New Living Translation

Holman Christian Standard Bible

1This message was given concerning the Ammonites. This is what the LORD says: “Are there no descendants of Israel to inherit the land of Gad? Why are you, who worship Molech, living in its towns?

1About the Ammonites, this is what the LORD says: Does Israel have no sons? Is he without an heir? Why then has Milcom dispossessed Gad and his people settled in their cities?

2In the days to come,” says the LORD, “I will sound the battle cry against your city of Rabbah. It will become a desolate heap of ruins, and the neighboring towns will be burned. Then Israel will take back the land you took from her,” says the LORD.

2Therefore look, the days are coming-- this is the LORD's declaration-- when I will make the shout of battle heard against Rabbah of the Ammonites. It will become a desolate mound, and its villages will be burned down. Israel will dispossess their dispossessors, says the LORD.

3“Cry out, O Heshbon, for the town of Ai is destroyed. Weep, O people of Rabbah! Put on your clothes of mourning. Weep and wail, hiding in the hedges, for your god Molech, with his priests and officials, will be hauled off to distant lands.

3Wail, Heshbon, for Ai is devastated; cry out, daughters of Rabbah! Clothe yourselves with sackcloth, and lament; run back and forth within your walls, because Milcom will go into exile together with his priests and officials.

4You are proud of your fertile valleys, but they will soon be ruined. You trusted in your wealth, you rebellious daughter, and thought no one could ever harm you.

4Why do you brag about your valleys, your flowing valley, you faithless daughter? You who trust in your treasures and boast, "Who can attack me?"

5But look! I will bring terror upon you,” says the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. “Your neighbors will chase you from your land, and no one will help your exiles as they flee.

5Look, I am about to bring terror on you-- this is the declaration of the Lord GOD of Hosts-- from all those around you. You will be banished, each man headlong, with no one to gather up the fugitives.

6But I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites in days to come. I, the LORD, have spoken.” Messages about Edom

6But after that, I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites. This is the LORD's declaration.

7This message was given concerning Edom. This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: “Is there no wisdom in Teman? Is no one left to give wise counsel?

7About Edom, this is what the LORD of Hosts says: Is there no longer wisdom in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom rotted away?

8Turn and flee! Hide in deep caves, you people of Dedan! For when I bring disaster on Edom, I will punish you, too!

8Run! Turn back! Lie low, residents of Dedan, for I will bring Esau's calamity on him at the time I punish him.

9Those who harvest grapes always leave a few for the poor. If thieves came at night, they would not take everything.

9If grape harvesters came to you, wouldn't they leave some gleanings? Were thieves to come in the night, they would destroy only what they wanted.

10But I will strip bare the land of Edom, and there will be no place left to hide. Its children, its brothers, and its neighbors will all be destroyed, and Edom itself will be no more.

10But I will strip Esau bare; I will uncover his secret places. He will try to hide himself, but he will be unable. His descendants will be destroyed along with his relatives and neighbors. He will exist no longer.

11But I will protect the orphans who remain among you. Your widows, too, can depend on me for help.”

11Abandon your fatherless; I will preserve them; let your widows trust in Me.

12And this is what the LORD says: “If the innocent must suffer, how much more must you! You will not go unpunished! You must drink this cup of judgment!

12"For this is what the LORD says: If those who do not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, can you possibly remain unpunished? You will not remain unpunished, for you must drink it too.

13For I have sworn by my own name,” says the LORD, “that Bozrah will become an object of horror and a heap of ruins; it will be mocked and cursed. All its towns and villages will be desolate forever.”

13For by Myself I have sworn"--this is the LORD's declaration--"Bozrah will become a desolation, a disgrace, a ruin, and a curse, and all her cities will become ruins forever."

14I have heard a message from the LORD that an ambassador was sent to the nations to say, “Form a coalition against Edom, and prepare for battle!”

14I have heard a message from the LORD; a messenger has been sent among the nations: Assemble yourselves to come against her. Rise up for war!

15The LORD says to Edom, “I will cut you down to size among the nations. You will be despised by all.

15Look, I will certainly make you insignificant among the nations, despised among humanity.

16You have been deceived by the fear you inspire in others and by your own pride. You live in a rock fortress and control the mountain heights. But even if you make your nest among the peaks with the eagles, I will bring you crashing down,” says the LORD.

16As to the terror you cause, your presumptuous heart has deceived you. You who live in the clefts of the rock, you who occupy the mountain summit, though you elevate your nest like the eagle, even from there I will bring you down. This is the LORD's declaration.

17“Edom will be an object of horror. All who pass by will be appalled and will gasp at the destruction they see there.

17"Edom will become a desolation. Everyone who passes by her will be horrified and scoff because of all her wounds.

18It will be like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns,” says the LORD. “No one will live there; no one will inhabit it.

18As when Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown along with their neighbors," says the LORD, "no one will live there; no human being will even stay in it as a temporary resident.

19I will come like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan, leaping on the sheep in the pasture. I will chase Edom from its land, and I will appoint the leader of my choice. For who is like me, and who can challenge me? What ruler can oppose my will?”

