, “no one will live there, nor will a son of man sojourn in it. 19Behold, one will come up like a lion from the [†]thickets of the Jordan against an enduring pasture; for in an instant I will make him run away from it, and whoever is chosen I shall appoint over it. For who is like Me, and who will summon Me into court? And who then is the shepherd who can stand against Me?”

20Therefore hear the counsel of Yahweh which He has counseled against Edom, and His purposes which He has purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: surely they will drag them off, even the little ones of the flock; surely He will make their pasture desolate because of them. 21The earth has quaked at the noise of their downfall. There is an outcry! The noise of it has been heard at the [†]Red Sea. 22Behold, [†]He will mount up and swoop like an eagle and spread out His wings [†]against Bozrah; and the hearts of the mighty men of Edom in that day will be like the heart of a woman in labor.

Word Against Damascus

23Concerning Damascus.

“Hamath and Arpad are put to shame,

For they have heard a bad report;

They are melting away.

There is anxiety by the sea,

It cannot be quieted.

24Damascus has become limp in their hands;

She has turned away to flee,

And panic has taken hold of her;

Distress and pangs have seized her

Like a woman in childbirth.

25How [†]the city of praise has not been forsaken,

The town of My joy!

26Therefore, her young men will fall in her open squares,

And all the men of war will be [†]silenced in that day,” declares Yahweh of hosts.

27“I will set fire to the wall of Damascus,

And it will devour the [†]fortified towers of Ben-hadad.”

Word Against Kedar and Hazor

28Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck down. Thus says Yahweh,

“Arise, go up to Kedar

And destroy the [†]men of the east.

29They will take away their tents and their flocks;

They will carry off for themselves

Their tent curtains, all their goods, and their camels,

And they will call out to one another, ‘Terror on every side!’

30Run away, flee earnestly! Inhabit the depths,

O inhabitants of Hazor,” declares Yahweh;

“For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has taken counsel against you

And purposed a purpose against you.

31Arise, go up against a nation which is at ease,

Which inhabits its land securely,” declares Yahweh.

“It has no gates or bars;

They dwell alone.

32Their camels will become plunder,

And their many cattle for spoil,

And I will scatter to all the winds those who cut the corners of their hair;

And I will bring their [†]disaster from every side,” declares Yahweh.

33“Hazor will become a haunt of jackals,

A desolation forever;

No one will inhabit there,

Nor will a son of man sojourn in it.”

Word Against Elam

34That which came as the word of Yahweh to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying:

35“Thus says Yahweh of hosts,

‘Behold, I am going to break the bow of Elam,

The [†]finest of their might.

36I will bring upon Elam the four winds

From the four ends of heaven,

And I will scatter them to all these winds;

And there will be no nation

To which the banished ones of Elam will not go.

37So I will [†]shatter Elam before their enemies

And before those who seek their lives;

And I will bring calamity upon them,

Even My burning anger,’ declares Yahweh,

‘And I will send out the sword after them

Until I have consumed them.

38Then I will set My throne in Elam

And cause king and princes from there to perish,’

Declares Yahweh.

39‘But it will be in the last days

That I will [†]return the [†]fortunes of Elam,’”

Declares Yahweh.