Jeremiah 49:7-39, Jeremiah 50:1-10 NIV

Jeremiah 49:7-39

A Message About Edom

Concerning Edom:

This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Is there no longer wisdom in Teman?

Has counsel perished from the prudent?

Has their wisdom decayed?

Turn and flee, hide in deep caves,

you who live in Dedan,

for I will bring disaster on Esau

at the time when I punish him.

If grape pickers came to you,

would they not leave a few grapes?

If thieves came during the night,

would they not steal only as much as they wanted?

But I will strip Esau bare;

I will uncover his hiding places,

so that he cannot conceal himself.

His armed men are destroyed,

also his allies and neighbors,

so there is no one to say,

‘Leave your fatherless children; I will keep them alive.

Your widows too can depend on me.’ ”

This is what the Lord says: “If those who do not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, why should you go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, but must drink it. I swear by myself,” declares the Lord, “that Bozrah will become a ruin and a curse,49:13 That is, its name will be used in cursing (see 29:22); or, others will see that it is cursed. an object of horror and reproach; and all its towns will be in ruins forever.”

I have heard a message from the Lord;

an envoy was sent to the nations to say,

“Assemble yourselves to attack it!

Rise up for battle!”

“Now I will make you small among the nations,

despised by mankind.

The terror you inspire

and the pride of your heart have deceived you,

you who live in the clefts of the rocks,

who occupy the heights of the hill.

Though you build your nest as high as the eagle’s,

from there I will bring you down,”

declares the Lord.

“Edom will become an object of horror;

all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff

because of all its wounds.

As Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown,

along with their neighboring towns,”

says the Lord,

“so no one will live there;

no people will dwell in it.

“Like a lion coming up from Jordan’s thickets

to a rich pastureland,

I will chase Edom from its land in an instant.

Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this?

Who is like me and who can challenge me?

And what shepherd can stand against me?”

Therefore, hear what the Lord has planned against Edom,

what he has purposed against those who live in Teman:

The young of the flock will be dragged away;

their pasture will be appalled at their fate.

At the sound of their fall the earth will tremble;

their cry will resound to the Red Sea.49:21 Or the Sea of Reeds

Look! An eagle will soar and swoop down,

spreading its wings over Bozrah.

In that day the hearts of Edom’s warriors

will be like the heart of a woman in labor.

A Message About Damascus

Concerning Damascus:

“Hamath and Arpad are dismayed,

for they have heard bad news.

They are disheartened,

troubled like49:23 Hebrew on or by the restless sea.

Damascus has become feeble,

she has turned to flee

and panic has gripped her;

anguish and pain have seized her,

pain like that of a woman in labor.

Why has the city of renown not been abandoned,

the town in which I delight?

Surely, her young men will fall in the streets;

all her soldiers will be silenced in that day,”

declares the Lord Almighty.

“I will set fire to the walls of Damascus;

it will consume the fortresses of Ben-Hadad.”

A Message About Kedar and Hazor

Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked:

This is what the Lord says:

“Arise, and attack Kedar

and destroy the people of the East.

Their tents and their flocks will be taken;

their shelters will be carried off

with all their goods and camels.

People will shout to them,

‘Terror on every side!’

“Flee quickly away!

Stay in deep caves, you who live in Hazor,”

declares the Lord.

“Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has plotted against you;

he has devised a plan against you.

“Arise and attack a nation at ease,

which lives in confidence,”

declares the Lord,

“a nation that has neither gates nor bars;

its people live far from danger.

Their camels will become plunder,

and their large herds will be spoils of war.

I will scatter to the winds those who are in distant places49:32 Or who clip the hair by their foreheads

and will bring disaster on them from every side,”

declares the Lord.

“Hazor will become a haunt of jackals,

a desolate place forever.

No one will live there;

no people will dwell in it.”

A Message About Elam

This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, early in the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah:

This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“See, I will break the bow of Elam,

the mainstay of their might.

I will bring against Elam the four winds

from the four quarters of heaven;

I will scatter them to the four winds,

and there will not be a nation

where Elam’s exiles do not go.

I will shatter Elam before their foes,

before those who want to kill them;

I will bring disaster on them,

even my fierce anger,”

declares the Lord.

“I will pursue them with the sword

until I have made an end of them.

I will set my throne in Elam

and destroy her king and officials,”

declares the Lord.

“Yet I will restore the fortunes of Elam

in days to come,”

declares the Lord.

Read More of Jeremiah 49

Jeremiah 50:1-10

A Message About Babylon

This is the word the Lord spoke through Jeremiah the prophet concerning Babylon and the land of the Babylonians50:1 Or Chaldeans; also in verses 8, 25, 35 and 45:

“Announce and proclaim among the nations,

lift up a banner and proclaim it;

keep nothing back, but say,

‘Babylon will be captured;

Bel will be put to shame,

Marduk filled with terror.

Her images will be put to shame

and her idols filled with terror.’

A nation from the north will attack her

and lay waste her land.

No one will live in it;

both people and animals will flee away.

“In those days, at that time,”

declares the Lord,

“the people of Israel and the people of Judah together

will go in tears to seek the Lord their God.

They will ask the way to Zion

and turn their faces toward it.

They will come and bind themselves to the Lord

in an everlasting covenant

that will not be forgotten.

“My people have been lost sheep;

their shepherds have led them astray

and caused them to roam on the mountains.

They wandered over mountain and hill

and forgot their own resting place.

Whoever found them devoured them;

their enemies said, ‘We are not guilty,

for they sinned against the Lord, their verdant pasture,

the Lord, the hope of their ancestors.’

“Flee out of Babylon;

leave the land of the Babylonians,

and be like the goats that lead the flock.

For I will stir up and bring against Babylon

an alliance of great nations from the land of the north.

They will take up their positions against her,

and from the north she will be captured.

Their arrows will be like skilled warriors

who do not return empty-handed.

So Babylonia50:10 Or Chaldea will be plundered;

all who plunder her will have their fill,”

declares the Lord.

Read More of Jeremiah 50