19"Look, it will be like a lion coming from the thickets of the Jordan to the watered grazing land. Indeed, I will chase Edom away from her land in a flash. I will appoint whoever is chosen for her. For who is like Me? Who will summon Me? Who is the shepherd who can stand against Me?"

20Listen to the LORD’s plans against Edom and the people of Teman. Even the little children will be dragged off like sheep, and their homes will be destroyed.

20Therefore, hear the plans that the LORD has drawn up against Edom and the strategies He has devised against the people of Teman: The flock's little lambs will certainly be dragged away, and their grazing land will be made desolate because of them.

21The earth will shake with the noise of Edom’s fall, and its cry of despair will be heard all the way to the Red Sea.

21At the sound of their fall the earth will quake; the sound of her cry will be heard at the Red Sea.

22Look! The enemy swoops down like an eagle, spreading his wings over Bozrah. Even the mightiest warriors will be in anguish like a woman in labor. A Message about Damascus

22Look! It will be like an eagle soaring upward, then swooping down and spreading its wings over Bozrah. In that day the hearts of Edom's warriors will be like the heart of a woman with contractions.

23This message was given concerning Damascus. This is what the LORD says: “The towns of Hamath and Arpad are struck with fear, for they have heard the news of their destruction. Their hearts are troubled like a wild sea in a raging storm.

23About Damascus: Hamath and Arpad are put to shame, for they have heard a bad report and are agitated; in the sea there is anxiety that cannot be calmed.

24Damascus has become feeble, and all her people turn to flee. Fear, anguish, and pain have gripped her as they grip a woman in labor.

24Damascus has become weak; she has turned to run; panic has gripped her. Distress and labor pains have seized her like a woman in labor.

25That famous city, a city of joy, will be forsaken!

25How can the city of praise not be abandoned, the town that brings Me joy?

26Her young men will fall in the streets and die. Her soldiers will all be killed,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

26Therefore, her young men will fall in her public squares; all the warriors will perish in that day. This is the declaration of the LORD of Hosts.

27“And I will set fire to the walls of Damascus that will burn up the palaces of Ben-hadad.” A Message about Kedar and Hazor

27I will set fire to the wall of Damascus; it will consume Ben-hadad's citadels.

28This message was given concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which were attacked by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. This is what the LORD says: “Advance against Kedar! Destroy the warriors from the East!

28About Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon's king, defeated, this is what the LORD says: Rise up, go against Kedar, and destroy the people of the east!

29Their flocks and tents will be captured, and their household goods and camels will be taken away. Everywhere shouts of panic will be heard: ‘We are terrorized at every turn!’

29They will take their tents and their flocks along with their tent curtains and all their equipment. They will take their camels for themselves. They will call out to them: Terror is on every side!

30Run for your lives,” says the LORD. “Hide yourselves in deep caves, you people of Hazor, for King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has plotted against you and is preparing to destroy you.

30Run! Escape quickly! Lie low, residents of Hazor-- this is the LORD's declaration-- for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has drawn up a plan against you; he has devised a strategy against you.

31“Go up and attack that complacent nation,” says the LORD. “Its people live alone in the desert without walls or gates.

31Rise up, go up against a nation at ease, one living in security. This is the LORD's declaration. They have no doors, not even a gate bar; they live alone.

32Their camels and other livestock will all be yours. I will scatter to the winds these people who live in remote places. I will bring calamity upon them from every direction,” says the LORD.

32Their camels will become plunder, and their massive herds of cattle will become spoil. I will scatter them to the wind in every direction, those who shave their temples; I will bring calamity on them across all their borders. This is the LORD's declaration.

33“Hazor will be inhabited by jackals, and it will be desolate forever. No one will live there; no one will inhabit it.” A Message about Elam

33Hazor will become a jackals' den, a desolation forever. No one will live there; no human being will even stay in it as a temporary resident.

34This message concerning Elam came to the prophet Jeremiah from the LORD at the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah.

34This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet about Elam at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah.

35This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: “I will destroy the archers of Elam— the best of their forces.

35This is what the LORD of Hosts says: I am about to shatter Elam's bow, the source of their might.

36I will bring enemies from all directions, and I will scatter the people of Elam to the four winds. They will be exiled to countries around the world.

36I will bring the four winds against Elam from the four corners of the heavens, and I will scatter them to all these winds. There will not be a nation to which Elam's banished ones will not go.

37I myself will go with Elam’s enemies to shatter it. In my fierce anger, I will bring great disaster upon the people of Elam,” says the LORD. “Their enemies will chase them with the sword until I have destroyed them completely.

37I will devastate Elam before their enemies, before those who want to take their lives. I will bring disaster on them, My burning anger. This is the LORD's declaration. I will send the sword after them until I finish them off.

38I will set my throne in Elam,” says the LORD, “and I will destroy its king and officials.

38I will set My throne in Elam, and I will destroy the king and officials from there. This is the LORD's declaration.

39But I will restore the fortunes of Elam in days to come. I, the LORD, have spoken!”

39In the last days, I will restore the fortunes of Elam. This is the LORD's declaration.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.