| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Concerning the Ammonites, this is what the LORD says: “Has Israel no sons? Is he without heir? Why then has Milcom taken possession of Gad? Why have his people settled in their cities? | 1This message was given concerning the Ammonites. This is what the LORD says: “Are there no descendants of Israel to inherit the land of Gad? Why are you, who worship Molech, living in its towns? |
| 2Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will sound the battle cry against Rabbah of the Ammonites. It will become a heap of ruins, and its villages will be burned. Then Israel will drive out their dispossessors, says the LORD. | 2In the days to come,” says the LORD, “I will sound the battle cry against your city of Rabbah. It will become a desolate heap of ruins, and the neighboring towns will be burned. Then Israel will take back the land you took from her,” says the LORD. |
| 3Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai has been destroyed; cry out, O daughters of Rabbah! Put on sackcloth and mourn; run back and forth within your walls, for Milcom will go into exile together with his priests and officials. | 3“Cry out, O Heshbon, for the town of Ai is destroyed. Weep, O people of Rabbah! Put on your clothes of mourning. Weep and wail, hiding in the hedges, for your god Molech, with his priests and officials, will be hauled off to distant lands. |
| 4Why do you boast of your valleys—your valleys so fruitful, O faithless daughter? You trust in your riches and say, ‘Who can come against me?’ | 4You are proud of your fertile valleys, but they will soon be ruined. You trusted in your wealth, you rebellious daughter, and thought no one could ever harm you. |
| 5Behold, I am about to bring terror upon you, declares the Lord GOD of Hosts, from all those around you. You will each be driven headlong, with no one to regather the fugitives. | 5But look! I will bring terror upon you,” says the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. “Your neighbors will chase you from your land, and no one will help your exiles as they flee. |
| 6Yet afterward I will restore the Ammonites from captivity,” declares the LORD. | 6But I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites in days to come. I, the LORD, have spoken.” Messages about Edom |
| 7Concerning Edom, this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Is there no longer wisdom in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom decayed? | 7This message was given concerning Edom. This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: “Is there no wisdom in Teman? Is no one left to give wise counsel? |
| 8Turn and run! Lie low, O dwellers of Dedan, for I will bring disaster on Esau at the time I punish him. | 8Turn and flee! Hide in deep caves, you people of Dedan! For when I bring disaster on Edom, I will punish you, too! |
| 9If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave some gleanings? Were thieves to come in the night, would they not steal only what they wanted? | 9Those who harvest grapes always leave a few for the poor. If thieves came at night, they would not take everything. |
| 10But I will strip Esau bare; I will uncover his hiding places, and he will be unable to conceal himself. His descendants will be destroyed along with his relatives and neighbors, and he will be no more. | 10But I will strip bare the land of Edom, and there will be no place left to hide. Its children, its brothers, and its neighbors will all be destroyed, and Edom itself will be no more. |
| 11Abandon your orphans; I will preserve their lives. Let your widows trust in Me.” | 11But I will protect the orphans who remain among you. Your widows, too, can depend on me for help.” |
| 12For this is what the LORD says: “If those who do not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, can you possibly remain unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for you must drink it too. | 12And this is what the LORD says: “If the innocent must suffer, how much more must you! You will not go unpunished! You must drink this cup of judgment! |
| 13For by Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, that Bozrah will become a desolation, a disgrace, a ruin, and a curse, and all her cities will be in ruins forever.” | 13For I have sworn by my own name,” says the LORD, “that Bozrah will become an object of horror and a heap of ruins; it will be mocked and cursed. All its towns and villages will be desolate forever.” |
| 14I have heard a message from the LORD; an envoy has been sent to the nations: “Assemble yourselves to march against her! Rise up for battle!” | 14I have heard a message from the LORD that an ambassador was sent to the nations to say, “Form a coalition against Edom, and prepare for battle!” |
| 15“For behold, I will make you small among nations, despised among men. | 15The LORD says to Edom, “I will cut you down to size among the nations. You will be despised by all. |
| 16The terror you cause and the pride of your heart have deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks, O occupiers of the mountain summit. Though you elevate your nest like the eagle, even from there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD. | 16You have been deceived by the fear you inspire in others and by your own pride. You live in a rock fortress and control the mountain heights. But even if you make your nest among the peaks with the eagles, I will bring you crashing down,” says the LORD. |
| 17“Edom will become an object of horror. All who pass by will be appalled and will scoff at all her wounds. | 17“Edom will be an object of horror. All who pass by will be appalled and will gasp at the destruction they see there. |
| 18As Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown along with their neighbors,” says the LORD, “no one will dwell there; no man will abide there. | 18It will be like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns,” says the LORD. “No one will live there; no one will inhabit it. |
| 19Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan to the watered pasture. For in an instant I will chase Edom from her land. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? For who is like Me, and who can challenge Me? What shepherd can stand against Me?” | 19I will come like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan, leaping on the sheep in the pasture. I will chase Edom from its land, and I will appoint the leader of my choice. For who is like me, and who can challenge me? What ruler can oppose my will?” |
