The Lord's Judgment on Ammon

1 This 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 burned 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.”

The Lord's Judgment on Edom

7 This is what the Lord Almighty said about Edom: “Have the people of Edom lost their good judgment? 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 make fun of it and use its name as a curse. All the nearby villages will be in ruins forever. 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. 18 The same thing will happen to Edom that 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. 19 Like a lion coming out of the thick woods along the Jordan River 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 labor.”

The Lord's Judgment on Damascus

23 This 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 labor. 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.”

Judgment on the Tribe of Kedar and the City of Hazor

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 around 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 forever, a place where only jackals live. No one will ever live there again. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

The Lord's Judgment on Elam

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.”