Christian Standard Bible

New American Standard Bible 1995

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?

1Concerning the sons of Ammon. Thus says the LORD: "Does Israel have no sons? Or has he no heirs? Why then has Malcam taken possession of Gad And his people settled in its cities?

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 surrounding villages will be set on fire. Israel will dispossess their dispossessors, says the LORD.

2"Therefore behold, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "That I will cause a trumpet blast of war to be heard Against Rabbah of the sons of Ammon; And it will become a desolate heap, And her towns will be set on fire. Then Israel will take possession of his possessors," Says the LORD.

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.

3"Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai has been destroyed! Cry out, O daughters of Rabbah, Gird yourselves with sackcloth and lament, And rush back and forth inside the walls; For Malcam will go into exile Together with his priests and his princes.

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

4"How boastful you are about the valleys! Your valley is flowing away, O backsliding daughter Who trusts in her treasures, saying, 'Who will come against me?'

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

5"Behold, I am going to bring terror upon you," Declares the Lord GOD of hosts, "From all directions around you; And each of you will be driven out headlong, With no one to gather the fugitives together.

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

6"But afterward I will restore The fortunes of the sons of Ammon," Declares the LORD.

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

7Concerning Edom. Thus says the LORD of hosts, "Is there no longer any wisdom in Teman? Has good counsel been lost to the prudent? Has their wisdom decayed?

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

8"Flee away, turn back, dwell in the depths, O inhabitants of Dedan, For I will bring the disaster of Esau upon him At the time I punish him.

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.

9"If grape gatherers came to you, Would they not leave gleanings? If thieves came by night, They would destroy only until they had enough.

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

10"But I have stripped Esau bare, I have uncovered his hiding places So that he will not be able to conceal himself; His offspring has been destroyed along with his relatives And his neighbors, and he is no more.

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

11"Leave your orphans behind, I will keep them alive; And let your widows trust in Me."

12For 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.

12For thus says the LORD, "Behold, those who were not sentenced to drink the cup will certainly drink it, and are you the one who will be completely acquitted? You will not be acquitted, but you will certainly drink it.

13For by myself I have sworn"--this is the LORD's declaration--"Bozrah will become a desolation, a disgrace, a ruin, and an example for cursing, and all its surrounding cities will become ruins forever."

13"For I have sworn by Myself," declares the LORD, "that Bozrah will become an object of horror, a reproach, a ruin and a curse; and all its cities will become perpetual ruins."

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

14I have heard a message from the LORD, And an envoy is sent among the nations, saying, "Gather yourselves together and come against her, And rise up for battle!"

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

15"For behold, I have made you small among the nations, Despised among men.

16As to the terror you cause, your arrogant 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 eagles, even from there I will bring you down. This is the LORD's declaration.

16"As for the terror of you, The arrogance of your heart has deceived you, O you who live in the clefts of the rock, Who occupy the height of the hill. Though you make your nest as high as an eagle's, I will bring you down from there," declares the LORD.

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

17"Edom will become an object of horror; everyone who passes by it will be horrified and will hiss at all its wounds.

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

18"Like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah with its neighbors," says the LORD, "no one will live there, nor will a son of man reside in it.

19"Look, it will be like a lion coming from the thickets of the Jordan to the watered grazing land. 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 issue me a summons? Who is the shepherd who can stand against me?"

19"Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan against a perennially watered pasture; for in an instant I will make him run away from it, and whoever is chosen I shall appoint over it. For who is like Me, and who will summon Me into court? And who then is the shepherd who can stand against Me?"

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.

20Therefore hear the plan of the LORD which He has planned against Edom, and His purposes which He has purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: surely they will drag them off, even the little ones of the flock; surely He will make their pasture desolate because of them.

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

21The earth has quaked at the noise of their downfall. There is an outcry! The noise of it has been heard at the Red Sea.

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.

22Behold, He will mount up and swoop like an eagle and spread out His wings against Bozrah; and the hearts of the mighty men of Edom in that day will be like the heart of a woman in labor.

23About Damascus: Hamath and Arpad are put to shame, for they have heard a bad report and are agitated, like the anxious sea that cannot be calmed.

23Concerning Damascus. "Hamath and Arpad are put to shame, For they have heard bad news; They are disheartened. There is anxiety by the sea, It cannot be calmed.

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.

24"Damascus has become helpless; She has turned away to flee, And panic has gripped her; Distress and pangs have taken hold of her Like a woman in childbirth.

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

25"How the city of praise has not been deserted, The town of My joy!

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 Armies.

26"Therefore, her young men will fall in her streets, And all the men of war will be silenced in that day," declares the LORD of hosts.

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

27"I will set fire to the wall of Damascus, And it will devour the fortified towers of Ben-hadad."

28About Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon defeated, this is what the LORD says: Rise up, attack Kedar, and destroy the people of the east!

28Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated. Thus says the LORD, "Arise, go up to Kedar And devastate the men of the east.

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!"

29"They will take away their tents and their flocks; They will carry off for themselves Their tent curtains, all their goods and their camels, And they will call out to one another, 'Terror on every side!'

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

30"Run away, flee! Dwell in the depths, O inhabitants of Hazor," declares the LORD; "For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has formed a plan against you And devised a scheme against you.

31Rise up, attack 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.

31"Arise, go up against a nation which is at ease, Which lives securely," declares the LORD. "It has no gates or bars; They dwell alone.

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 clip the hair on their temples; I will bring calamity on them across all their borders. This is the LORD's declaration.

32"Their camels will become plunder, And their many cattle for booty, And I will scatter to all the winds those who cut the corners of their hair; And I will bring their disaster from every side," declares the LORD.

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

33"Hazor will become a haunt of jackals, A desolation forever; No one will live there, Nor will a son of man reside in it."

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

34That which came as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying:

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

35"Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'Behold, I am going to break the bow of Elam, The finest of their might.

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.

36'I will bring upon Elam the four winds From the four ends of heaven, And will scatter them to all these winds; And there will be no nation To which the outcasts of Elam will not go.

37I will devastate Elam before their enemies, before those who intend 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.

37'So I will shatter Elam before their enemies And before those who seek their lives; And I will bring calamity upon them, Even My fierce anger,' declares the LORD, 'And I will send out the sword after them Until I have consumed them.

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

38'Then I will set My throne in Elam And destroy out of it king and princes,' Declares the LORD.

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

39'But it will come about in the last days That I will restore the fortunes of Elam,'" Declares the LORD.

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.

New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org