1 Of the children of Ammon. Thus saith theLord: Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? why then doth Malcam possess Gad, and his people dwell in the cities thereof?
2 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith theLord, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard against Rabbah of the children of Ammon; and it shall become a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel possess them that did possess him, saith theLord.
3 Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled; cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth: lament, and run to and fro among the fences; for Malcam shall go into captivity, his priests and his princes together.
4 Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys, thy flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? that trusted in her treasures,saying, Who shall come unto me?
5 Behold, I will bring a fear upon thee, saith the Lord, theLordof hosts, from all that are round about thee; and ye shall be driven out every man right forth, and there shall be none to gather up him that wandereth.
6 But afterward I will bring again the captivity of the children of Ammon, saith theLord.
7 Of Edom. Thus saith theLordof hosts: Is wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished?
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 shall visit him.
9 If grapegatherers came to thee, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? if thieves by night, would they not destroy till they had enough?
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.
11 Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me.
12 For thus saith theLord: Behold, they to whom it pertained not to drink of the cup shall assuredly drink; and art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink.
13 For I have sworn by myself, saith theLord, that Bozrah shall become an astonishment, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes.
14 I have heard tidings from theLord, and an ambassador is sent among the nations,saying, Gather yourselves together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle.
15 For, behold, I have made thee small among the nations, and despised among men.
16 As for thy terribleness, the pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, 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 theLord;
17 And Edom shall become an astonishment: every one that passeth by it shall he astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof.
18 As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith theLord, no man shall dwell there, neither shall any son of man sojourn therein.
19 Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the pride of Jordan against the strong habitation: but I will suddenly make him run away from her; and whoso is chosen, him will I appoint over her: for who is like me? and who will appoint me a time? and who is the shepherd that will stand before me?
20 Therefore hear ye the counsel of theLord, that he hath taken against Edom; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely they shall drag them away,eventhe little ones of the flock; surely he shall make their habitation desolate with them.
21 The earth trembleth at the noise of their fall; there is a cry, the noise whereof is heard in the Red Sea.
22 Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread out his wings against Bozrah: and the heart of the mighty men of Edom at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.
23 Of Damascus. Hamath is ashamed, and Arpad; for they have heard evil tidings, they are melted away: there is sorrow on the sea; it cannot be quiet.
24 Damascus is waxed feeble, she turneth herself to flee, and trembling hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her, as of a woman in travail.
25 How is the city of praise not forsaken, the city of my joy?
26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be brought to silence in that day, saith theLordof hosts.
27 And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall devour the palaces of Ben-hadad.
28 Of Kedar, and of the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote: Thus saith theLord: Arise ye, go up to Kedar, and spoil the children of the east.
29 Their tents and their flocks shall they take; they shall carry away for themselves their curtains, and all their vessels, and their camels: and they shall cry unto them, Terror on every side.
30 Flee ye, wander far off, dwell deep, O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith theLord; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath taken counsel against you, and hath conceived a purpose against you.
31 Arise, get you up unto a nation that is at ease, that dwelleth without care, saith theLord; which have neither gates nor bars, which dwell alone.
32 And their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil: and I will scatter unto all winds them that have the cornersof their hairpolled; and I will bring their calamity from every side of them, saith theLord.
33 And Hazor shall be a dwelling place of jackals, a desolation for ever: no man shall dwell there, neither shall any son of man sojourn therein.
34 The word of theLordthat came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,
35 Thus saith theLordof hosts: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam; the chief 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.
37 And 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 theLord; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them:
38 and I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence king and princes, saith theLord.
39 But it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring again the captivity of Elam, saith theLord.