Jeremiah 49

Concerning the Ammonites, thus saith the LORD; Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? why then doth their king inherit Gad, and his people dwell in his cities?

1This message is about the people of Ammon. The LORD says, "Does Israel have no sons? Is there no one to take the family land? Then why has their king taken over the land of Gad? Why do his people live in those towns?"

2Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites; and it shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel be heir unto them that were his heirs, saith the LORD.

2So the LORD says, "The days are coming when war cries will be heard in Rabbah, the city of Ammon. It will become a pile of ruins. Its small towns will be burned. Then Israel will take back the land from the ones who took it," says the LORD.

3Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled: cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth; lament, and run to and fro by the hedges; for their king shall go into captivity, and his priests and his princes together.

3Cry out loud, city of Heshbon, because the town of Ai is ruined. Shout, you women of Rabbah! Put on sackcloth, the rough cloth people wore when they were very sad. Run back and forth inside your walls. Your king will be taken away as a prisoner. His priests and his leaders will be taken away too.

4Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys, thy flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? that trusted in her treasures, saying, Who shall come unto me?

4Why do you brag about your valleys, your rich valleys, you people who turned away from God? You trust in the riches you have. You say, "Who would dare come near me?"

5Behold, I will bring a fear upon thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts, from all those that be about thee; and ye shall be driven out every man right forth; and none shall gather up him that wandereth.

5The Lord GOD, the LORD who rules over all, says, "I am going to make you afraid. The fear will come from all the nations around you. Every one of you will be chased straight out. No one will gather up the ones who wander away."

6And afterward I will bring again the captivity of the children of Ammon, saith the LORD.

6"But later I will bring the people of Ammon back home," says the LORD.

7Concerning Edom, thus saith the LORD of hosts; Is wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished?

7This message is about Edom. The LORD who rules over all says, "Is there no wisdom left in the town of Teman? Do the wise people have no good advice now? Has all their wisdom gone away?"

8Flee ye, turn back, dwell deep, O inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time that I will visit him.

8Turn around and run! Hide down low, you people of Dedan. I will bring trouble on the family of Esau, who are the people of Edom. It will come at the time I punish them.

9If grapegatherers come to thee, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? if thieves by night, they will destroy till they have enough.

9When people come to pick grapes, they leave a few grapes behind. When thieves come at night, they take only what they want.

10But 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.

10But I will strip the land of Esau bare. I will show every place he hides. He will not be able to stay hidden. His children, his family, and his neighbors will be destroyed. He will be gone.

11Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me.

11Leave your children who have no father. I will keep them alive. Let the women whose husbands have died trust in me.

12For thus saith the LORD; Behold, they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunken; and art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink of it.

12The LORD says, "Some people did not deserve to drink the cup, but they had to drink it. So do you think you will go free? You will not go free. You must drink from that cup too."

NoteThe cup here stands for punishment. To "drink the cup" means to take that punishment.

13For I have sworn by myself, saith the LORD, that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes.

13The LORD says, "I make this promise by my own name. The city of Bozrah will become empty ruins. People will laugh at it and call it cursed. All its towns will be ruins forever."

14I have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent unto the heathen, saying, Gather ye together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle.

14I heard a message from the LORD. He sent someone to the nations with these words: "Gather your armies together! March against Edom! Get ready to fight!"

NoteThe KJV word "rumour" here means a report or message from the LORD. It does not mean gossip.

15For, lo, I will make thee small among the heathen, and despised among men.

15The LORD says, "I will make you small next to the other nations. People will look down on you."

16Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, 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 the LORD.

16You made other people afraid, and that made you proud. Your proud heart has fooled you. You live in cracks high up in the rocks. You hold the top of the hill. Even if you build your nest as high as an eagle does, I will bring you down, says the LORD.

17Also Edom shall be a desolation: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof.

17Edom will be left empty. Everyone who walks by will be shocked. They will make fun of all its hurts.

18As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the LORD, no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it.

18Long ago God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and the towns near them. Edom will be like that, says the LORD. No one will live there. Not one person will stay there.

19Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan against the habitation of the strong: but I will suddenly make him run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me?

