Jeremiah 49:1-39

YAHWEH says to the Ammonites: “Has Israel no sons? Is there no one to inherit her land? What right did your god Molech have to take the territory of Gad, and the people of Molech to occupy its towns? Therefore, I say to you, The days are coming when I will cause the Ammonites of Rabbah to hear the battle cries of their attackers. I will turn her into a heap of ruins and her surrounding villages will be set on fire. Then Israel will drive out those who drove her out. I, YAHWEH, affirm it! Weep and wail, Heshbon, for Ai has been destroyed! Shriek, women of Rabbah! Put on sackcloth and mourn; run back and forth in confusion! For enemies will lead Molech away and take him captive with all his priests and servants. Why do you glory in your ebbing strength, you rebellious ones? For you trust in your great wealth and say, ‘Who will dare to attack me?’ Look, I will bring terror upon you,” says Lord YAHWEH, Commander of Angel Armies. “Terror will come from every side; everyone will run away, and no one will be there to bring them back together. But I affirm to you, I will one day bring back the captive Ammonites.” YAHWEH, Commander of Angel Armies, says to Edom: “Is there no wise person left in Teman? Have all the advisers run out of common sense? Has all their wisdom vanished? People of Dedan, turn and run! Go into hiding, for I will bring ruin on Esau when my time to punish him has come. People who harvest grapes always leave some for the poor. Thieves who break in at night only take what they want. However, I have taken everything from Esau’s descendants. I have uncovered his hiding places so that he can hide no longer. All the Edomites are ruined, along with their relatives and neighbors, with no one left to say, ‘Leave your orphans, I’ll take care of them; let your widows depend on me!’ ” For YAHWEH says, “Even those nations that don’t deserve to be punished must drink from the cup filled with my anger. So how do you hope to escape? You will not go unpunished but will certainly have to drink from that same cup. For I have sworn by my great name, YAHWEH, that your capital city of Bozrah and all its surrounding villages will become nothing but desert ruins. Bozrah will be a laughingstock, a curse, and an object of horror forever.” I have received a word from YAHWEH. A messenger has been sent to tell the nations: “Assemble your armies for battle and get ready to attack Edom.” “Behold, I will make you the least of nations; all the world will despise you. Your proud heart has deceived you. Your pride rests in thinking everyone is afraid of you. But I, YAHWEH, say to you whose home is in the rocky cliffs, who live high on the mountaintop, though you make your nest as high as the eagle’s, I will topple you from your high place! “I will make Edom an object of horror and astonishment; everyone who passes by it will be appalled and will make insulting remarks because of all its disasters! I, YAHWEH, say to you: As Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns were destroyed and no one will live there again, not one person will ever settle in Edom again. “Behold, just as a lion suddenly comes out of the thickets of the Jordan to a rich pastureland, I will suddenly make the people of Edom run away. And I will appoint a leader that I choose. For who can be compared to me? Who is able to challenge me? Name for me the ruler who can stand up to me. So now listen to the plans that I have against you, Edom. Listen to what I have in store for the people of Teman. Like little lambs, your children will be dragged away before your own eyes, and everyone will be horrified! The earth will shudder at the sound of their downfall while the echoes of their cry reach to the Red Sea. Look, an enemy will swoop down on Bozrah and attack Edom without warning, like an eagle diving from the sky. The enemy will capture the cities and the fortresses. And on that day Edom’s warriors will be as frightened as a woman in her birth pains.” YAHWEH says to Damascus: “Your neighboring cities of Hamath and Arpad are humiliated, for they have heard the bad news. They are shaken with anxiety like the troubled sea that cannot be calmed. The people of Damascus are in a panic. They have lost their courage and have turned to run. Anguish and travail have taken hold of them, like a woman in labor. You were once famous, and I was pleased with you, but now I warn you, ‘Escape while you can!’ Nevertheless, I, YAHWEH, Commander of Angel Armies, say to you: On that day, the enemy will kill your young men in the streets, and all your warriors will perish. I will light a fire inside the walls of Damascus, to devour the palaces of Ben-Hadad.” YAHWEH says to the tribe of Kedar and the areas controlled by Hazor, all conquered by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon: “Rise up! Advance to Kedar, destroy the Arab tribes of the east. Capture their tents, flocks, tent curtains, camels, and all their gear. Tell the people there is terror on every side!” YAHWEH says to the people of Hazor: “Run away and hide in caves as fast as you can, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has plans to attack you; he has a scheme in mind to defeat you. “Rise up! March on an unsuspecting people who feel safe and secure,” says YAHWEH. “They are complacent, living off by themselves without walls or gates. Take all their camels and many sheep as the spoils of war. Those who live in the edges of the desert I will scatter to the four winds. And I, YAHWEH, will bring disaster on them from every side. Hazor will become desolate, the haunt of jackals, an empty, uninhabited desert.” In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, YAHWEH, Commander of Angel Armies, gave me a word for the land of Elam. “Behold, I will break the strength of Elam’s archers, the boast of their might. I will bring storms of judgment from everywhere to break out against them. I will scatter them to the four winds. And there will not be a single nation that will not take you captive. Elamites! I will shatter your confidence before your enemies, who are determined to kill you. In my burning anger, I, YAHWEH, will bring disaster on you and pursue you with the sword until I have eliminated you all. Then I, YAHWEH, will destroy your kings and leaders and establish my rule in Elam. Then later on, I will bring your captives back,” says YAHWEH.