Jeremiah 49

Revised Geneva Translation

49 To the children of Ammon, thus says the LORD: “Has Israel no sons? Or has he no heir? Why has their king inherited Gad, and his people dwelt in its cities?

² “Therefore, behold, the days come,” says the LORD, “that I will cause a noise of war to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites. And it shall be a desolate heap. And her daughters shall be burnt with fire. Then Israel shall take possession of those who possessed him,” says the LORD.

³ “Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is wasted! Cry, you daughters of Rabbah! Gird yourselves with sackcloth! Mourn and run to and fro by the hedges! For their king shall go into captivity, as will his priests and his princes.

⁴ “Why do you glory in the valleys? Your valley flows away, O rebellious daughter. She trusted in her treasures, saying, ‘Who shall come to me?’

⁵ “Behold, I will bring a fear upon you,” says the LORD God of Hosts, “from all those who are around you. And you shall be scattered, every man before and behind. And no one shall gather him who flees.

⁶ “And afterward, I will bring back the captivity of the children of Ammon.”

⁷ Thus says the LORD of Hosts to Edom: “Is wisdom no longer in Teman? Has counsel perished from their children? Has their wisdom vanished?

⁸ “Flee, turn back, dwell in the depths, you inhabitants of Dedan! For I have brought the destruction of Esau upon him, the time of his visitation.

⁹ “If the grape gatherers come to you, would they not leave gleaning grapes? If thieves come by night, they will destroy until they have enough.

¹⁰ “For I have laid Esau bare. I have uncovered his secrets, and he shall not be able to hide himself. His seed is wasted, and his brethren, and his neighbors. He is no more.

¹¹ “Leave your fatherless children. I will preserve them alive. And let your widows trust in Me.”

¹² For thus says the LORD: “Behold, those whose sentence it was to not drink from the cup, have assuredly drunk. And are you the one who shall escape free? You shall not go free, but you shall surely drink from it.

¹³ “For I have sworn by Myself,” says the LORD, “that Bozrah shall be waste, a reproach, a desolation, and a curse. And all its cities shall be perpetual desolations.”

¹⁴ I have heard a report from the LORD. And an ambassador has been sent to the heathen. “Gather together and come against her! And rise up to the battle!

¹⁵ “For lo, I will make you but small among the heathen, and despised among men.

¹⁶ “Your fear, and the pride of your heart, have deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock and hold the height of the hill. Though you would make your nest as high as the eagle, I will bring you down from there,” says the LORD.

¹⁷ “Also, Edom shall be desolate. Everyone who goes by him shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all his plagues,

¹⁸ “as in the overthrow of Sodom and of Gomorrah and the places nearby,” says the LORD. No man shall dwell there, nor shall the sons of men remain in it.

¹⁹ “Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan to the strong dwelling place. For I will make him hurry away from her. And who is the chosen man whom I may appoint against her? For who is like Me? And who will summon Me? And who is the shepherd who will stand before Me?”

²⁰ Therefore, hear the counsel of the LORD that He has devised against Edom, and His purpose that He has conceived against the inhabitants of Teman. Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out. He shall make their habitations desolate with them.

²¹ The Earth is moved at the noise of their fall. The cry of their voice is heard in the Red Sea.

²² Behold, He shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread His wings over Bozrah. And on that day the hearts of the strong men of Edom shall be as the heart of a woman in labor.

²³ To Damascus He says: “Hamath and Arpad are put to shame, for they have heard evil tidings. They are faint-hearted and cannot rest, as if on a fearful sea.

²⁴ “Damascus is discouraged, turns herself to flight, and fear has seized her. Anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in labor.

²⁵ “How is the glorious city not forsaken, the city of My joy?

²⁶ “Therefore, her young men shall fall in her streets. And all her men of war shall be cut off on that day,” says the LORD of Hosts.

²⁷ “And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, which shall consume the palaces of Ben-Hadad.”

²⁸ Of Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor—which Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babel, shall strike—thus says the LORD: “Arise! Go up to Kedar and destroy the men of the East.

²⁹ “They shall take away their tents and their flocks. Yea, they shall take away their curtains and all their vessels and their camels for themselves. And they shall cry to them, ‘Fear is on every side!’

³⁰ “Flee! Go far away! Dwell in the depths, O, you inhabitants of Hazor!” says the LORD, “for Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babel, has taken counsel against you, and has devised a purpose against you.

³¹ “Arise! Get up to the wealthy nation that dwells securely,” says the LORD, “which has neither gates nor bars, but dwells alone.

³² “And their camels shall be a plunder, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil. And I will scatter them to all winds, and to the utmost corners. And I will bring their destruction from all sides,” says the LORD.

³³ “And Hazor shall be a dwelling for dragons, desolation forever. No man shall dwell there, nor shall the sons of men remain in it.”

³⁴ The Words of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the Prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, saying,

³⁵ “Thus says the LORD of Hosts: ‘Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their strength.

³⁶ ‘And upon Elam I will bring the four winds from the four quarters of Heaven and will scatter them towards all these winds. And there shall be no nation to where the fugitives of Elam shall not come.

³⁷ ‘For I will cause Elam to be afraid before their enemies, and before those who seek their lives, and will bring upon them a plague, the indignation of My wrath,’ says the LORD, ‘And I will send the sword after them until I have consumed them.

³⁸ ‘And I will set My throne in Elam. And I will destroy the king and the princes from there,’ says the LORD, ‘but in the latter days, I will bring back the captivity of Elam,’ says the LORD.”