Jeremiah, 49

1. Concerning the Ammonites, thus saith the LORD; Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? why [then] doth their king inherit Gad, and his people dwell in his cities?

1. Concerning the Ammonites. Yahweh says this: "Has Israel no sons? Has she no heir? Why then has Milcom disinherited Gad, why have his people settled in its cities?

2. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites; and it shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel be heir unto them that were his heirs, saith the LORD.

2. But the days are coming - says Yahweh - when I will sound the battle alarm against Rabbah of the Ammonites. It will become a heap of ruins, its villages destroyed by fire. Then Israel will dispossess those who had dispossessed her - Yahweh says.

3. Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled: cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth; lament, and run to and fro by the hedges; for their king shall go into captivity, [and] his priests and his princes together.

3. Wail, Heshbon, for the destroyer marches! Howl, inhabitants of Rabbah! Put on sackcloth, lament, run to and fro, gashing yourselves; for Milcom goes into exile, along with his priests and officials.

4. Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys, thy flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? that trusted in her treasures, [saying], Who shall come unto me?

4. Why boast of your valleys, your valleys flowing with fruit, O faithless daughter, trusting in your riches and saying, 'Who will dare attack me?'

5. Behold, I will bring a fear upon thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts, from all those that be about thee; and ye shall be driven out every man right forth; and none shall gather up him that wandereth.

5. Look, I will bring terror upon you; you will be driven away, everyone making his own way, with no one to gather the fugitives.

6. And afterward I will bring again the captivity of the children of Ammon, saith the LORD.

6. Yet I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites later on. It is Yahweh Sabaoth who speaks."

7. Concerning Edom, thus saith the LORD of hosts; [Is] wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished?

7. Concerning Edom, this is what Yahweh says: "Is there no more wisdom left in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their understanding decayed?

8. Flee ye, turn back, dwell deep, O inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time [that] I will visit him.

8. Flee or hide in dark caves, you inhabitants of Dedan, for I will bring destruction upon Esau when I come to punish him.

9. If grapegatherers come to thee, would they not leave [some] gleaning grapes? if thieves by night, they will destroy till they have enough.

9. If grape pickers worked in your vineyard, would they not leave gleanings behind? If thieves came to you at night, would they not steal only as much as they want?

10. But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is spoiled, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he [is] not.

10. But I will strip Esau bare; his hiding places I will uncover. His relatives, children and neighbors will perish, and he will be no more.

11. Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve [them] alive; and let thy widows trust in me.

11. Leave your widows and orphans behind, and rest assured I will keep them alive."

12. For thus saith the LORD; Behold, they whose judgment [was] not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunken; and [art] thou he [that] shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink [of it].

12. For thus says Yahweh: "Even those not sentenced to drink the cup must drink it. Why then should you go unpunished? You, too, shall drink!

13. For I have sworn by myself, saith the LORD, that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes.

13. By my own self have I sworn, says Yahweh: Bozrah shall become an object of horror and disgrace, a desolation and a curse. All her towns and cities shall be ruins forever."

14. I have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent unto the heathen, [saying], Gather ye together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle.

14. I have received a message from Yahweh, a herald has been sent among the nations: "Assemble! Prepare for battle! March against these people!

15. For, lo, I will make thee small among the heathen, [and] despised among men.

15. Look, I will reduce you among the nations, make you despised among humankind.

16. Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, [and] the pride of thine heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the LORD.

16. The terror that you inspire and your pride have deceived you, you who live in the crags, on the rocky heights of the hill. Though you build your nest as high as the eagle's, I will bring you down from there - it is Yahweh who speaks.

17. Also Edom shall be a desolation: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof.

17. Edom will become a horror, shocking every passerby who will catch his breath at the sight of her wounds.

18. As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour [cities] thereof, saith the LORD, no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it.

18. As when Sodom, Gomorrah, and their neighboring towns were overthrown, no man shall dwell or visit there - thus Yahweh proclaims.

19. Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan against the habitation of the strong: but I will suddenly make him run away from her: and who [is] a chosen [man, that] I may appoint over her? for who [is] like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who [is] that shepherd that will stand before me?

