What the LORD says about Ammon

1The LORD has this to say about the nation of Ammon:49.1-6: Ez 21.28-32; 25.1-7; Am 1.13-15; Zep 2.8-11.

The people of Israel

have plenty of children

to inherit their lands.

So why have you worshippers

of the god Milcom49.1 Milcom: The national god of Ammon, probably the same as the god Molech in 32.35.

taken over towns and land

belonging to the Gad tribe?

2Some day I will send an army

to attack you in Rabbah,

your capital city.

It will be left in ruins,

and the surrounding villages

will lie in ashes.

You took some of Israel's land,

but on that day

Israel will take yours!

3Cry, people of Heshbon;49.3 Heshbon: See also 48.45; since Heshbon was near the border of Moab and Ammon, it was probably ruled by the country that was stronger at the time.

your town will become

a pile of rubble.49.3 your town will become a pile of rubble: Or “because the town of Ai has been destroyed”; referring to an Ammonite town named Ai, not the town of that name near Bethel in the land of Israel.

You will turn here and there,

but your path will be blocked.49.3 You will turn…blocked: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

Put on sackcloth49.3 sackcloth: See the note at 4.8. and mourn,

you citizens of Rabbah,

because the idol you worship49.3 the idol you worship: Hebrew “Milcom” (see verse 1 and the note there).

will be taken

to a foreign country,

along with its priests

and temple officials.

4You rebellious Ammonites

trust your wealth and ask,

“Who could attack us?”

But I warn you not to boast

when your strength is fading.49.4 when…fading: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

5I, the LORD All-Powerful,

will send neighbouring nations

to strike you with terror.

You will be scattered,

with no one to care

for your refugees.

6Yet some day, I will bring

your people back home.

I, the LORD, have spoken.

What the LORD says about Edom

7-8The LORD All-Powerful says about Edom:49.7-22: Is 34.5-17; 63.1-6; Ez 25.12-14; 35.1-15; Am 1.11-12; Ob 1-14; Ml 1.2-5.

Wisdom and common sense

have vanished from Teman.49.7,8 Teman: The name of a town in Edom, sometimes used as the name of the northern half of the nation of Edom; here it probably stands for the whole nation.

I will send disaster to punish

you descendants of Esau,49.7,8 Esau: The ancestor of the nation of Edom.

so anyone from Dedan49.7,8 Dedan: The name of a town in north-west Arabia, also used of the north-west region of Arabia along the Red Sea.

had better turn round

and run back home.49.7,8 anyone…home: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

9People who harvest grapes

leave some for the poor.

Thieves who break in at night

take only what they want.

10But I will take everything

that belongs to you,

people of Edom,

and I will uncover every place

where you try to hide.

Then you will die,

and so will your children,

relatives, and neighbours.

11But I can be trusted

to care for your orphans

and widows.

12Even those nations that don't deserve to be punished will have to drink from the cup of my anger. So how can you possibly hope to escape? 13I, the LORD, swear in my own name that your city of Bozrah49.13 Bozrah: The main city and capital of Edom. and all your towns will suffer a horrible fate. They will lie in ruins for ever, and people will use the name “Bozrah” as a curse word.

14I have sent a messenger

to command the nations

to prepare for war

against you people of Edom.

15Your nation will be small,

yet hated by other nations.

16Pride tricks you into thinking

that other nations

look at you with fear.49.16 Pride…fear: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

You live along the cliffs

and high in the mountains

like the eagles,

but I am the LORD,

and I will bring you down.

17People passing by your country

will be shocked and horrified

to see a disaster

18as bad as the destruction49.18: Gn 19.24,25.

of Sodom and Gomorrah

and towns nearby.

The towns of Edom will be empty.

19I will attack you

like a lion from the forest,

attacking sheep in a meadow

along the Jordan.

In a moment the flock runs,

and the land is empty.

Who will I choose to attack you?

I will do it myself!

No one can force me to fight

or chase me away.

20Listen to my plans for you,

people of Edom.49.20 Edom: The Hebrew text also uses the name “Teman” (see the note at verses 7-8).

Your children will be dragged off

and your country destroyed.

21The sounds of your destruction

will reach the Red Sea49.21 Red Sea: Hebrew yam suph, here referring to the Gulf of Aqaba, since the term is extended to include the north-eastern arm of the Red Sea (see also the note at Exodus 13.18).

and cause the earth to shake.

22An enemy will swoop down

to attack you,

like an eagle spreading its wings

and circling over Bozrah.

Your warriors will be gripped

by fear.49.22 will be gripped by fear: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

What the LORD says about Damascus

23The LORD says about Damascus:49.23-27: Is 17.1-3; Am 1.3-5; Zec 9.1.

The towns of Hamath and Arpad49.23 Hamath and Arpad: Two towns in Syria that had been the capitals of small kingdoms allied with the more powerful kingdom whose capital was Damascus.

have heard your bad news.

They have lost hope,

and worries roll over them

like ocean waves.49.23 worries…waves: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

24You people of Damascus

have lost your courage,

and in panic you turn to run,

gripped by fear and pain.49.24 gripped by fear and pain: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

25I once was pleased

with your famous city.

But now I warn you, “Escape

while you still can!”49.25 can: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 25.

26Soon, even your best soldiers

will lie dead in your streets.

I, the LORD All-Powerful,

have spoken.

27I will set fire to your city walls

and burn down the fortresses

King Benhadad built.

Nebuchadnezzar and the people of the desert

28Here is what the LORD says about the Kedar tribe and the desert villages49.28 desert villages: The Hebrew text has “kingdoms of Hazor”, which probably refers to several kingdoms of desert peoples who were not nomads, but who lived in small villages. that were conquered by King Nebuchadnezzar49.28 Nebuchadnezzar: See the note at 21.2. of Babylonia:

Listen, you people of Kedar

and the other tribes

of the eastern desert.

I have told Nebuchadnezzar

to attack and destroy you.

29His fearsome army

will surround you,

taking your tents and possessions,

your sheep and camels.

30Run and hide,

you people of the desert

who live in villages!49.30 villages: See the note at 49.28.

Nebuchadnezzar has big plans

for you.

31You have no city walls

and no neighbours to help,

yet you think you're safe—

so I told him to attack.

32Then your camels

and large herds

will be yours no longer.

People of the Arabian Desert,49.32 People of the Arabian Desert: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

disaster will strike you

from every side,

and you will be scattered

everywhere on earth.

33Only jackals49.33 jackals: See the note at 9.11. will live

where your villages49.33 villages: See the note at 49.28. once stood.

I, the LORD, have spoken.

What the LORD says about Elam

34-35Not long after Zedekiah49.34,35 Zedekiah: See the note at 1.3. became king of Judah, the LORD told me to say:

People of Elam,49.34,35 Elam: A nation east of Babylonia, attacked by Nebuchadnezzar about 596 BC.

I, the LORD All-Powerful,

will kill the archers

who make your army strong.

36Enemies will attack

from all directions,

and you will be led captive

to every nation on earth.

37Their armies will crush

and kill you,

and you will face the disaster

that my anger brings.

38Your king and his officials

will die, and I will rule

in their place.

I, the LORD, have spoken.

39But I promise that some day

I will bring your people

back to their land.