1 Against the Ammonites.
Thus says the Lord:
“Has Israel no sons?
Has he no heir?
Why then does [a]Milcom inherit Gad,
And his people dwell in its cities?
“That I will cause to be heard an alarm of war
In Rabbah of the Ammonites;
It shall be a desolate mound,
And her [b]villages shall be burned with fire.
Then Israel shall take possession of his inheritance,” says the Lord.
Cry, you daughters of Rabbah,
Gird yourselves with sackcloth!
Lament and run to and fro by the walls;
For [c]Milcom shall go into captivity
With his priests and his princes together.
[d]Your flowing valley, O backsliding daughter?
Who trusted in her treasures, saying,
‘Who will come against me?’
Says the Lord God of hosts,
“From all those who are around you;
You shall be driven out, everyone headlong,
And no one will gather those who wander off.
The captives of the people of Ammon,” says the Lord.
7 Against Edom.
Thus says the Lord of hosts:
“Is wisdom no more in Teman?
Has counsel perished from the prudent?
Has their wisdom vanished?
For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him,
The time that I will punish him.
Would they not leave some gleaning grapes?
If thieves by night,
Would they not destroy until they have enough?
I have uncovered his secret places,
And he shall not be able to hide himself.
His descendants are plundered,
His brethren and his neighbors,
And he is no more.
I will preserve them alive;
And let your widows trust in Me.”
And an ambassador has been sent to the nations:
“Gather together, come against her,
And rise up to battle!
Despised among men.
The pride of your heart,
O you who dwell in the clefts of the rock,
Who hold the height of the hill!
Though you make your nest as high as the eagle,
I will bring you down from there,” says the Lord.
Everyone who goes by it will be astonished
And will hiss at all its plagues.
And their neighbors,” says the Lord,
“No one shall remain there,
Nor shall a son of man dwell in it.
Against the dwelling place 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?
Who will arraign Me?
And who is that shepherd
Who will withstand Me?”
And His purposes that He has proposed against the inhabitants of Teman:
Surely the least of the flock shall [h]draw them out;
Surely He shall make their dwelling places desolate with them.
At the cry its noise is heard at the Red Sea.
And spread His wings over Bozrah;
The heart of the mighty men of Edom in that day shall be
Like the heart of a woman in birth pangs.
23 Against Damascus.
“Hamath and Arpad are shamed,
For they have heard bad news.
They are fainthearted;
There is [i]trouble on the sea;
It cannot be quiet.
She turns to flee,
And fear has seized her.
Anguish and sorrows have taken her like a woman in [j]labor.
And all the men of war shall be cut off in that day,” says the Lord of hosts.
And it shall consume the palaces of Ben-Hadad.”
28 Against Kedar and against the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon shall strike.
Thus says the Lord:
“Arise, go up to Kedar,
And devastate the men of the East!
They shall take for themselves their curtains,
All their vessels and their camels;
And they shall cry out to them,
‘Fear is on every side!’
O inhabitants of Hazor!” says the Lord.
“For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has taken counsel against you,
And has conceived a plan against you.
“Which has neither gates nor bars,
Dwelling alone.
And the multitude of their cattle for plunder.
I will scatter to all winds those [k]in the farthest corners,
And I will bring their calamity from all its sides,” says the Lord.
No one shall reside there,
Nor son of man dwell in it.”
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,
‘Behold, I will break the [l]bow of Elam,
The foremost of their might.
From the four quarters of heaven,
And scatter them toward all those winds;
There shall be no nations where the outcasts of Elam will not go.
And before those who seek their life.
I will bring disaster upon them,
My fierce anger,’ says the Lord;
‘And I will send the sword after them
Until I have consumed them.
And will destroy from there the king and the princes,’ says the Lord.
I will bring back the captives of Elam,’ says the Lord.”