What the Lord Says about Ammon

1 The Lord has this to say about the nation of Ammon:

The people of Israel

have plenty of children

to inherit their lands.

So why have you worshipers

of the god Milcom+

taken over towns and land

belonging to the tribe of Gad?

2Someday I will send an army

to attack you in Rabbah,

your capital city.

It will be left in ruins,

and the surrounding villages

will lie in ashes.

You took some of Israel's land,

but on that day

Israel will take yours!

3Cry, people of Heshbon;+

your town will become

a pile of rubble.+

You will turn here and there,

but your path will be blocked.+

Put on sackcloth+ and mourn,

you citizens of Rabbah,

because the idol you worship+

will be taken

to a foreign country,

along with its priests

and temple officials.

4You rebellious Ammonites

trust your wealth and ask,

“Who could attack us?”

But I warn you not to boast

when your strength is fading.+

5I, the Lord All-Powerful,

will send neighboring nations

to strike you with terror.

You will be scattered,

with no one to care

for your refugees.

6Yet someday, I will bring

your people back home.

I, the Lord, have spoken.

What the Lord Says about Edom

7 The Lord All-Powerful says about Edom:

Wisdom and common sense

have vanished from Teman.+

8I will send disaster to punish

you descendants of Esau,+

so anyone from Dedan+

had better turn around

and run back home.+

9People who harvest grapes

leave some for the poor.

Thieves who break in at night

take only what they want.

10But I will take everything

that belongs to you,

people of Edom,

and I will uncover every place

where you try to hide.

Then you will die,

and so will your children,

relatives, and neighbors.

11But I can be trusted

to care for your orphans

and widows.

12Even those nations that don't deserve to be punished will have to drink from the cup of my anger. So how can you possibly hope to escape? 13I, the Lord, swear in my own name that your city of Bozrah+ and all your towns will suffer a horrible fate. They will lie in ruins forever, and people will use the name “Bozrah” as a curse word.

14I have sent a messenger

to command the nations

to prepare for war

against you people of Edom.

15Your nation will be small,

yet hated by other nations.

16Pride tricks you into thinking

that other nations

look at you with fear.+

You live along the cliffs

and high in the mountains

like the eagles,

but I am the Lord,

and I will bring you down.

17People passing by your country

will be shocked and horrified

to see a disaster

18 as bad as the destruction

of Sodom and Gomorrah

and towns nearby.

The towns of Edom will be empty.

19 I, the Lord, will attack you

like a lion from the forest,

attacking sheep in a meadow

along the Jordan.

In a moment the flock runs,

and the land is empty.

Who will I choose to attack you?

I will do it myself!

No one can force me to fight

or chase me away.

20Listen to my plans for you,

people of Edom.+

Your children will be dragged off

and your country destroyed.

21The sounds of your destruction

will reach the Red Sea+

and cause the earth to shake.

22An enemy will swoop down

to attack you,

like an eagle spreading its wings

and circling over Bozrah.

Your warriors will be as fearful

as women giving birth.+

What the Lord Says about Damascus

23 The Lord says about Damascus:

The towns of Hamath and Arpad+

have heard your bad news.

They have lost hope,

and worries roll over them

like ocean waves.+

24You people of Damascus

have lost your courage,

and in panic you turn to run,

gripped by fear and pain.+

25Once I was pleased

with your famous city.

But now I warn you, “Escape

while you still can!”+

26Soon, even your best soldiers

will lie dead in your streets.

I, the Lord All-Powerful,

have spoken.

27I will set fire to your city walls

and burn down the fortresses

King Benhadad built.

Nebuchadnezzar and the People of the Desert

28Here is what the Lord says about the Kedar tribe and the desert villages+ that were conquered by King Nebuchadnezzar+ of Babylonia:

Listen, you people of Kedar

and the other tribes

of the eastern desert.

I have told Nebuchadnezzar

to attack and destroy you.

29His fearsome army

will surround you,

taking your tents and possessions,

your sheep and camels.

30Run and hide,

you people of the desert

who live in villages!+

Nebuchadnezzar has big plans

for you.

31You have no city walls

and no neighbors to help,

yet you think you're safe—

so I told him to attack.

32Then your camels

and large herds

will be yours no longer.

People of the Arabian Desert,+

disaster will strike you

from every side,

and you will be scattered

everywhere on earth.

33Only jackals+ will live

where your villages+ once stood.

I, the Lord, have spoken.

What the Lord Says about Elam

34-35Not long after Zedekiah+ became king of Judah, the Lord told me to say:

People of Elam,+

I, the Lord All-Powerful,

will kill the archers

who make your army strong.

36Enemies will attack

from all directions,

and you will be led captive

to every nation on earth.

37Their armies will crush

and kill you,

and you will face the disaster

that my anger brings.

38Your king and his officials

will die, and I will rule

in their place.

I, the Lord, have spoken.

39But I promise that someday

I will bring your people

back to their land.