19. As when a lion comes from the thicket of Jordan to a rich feeding ground, so I, in an instant, will drive Edom from its land. Whom will I choose for this task? Who is like me and can call me to account? What shepherd can stand against me?

20. Therefore hear the counsel of the LORD, that he hath taken against Edom; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitations desolate with them.

20. Therefore hear Yahweh's plan against Edom, against those who live in Teman. They will be dragged away, even the smallest sheep; their pasture will be destroyed on account of them.

21. The earth is moved at the noise of their fall, at the cry the noise thereof was heard in the Red sea.

21. The earth will tremble at the sound of their fall; to the Sea of Reeds their cry will resound.

22. Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread his wings over Bozrah: and at that day shall the heart of the mighty men of Edom be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.

22. Look! An eagle will soar and spread its wings over Bozrah. On that day the heart of Edom's warriors will pound like the heart of a woman in labor."

23. Concerning Damascus. Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; [there is] sorrow on the sea; it cannot be quiet.

23. Message concerning Damascus: "Hamath and Arpad are confused, having heard bad news. Their hearts are faint with fear like the waters of a troubled sea.

24. Damascus is waxed feeble, [and] turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on [her]: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.

24. Damascus has become feeble and turns to flee in panic, gripped by anguish and pain, like a woman in travail.

25. How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!

25. How the renowned city is forsaken, the city of delight!

26. Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.

26. Her young men will fall in the streets, her soldiers will be silenced on that day. Yahweh declares:

27. And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.

27. I will set fire to the walls of Damascus; it will consume Ben-Hadad's fortresses."

28. Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon shall smite, thus saith the LORD; Arise ye, go up to Kedar, and spoil the men of the east.

28. A message concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked. This is what Yahweh says: "Arise and attack Kedar, destroy the people of the east!

29. Their tents and their flocks shall they take away: they shall take to themselves their curtains, and all their vessels, and their camels; and they shall cry unto them, Fear [is] on every side.

29. Their tents and flocks will be taken away, their goods and camels carried off as men shout, 'Terror on every side!'

30. Flee, get you far off, dwell deep, O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith the LORD; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath taken counsel against you, and hath conceived a purpose against you.

30. Flee, dwell in deep caves, you who live in Hazor - says Yahweh. For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devised a plot against you.

31. Arise, get you up unto the wealthy nation, that dwelleth without care, saith the LORD, which have neither gates nor bars, [which] dwell alone.

31. Arise and attack a nation at ease, which lives in confidence, a nation that has neither bars nor gates, a people that dwells alone complacently.

32. And their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil: and I will scatter into all winds them [that are] in the utmost corners; and I will bring their calamity from all sides thereof, saith the LORD.

32. Their camels will become plunder, their large herds will be spoils; I will scatter to the winds those who are in far-off places; I will bring disaster on them from every side.

33. And Hazor shall be a dwelling for dragons, [and] a desolation for ever: there shall no man abide there, nor [any] son of man dwell in it.

33. Hazor will be a jackal's haunt, forever a wasteland uninhabited by man, unvisited by anyone."

34. The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,

34. This is the Word of Yahweh against Elam, which came to the prophet Jeremiah at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah.

35. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might.

35. Yahweh Sabaoth says this: "See, I will break the bow of Elam, the mainstay of their might.

36. And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.

36. I will bring the four winds against her from the four quarters of the heavens, and there will be no nation on earth to which Elam's exiles will not be dispersed.

37. For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, [even] my fierce anger, saith the LORD; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them:

37. I will shatter Elam before their foes, before those who seek their lives. I will bring disaster upon them, even my fierce anger. I will pursue them with the sword until I have made an end of them.

38. And I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence the king and the princes, saith the LORD.

38. I will set my throne in Elam and destroy her king and officials.

39. But it shall come to pass in the latter days, [that] I will bring again the captivity of Elam, saith the LORD.

39. Yet I will restore the fortunes of Elam in the days to come - says Yahweh."