Jeremiah 49

A message about Ammon

1 The Lord says,

‘You have let Molech rule the people from Gad.

Your sons have not sent him away.

His people live in the country that I gave to Gad.’

2 ‘But at a future time, I will call my people to fight,’ says the Lord.

‘They will fight against Rabbah, that city in Ammon.

They will pull it down to become a lot of stones.

And they will burn the villages round it with fire.

Then Israel's people will push out the people who pushed them out,’ says the Lord.

3 ‘Cry, you people in Heshbon, because they have destroyed Ai.

Cry aloud, you people who live in Rabbah.

You wear hard material when a friend has died.

Put on those clothes now and be very sad.

You do not know what to do. So you will run about.

Enemies will take the people from Moab to a far country.

They will take them with their priests and their officers.

4 You say to everyone that your valleys are full of fruit.

You are like a daughter that does not obey me.

You think that your valuable things will save you from your enemies.

5 But I will make you afraid of all the people who live round you,’

says the great and powerful Lord.

‘Enemies will push everyone away from his home.

Nobody will save those people who are running away.

6 But, after this, I will bring back Ammon's people,’ says the Lord.

A message about Edom

7 The great and powerful Lord says this about Edom:

‘The men from Teman do not have any more clever thoughts.

Their great ideas have left them.

8 You people in Dedan, turn and run away. Hide in deep holes.

I will punish Esau's descendants and I will cause a lot of trouble for them.

9 I will not be like men who pick fruits. They let a few fruits remain behind.

And I will not be like a robber who takes only a few things.

10 No, I will take everything and Esau's country will be empty.

I will show enemies where Esau's descendants hide. And they will find Esau's descendants.

They will kill all their children, family and friends.

And they will die.

11 Leave those who do not have living fathers. Then I will save them.

And widows will be safe with me.’

12 The Lord says, ‘Not all the people that I have punished were bad. So I must certainly punish you people who are bad. 13 I will do that as certainly as the fact that I am Lord. Enemies will destroy Bozrah. People will see that enemies have broken it down. And they will be afraid. They will point to it. And they will say how bad it was. All its villages will be heaps of stones for all time.’

14 I have heard a message from the Lord. He has sent his messenger to the nations. He says, ‘Get ready to attack Edom. Prepare to fight!’

15 ‘The Lord will make you (Edom) weak and nobody will honour you.

16 You made people afraid. So you thought that you were great and strong.

But your thoughts were wrong.

You may hide in small holes in the rock or high up on the hill.

Even if you live as high as the homes of great birds, I will bring you down.’

Those are the words of the Lord.

17 ‘Edom will change so much that people will not want to look at it.

Those who walk past will say bad things about it.

They will turn away from it because its enemies have destroyed it completely.

18 Nobody will live there, not one man.

It will be like Sodom and Gomorrah

when men destroyed them and the towns near them,’

says the Lord.

19 ‘I will be like a lion that comes into green fields.

I will come like a lion out of the trees by the River Jordan.

I will push Edom's people quickly out of their country.

The leader that I choose will rule the people.

Nobody is like me. Nobody can say that they are as great as me.’

20 So listen to the things that the Lord will do to Edom.

Listen to the things that he will do to the people in Teman.

Your people will be like sheep. He will take away their young sheep.

He will completely destroy their country

because they do not obey him.

21 The whole earth will move with the noise when they fall.

They will cry by seas that are far away.

People will hear them when they cry.

22 God will make the men who fight in Bozrah afraid.

They will feel like an animal that sees a big bird. The bird is flying to catch it.

They will be afraid like a woman who will soon have a child.

A message about Damascus

23 The Lord says about Damascus,

‘People have brought bad news to the people who live in Hamath and in Arpad.

They are afraid. Their minds are full of trouble.

Their thoughts move like the waters of the sea.

24 Damascus has become weak.

Its people want to run away.

They are so afraid that they feel pain.

Their pain is like the pain of a woman who is having a baby.

25 They have not left their famous city,

a city that gives pleasure to me.

26 The young men in it will die in its streets.

Then enemies will kill all its soldiers,’ says the great and powerful Lord.

27 ‘I will burn the walls of Damascus.

Fire will burn up the strong places of Ben-Hadad.’

A message about Kedar and Hazor

28 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had attacked Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor. The Lord said about them,

‘Get up and attack Kedar.

And take all their valuable things from the people in the East.

29 Enemies will take their tents and their animals.

They will take their homes and all their things and their camels.

Men will shout at them, “Everything round you makes you afraid.

30 Run away as fast as you can!

You people in Hazor, hide in deep holes in the ground,” ’ says the Lord.

‘Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has decided to attack you.

He wants to get power over your country.

31 They think that they are safe. But he will attack them,’ says the Lord.

‘The nation is comfortable. It does not have any gates. Its people live alone.

32 His soldiers will take their camels.

And they will lead away their animals.

I will send people who live far away to places all over the earth.

33 Only wild animals will live in Hazor.

It will always be a place where no people live.’

A message about Elam

34 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet soon after Zedekiah became king of Judah. He spoke about Elam. 35 The great and powerful Lord said,

‘I will destroy the weapons of Elam that make them strong.

36 I will bring against them the winds from every direction.

The wind will push them to the far places of the earth.

Some people from Elam will run to every nation.

37 Their enemies want to kill them.

They will run away from those who attack them.

I am very angry with them and I will cause much trouble to them,’

says the Lord.

‘I will send enemies to run after them with swords

until they are all dead.

38 I will become the ruler of Elam.

And I will kill their king and his officers,’ says the Lord.

39 ‘But at a time that is still future,

I will make Elam a nation again,’ says the Lord.