Jer 49 | ESV | STEP | Concerning the Ammonites . Thus says the Lord : Has Israel no sons ? Has he no heir ? Why then has Milcom dispossessed Gad , and his people settled in its cities ?

1 ^aConcerning the Ammonites.

Thus says the Lord:

“Has Israel no sons?
Has he no heir?
Why then has ^bMilcom ^cdispossessed Gad,
and his people settled in its cities?
2 Therefore, behold, the days are coming,
declares the Lord,
when I will cause ^dthe battle cry to be heard
against ^eRabbah of the Ammonites;
it shall become a desolate ^fmound,
and its villages shall be burned with fire;
then Israel shall dispossess those who dispossessed him,
says the Lord.
3 “Wail, O ^gHeshbon, for Ai is laid waste!
Cry out, O daughters of ^hRabbah!
ⁱPut on sackcloth,
lament, and run to and fro among the hedges!
For ^jMilcom shall go into exile,
^kwith his priests and his officials.
4 Why do you boast of your valleys, ^{▼▼Hebrew boast of your valleys, your valley flows}
^mO faithless daughter,
ⁿwho trusted in her treasures, saying,
‘Who will come against me?’
5 Behold, ^oI will bring terror upon you,
declares the Lord God of hosts,
from all who are around you,
and you shall be driven out, every man straight before him,
with none to gather the fugitives.
6 “But ^pafterward I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites, declares the Lord.”

Judgment on Edom

7 Concerning ^qEdom.

Thus says the Lord of hosts:

^r“Is wisdom no more in ^sTeman?
^tHas counsel perished from the prudent?
^uHas their wisdom vanished?
8 ^vFlee, turn back, dwell in the depths,
O inhabitants of ^wDedan!
For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him,
^xthe time when I punish him.
9 ^yIf grape gatherers came to you,
would they not leave ^zgleanings?
^aaIf thieves came by night,
would they not destroy only enough for themselves?
10 ^abBut I have stripped Esau bare;
^acI have uncovered his hiding places,
and he is not able to conceal himself.
His children are destroyed, and his brothers,
and his neighbors; and ^adhe is no more.
11 ^aeLeave your fatherless children; I will keep them alive;
^afand let your widows trust in me.”
12 For thus says the Lord: ^ag“If those who did not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, ^ahwill you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, but you must drink. 13 ^aiFor I have sworn by myself, declares the Lord, that ^ajBozrah shall become ^aka horror, a taunt, a waste, and a curse, and all her cities shall be perpetual wastes.”

14 ^alI have heard a message from the Lord,
and an envoy has been sent among the nations:
^am“Gather yourselves together and come against her,
and rise up for battle!
15 For behold, I will make you small among the nations,
despised among mankind.
16 The horror you inspire has deceived you,
and the pride of your heart,
you who live in the clefts of the rock, ^{▼▼Or of Sela}
who hold the height of the hill.
Though you ^aomake your nest as high as the eagle’s,
I will bring you down from there,

declares the Lord.
17 ^ap“Edom shall become a horror. ^aqEveryone who passes by it will be horrified ^arand will hiss because of all its disasters. 18 ^asAs when Sodom and Gomorrah and their ^atneighboring cities were overthrown, says the Lord, ^auno man shall dwell there, ^avno man shall sojourn in her. 19 ^awBehold, ^axlike a lion coming up from ^aythe jungle of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make him ^{▼▼Septuagint, Syriac them} run away from her. And I will appoint over her whomever I choose. ^baFor who is like me? ^bbWho will summon me? ^bcWhat shepherd can stand before me? 20 Therefore hear the plan that the Lord has made against ^bdEdom and the purposes that he has formed against the inhabitants of ^beTeman: ^bfEven the little ones of the flock shall be dragged away. Surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate. 21 At the sound of their fall ^bgthe earth shall tremble; the sound of their cry shall be heard at the Red Sea. 22 Behold, ^bhone shall mount up and fly swiftly like an eagle and spread his wings against ^biBozrah, and the heart of the warriors of Edom shall be in that day like the heart ^bjof a woman in her birth pains.”

Judgment on Damascus

23 Concerning ^bkDamascus:

^bl“Hamath and ^bmArpad are confounded,
for they have heard bad news;
they melt in fear,
^bnthey are troubled like the sea that cannot be quiet.
24 ^boDamascus has become feeble, ^bpshe turned to flee,
and panic seized her;
anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her,
as ^bqof a woman in labor.
25 How is ^brthe famous city not forsaken,
the city of my joy?
26 ^bsTherefore her young men shall fall in her squares,
and all her soldiers shall be destroyed in that day,

declares the Lord of hosts.
27 And ^btI will kindle a fire in the wall of ^buDamascus,
and it shall devour the strongholds of ^bvBen-hadad.”

Judgment on Kedar and Hazor

28 Concerning ^bwKedar and the kingdoms of Hazor that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck down.

Thus says the Lord:
^bx“Rise up, advance against ^byKedar!
Destroy ^bzthe people of the east!
29 ^caTheir tents and their flocks shall be taken,
their ^cbcurtains and all their goods;
their camels shall be led away from them,
and men shall cry to them: ^cc‘Terror on every side!’
30 ^cdFlee, wander far away, dwell in the depths,
O inhabitants of Hazor!

declares the Lord.
For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
has made a plan against you
and formed a purpose against you.
31 ^ce“Rise up, advance against a nation ^cfat ease,
^cgthat dwells securely,

declares the Lord,
^chthat has no gates or bars,
that dwells alone.
32 ^ciTheir camels shall become plunder,
their herds of livestock a spoil.
^cjI will scatter to every wind
^ckthose who cut the corners of their hair,
and I will bring their calamity
from every side of them,

declares the Lord.
33 Hazor shall become ^cla haunt of jackals,
an everlasting waste;
^cmno man shall dwell there;
^cnno man shall sojourn in her.”

Judgment on Elam

34 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning ^coElam, in the beginning of the reign of ^cpZedekiah king of Judah.

35 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Behold, I will break ^cqthe bow of ^crElam, the mainstay of their might. 36 And I will bring upon ^csElam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven. And I will scatter them to all those winds, and there shall be no nation to which those driven out of ^ctElam shall not come. 37 I will ^cuterrify ^cvElam before their enemies and before those who seek their life. I will bring disaster upon them, ^cwmy fierce anger, declares the Lord. ^cxI will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them, 38 and I will set my throne in ^cyElam and destroy their king and officials, declares the Lord.

39 “But in the latter days ^czI will restore the fortunes of ^daElam, declares the Lord.”