Prophecies against Ammon

1About the Ammonites,a this is what the Lord says:

Does Israel have no sons?

Is he without an heir?

Why then has Milcoma B dispossessed Gadb

and his people settled in their cities?

2Therefore look, the days are cominga —

this is the Lord’s declaration —

when I will make the shout of battleb heard

against Rabbahc of the Ammonites.

It will become a desolate mound,

and its surrounding villages will be set on fire.

Israel will dispossess their dispossessors,

says the Lord.

3Wail, Heshbon,a for Ai is devastated;

cry out, daughters of Rabbah!

Clothe yourselves with sackcloth,b and lament;

run back and forth within your walls,A

because Milcom will go into exile

together with his priests and officials.c

4Why do you boast about your valleys,

your flowing valley,A

you faithless daughter —

you who trust in your treasures

and say, “Who can attack me? ”

5Look, I am about to bring terror on youa —

this is the declaration of the Lord God of Armies —

from all those around you.

You will be banished, each person headlong,

with no one to gather up the fugitives.

6But after that, I will restore the fortunesA of the Ammonites.a

This is the Lord’s declaration.

Prophecies against Edom

7About Edom,a this is what the Lord of Armies says:

Is there no longer wisdom in Teman?b

Has counsel perished from the prudent?

Has their wisdom rotted away?c

8Run! Turn back! Lie low,

residents of Dedan,a

for I will bring Esau’s calamity on himb

at the time I punish him.c

9If grape harvesters came to you,

wouldn’t they leave a few grapes?a

Were thieves to come in the night,

they would destroy only what they wanted.b

10But I will strip Esau bare;

I will uncover his secret places.a

He will try to hide,b but he will be unable.

His descendants will be destroyed

along with his relatives and neighbors.

He will exist no longer.c

11Abandon your fatherless; I will preserve them;

let your widows trust in me.a

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 remain unpunished, for you must drink it too. 13For by myself I have sworn”a — this is the Lord’s declaration — “BozrahA will become a desolation, a disgrace, a ruin, and an example for cursing, and all its surrounding cities will become ruins forever.”b

14I have heard an envoy from the Lord;

a messenger has been sent among the nations:

Assemble yourselves to come against her.

Rise up for war!

15I will certainly make you insignificant among the nations,

despised among humanity.

16As to the terror you cause,A

your arrogant heart has deceived you.

You who live in the clefts of the rock,B

you who occupy the mountain summit,

though you elevate your nest like the eagles,

even from there I will bring you down.

This is the Lord’s declaration.a

17“Edom will become a desolation. Everyone who passes by her will be appalled and scoff because of all her wounds.a 18As when Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown along with their neighbors,”a says the Lord, “no one will live there; no human being will stay in it even temporarily.b

19“Look, it will be like a lion coming from the thicketsA of the Jordan to the watered grazing land.a I will chase Edom away from her land in a flash. I will appoint whoever is chosen for her. For who is like me?b Who will issue me a summons?c Who is the shepherd who can stand against me? ”d

20Therefore, hear the plans that the Lord has drawn up against Edom and the strategies he has devised against the people of Teman:a The flock’s little lambs will certainly be dragged away,b and their grazing land will be made desolate because of them.c 21At the sound of their fall the earth will quake;a the sound of her cry will be heard at the Red Sea.b 22Look! It will be like an eagle soaring upward, then swooping down and spreading its wings over Bozrah. In that day the hearts of Edom’s warriors will be like the heart of a woman with contractions.a

Prophecies against Damascus

23About Damascus:a

Hamath and Arpad are put to shame,b

for they have heard a bad report and are agitated,

likeA the anxious sea that cannot be calmed.

24Damascus has become weak;

she has turned to run;

panic has gripped her.

Distress and labor pains have seized her

like a woman in labor.a

25How can the city of praise not be abandoned,a

the town that brings me joy?

26Therefore, her young men will fall in her public squares;

all the warriors will perish in that day.

This is the declaration of the Lord of Armies.a

27I will set fire to the wall of Damascus;

it will consume Ben-hadad’s citadels.a

Prophecies against Kedar and Hazor

28About Kedara and the kingdoms of Hazor, which King Nebuchadnezzarb of Babylon defeated, this is what the Lord says:

Rise up, attack Kedar,

and destroy the people of the east!

29They will take their tents and their flocks

along with their tent curtains and all their equipment.

They will take their camels for themselves.

They will call out to them,

“Terror is on every side! ”a

30Run! Escape quickly! Lie low,

residents of Hazor —

this is the Lord’s declaration —

for King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon

has drawn up a plan against you;

he has devised a strategy against you.

31Rise up, attack a nation at ease,

one living in security.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

They have no doors, not even a gate bar;

they live alone.a

32Their camels will become plunder,

and their massive herds of cattle will become spoil.a

I will scatter them to the wind in every direction,

those who clip the hair on their temples;

I will bring calamity on them across all their borders.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

33Hazor will become a jackals’ den,a

a desolation forever.

No one will live there;

no human being will stay in it even temporarily.b

Prophecies against Elam

34This is the word of the Lord that came to the prophet Jeremiah about ElamA at the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah.a 35This is what the Lord of Armies says:

I am about to shatter Elam’s bow,a

the sourceA of their might.

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 banished ones will not go.

37I will devastate Elam before their enemies,

before those who intend to take their lives.

I will bring disaster on them,

my burning anger.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

I will send the sword after thema

until I finish them off.

38I will set my throne in Elam,

and I will destroy the king and officials from there.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

39Yet, in the last days,

I will restore the fortunes of Elam.a

This is the Lord’s declaration.