Against Ammon
1 Concerning the Ammonites. Yah weh 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 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 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 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 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 Yet I will restore the fortunes
of the Ammonites later on.
It is Yahweh Sabaoth who speaks.”
Against Edom
7 Concerning Edom, this is what Yah weh says:
“Is there no more wisdom left in Teman?
Has counsel perished from the prudent?
Has their understanding decayed?
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 grape pickers worked in your vineyard,
would they not leave gleanings be hind?
If thieves came to you at night,
would they not steal only as much as they want?
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 your widows and orphans behind,
and rest assured I will keep them alive.”
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 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 received a message from Yah weh, a herald has been sent among the nations:
“Assemble! Prepare for battle!
March against these people!
15 Look, I will reduce you among the nations, make you despised among human kind.
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 Edom will become a horror, shocking every passerby who will catch his breath at the sight of her wounds.
18 As when Sodom, Gomorrah, and their neighboring towns were overthrown, no one shall dwell or visit there – thus Yahweh proclaims.
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 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 will tremble at the sound of their fall; to the Sea of Reeds their cry will resound.
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.”
About the Syrian cities
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 has become feeble
and turns to flee in panic,
gripped by anguish and pain,
like a woman in travail.
25 How the renowned city is forsaken,
the city of delight!
26 Her young men will fall in the streets,
her soldiers will be silenced on that day.
Yahweh declares:
27 I will set fire to the walls of Da mas cus; it will consume Ben-Hadad’s for tresses.”
Against the Arabic tribes
28 A message concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebu chad nezzar king of Babylon attacked. This is what Yahweh says:
“Arise and attack Kedar,
destroy the people of the east!
29 Their tents and flocks will be taken away,
their goods and camels carried off
as men shout, ‘Terror on every side!’
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 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 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 Hazor will be a jackal’s haunt,
forever a wasteland
uninhabited by humans,
unvisited by anyone.”
Against Elam
34 This is the Word of Yahweh against Elam, which came to the prophet Jere miah at the beginning of the reign of Ze de kiah, king of Judah.
35 Yahweh Sabaoth says this:
“See, I will break the bow of Elam, the main stay of their might.
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 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 I will set my throne in Elam and destroy her king and officials.
39 Yet I will restore the fortunes of Elam in the days to come – says Yahweh.”