| 20Therefore hear the plans that the LORD has drawn up against Edom and the strategies He has devised against the people of Teman: Surely the little ones of the flock will be dragged away; certainly their pasture will be made desolate because of them. | 20Listen to the LORD’s plans against Edom and the people of Teman. Even the little children will be dragged off like sheep, and their homes will be destroyed. |
| 21At the sound of their fall the earth will quake; their cry will resound to the Red Sea. | 21The earth will shake with the noise of Edom’s fall, and its cry of despair will be heard all the way to the Red Sea. |
| 22Look! An eagle will soar and swoop down, spreading its wings over Bozrah. In that day the hearts of Edom’s mighty men will be like the heart of a woman in labor. | 22Look! The enemy swoops down like an eagle, spreading his wings over Bozrah. Even the mightiest warriors will be in anguish like a woman in labor. A Message about Damascus |
| 23Concerning Damascus: “Hamath and Arpad are put to shame, for they have heard a bad report; they are agitated like the sea; their anxiety cannot be calmed. | 23This message was given concerning Damascus. This is what the LORD says: “The towns of Hamath and Arpad are struck with fear, for they have heard the news of their destruction. Their hearts are troubled like a wild sea in a raging storm. |
| 24Damascus has become feeble; she has turned to flee. Panic has gripped her; anguish and pain have seized her like a woman in labor. | 24Damascus has become feeble, and all her people turn to flee. Fear, anguish, and pain have gripped her as they grip a woman in labor. |
| 25How is the city of praise not forsaken, the town that brings Me joy? | 25That famous city, a city of joy, will be forsaken! |
| 26For her young men will fall in the streets, and all her warriors will be silenced in that day,” declares the LORD of Hosts. | 26Her young men will fall in the streets and die. Her soldiers will all be killed,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. |
| 27“I will set fire to the walls of Damascus; it will consume the fortresses of Ben-hadad.” | 27“And I will set fire to the walls of Damascus that will burn up the palaces of Ben-hadad.” A Message about Kedar and Hazor |
| 28Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated, this is what the LORD says: “Rise up, advance against Kedar, and destroy the people of the east! | 28This message was given concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which were attacked by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. This is what the LORD says: “Advance against Kedar! Destroy the warriors from the East! |
| 29They will take their tents and flocks, their tent curtains and all their goods. They will take their camels for themselves. They will shout to them: ‘Terror is on every side!’ | 29Their flocks and tents will be captured, and their household goods and camels will be taken away. Everywhere shouts of panic will be heard: ‘We are terrorized at every turn!’ |
| 30Run! Escape quickly! Lie low, O residents of Hazor,” declares the LORD, “for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has drawn up a plan against you; he has devised a strategy against you. | 30Run for your lives,” says the LORD. “Hide yourselves in deep caves, you people of Hazor, for King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has plotted against you and is preparing to destroy you. |
| 31Rise up, advance against a nation at ease, one that dwells securely,” declares the LORD. “They have no gates or bars; they live alone. | 31“Go up and attack that complacent nation,” says the LORD. “Its people live alone in the desert without walls or gates. |
| 32Their camels will become plunder, and their large herds will be spoil. I will scatter to the wind in every direction those who shave their temples; I will bring calamity on them from all sides,” declares the LORD. | 32Their camels and other livestock will all be yours. I will scatter to the winds these people who live in remote places. I will bring calamity upon them from every direction,” says the LORD. |
| 33“Hazor will become a haunt for jackals, a desolation forever. No one will dwell there; no man will abide there.” | 33“Hazor will be inhabited by jackals, and it will be desolate forever. No one will live there; no one will inhabit it.” A Message about Elam |
| 34This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah. | 34This message concerning Elam came to the prophet Jeremiah from the LORD at the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah. |
| 35This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Behold, I will shatter Elam’s bow, the mainstay of their might. | 35This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: “I will destroy the archers of Elam— the best of their forces. |
| 36I will bring the four winds against Elam from the four corners of the heavens, and I will scatter them to all these winds. There will not be a nation to which Elam’s exiles will not go. | 36I will bring enemies from all directions, and I will scatter the people of Elam to the four winds. They will be exiled to countries around the world. |
| 37So I will shatter Elam before their foes, before those who seek their lives. I will bring disaster upon them, even My fierce anger,” declares the LORD. “I will send out the sword after them until I finish them off. | 37I myself will go with Elam’s enemies to shatter it. In my fierce anger, I will bring great disaster upon the people of Elam,” says the LORD. “Their enemies will chase them with the sword until I have destroyed them completely. |
| 38I will set My throne in Elam, and destroy its king and officials,” declares the LORD. | 38I will set my throne in Elam,” says the LORD, “and I will destroy its king and officials. |
| 39“Yet in the last days, I will restore Elam from captivity,” declares the LORD. | 39But I will restore the fortunes of Elam in days to come. I, the LORD, have spoken!” |
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