19Someone will come up like a lion out of the thick bushes by the Jordan River. He will come at the green fields where sheep feed. In a moment I will chase Edom out of her land. Who is the leader I will choose to do this? No one is like me. No one can argue with me. No shepherd and no leader can stand against me.

20Therefore hear the counsel of the LORD, that he hath taken against Edom; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitations desolate with them.

20So listen to what the LORD has planned against Edom. Listen to what he has planned for the people of Teman. Even the smallest sheep will be dragged away. Their fields will be left empty.

21The earth is moved at the noise of their fall, at the cry the noise thereof was heard in the Red sea.

21The ground will shake when Edom falls. The cry will be heard as far away as the Red Sea.

22Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread his wings over Bozrah: and at that day shall the heart of the mighty men of Edom be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.

22Look! An enemy will fly up like an eagle. He will spread his wings over the city of Bozrah. On that day the brave soldiers of Edom will hurt with fear. They will feel like a woman having a baby.

23Concerning Damascus. Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea; it cannot be quiet.

23This message is about Damascus. The towns of Hamath and Arpad are ashamed. They have heard bad news. They are stirred up like a rough sea that will not be still.

24Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.

24Damascus has grown weak. She turns to run away. Fear has taken hold of her. Pain and sadness grip her, like a woman having a baby.

25How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!

25How was the famous city not kept safe? It was the town that brought joy.

26Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.

26So her young men will fall in her streets. All her soldiers will be silenced on that day, says the LORD who rules over all.

27And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.

27I will set fire to the walls of Damascus. The fire will burn up the palaces built by King Ben-hadad.

28Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon shall smite, thus saith the LORD; Arise ye, go up to Kedar, and spoil the men of the east.

28This message is about Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor. Nebuchadrezzar, the king of Babylon, will beat them. The LORD says, "Get up! Go and attack Kedar! Take what belongs to the people of the east!"

29Their tents and their flocks shall they take away: they shall take to themselves their curtains, and all their vessels, and their camels; and they shall cry unto them, Fear is on every side.

29The enemies will take their tents and their sheep. They will take their tent cloths, their pots, and their camels. People will shout at them, "There is danger all around!"

30Flee, get you far off, dwell deep, O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith the LORD; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath taken counsel against you, and hath conceived a purpose against you.

30"Run away! Get far from here! Hide down low, you people of Hazor," says the LORD. "Nebuchadrezzar, the king of Babylon, has made a plan against you. He has decided what he will do to you."

31Arise, get you up unto the wealthy nation, that dwelleth without care, saith the LORD, which have neither gates nor bars, which dwell alone.

31"Get up and go against a nation that feels calm and safe," says the LORD. "It has no gates and no bars on its doors. Its people live all alone."

NoteThe KJV word "wealthy" here means safe and at ease, not rich.

32And their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil: and I will scatter into all winds them that are in the utmost corners; and I will bring their calamity from all sides thereof, saith the LORD.

32"Their camels will be taken away. Their many animals will be carried off. I will scatter to every wind the people who cut the hair at the sides of their heads. I will bring trouble on them from every side," says the LORD.

33And Hazor shall be a dwelling for dragons, and a desolation for ever: there shall no man abide there, nor any son of man dwell in it.

33"Hazor will become a home for wild dogs. It will be empty forever. No one will live there. Not one person will stay there."

NoteThe KJV word "dragons" here means wild desert animals, most likely jackals.

34The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,

34This is the message the LORD gave to Jeremiah, a prophet who told people what God said. The message was about Elam. It came when Zedekiah first became king of Judah.

35Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might.

35The LORD who rules over all says, "I am going to break the bow of Elam. Their bows were their greatest strength."

36And 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.

36"I will bring winds against Elam from all four corners of the sky. I will scatter the people of Elam to every wind. They will end up in every nation on earth."

37For 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 the LORD; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them:

37"I will make Elam afraid of the enemies who want to kill them. I will bring trouble on them, because I am very angry," says the LORD. "I will send the sword after them until they are finished."

38And I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence the king and the princes, saith the LORD.

38"I will put my throne in Elam. I will destroy its king and its leaders," says the LORD.

39But it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring again the captivity of Elam, saith the LORD.

39"But in the days to come, I will bring the people of Elam back home," says the LORD.