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Word Against Ammon

¹ Concerning the sons of ^(C1)Ammon. Thus says Yahweh:

"Does Israel have no sons?
Or has he no one who can take possession?
Why then has ^(F1)Malcam taken possession of Gad
And his people settled in its cities?

² "Therefore behold, the days are coming," declares Yahweh,
"That I will cause a ^(F1)(C1)trumpet blast of war to be heard
Against ^(C2)Rabbah of the sons of Ammon;
And it will become a desolate heap,
And her ^(C3)towns will be set on fire.
Then Israel will take ^(C4)possession of his possessors,"
Says Yahweh.

³ "Wail, O ^(C1)Heshbon, for ^(C2)Ai has been destroyed!
Cry out, O daughters of Rabbah,
^(C3)Gird yourselves with sackcloth and lament,
And rush back and forth inside the walls;
For ^(F1)Malcam will ^(C4)go into exile
Together with his priests and his princes.

⁴ "How ^(C1)boastful you are about the valleys!
Your valley is flowing away,
O ^(C2)faithless daughter
Who trusts in her ^(C3)treasures, saying,
'^(C4)Who will come against me?'

⁵ "Behold, I am going to bring ^(C1)dread upon you,"
Declares Lord Yahweh of hosts,
"From all around you;
And each of you will be ^(C2)banished ^(F1)headlong,
With no one to gather the ^(C3)one who flees.

⁶ "But afterward I will ^(F1)(C1)return
The ^(F2)fortunes of the sons of Ammon,"
Declares Yahweh.

Word Against Edom

⁷ Concerning ^(C1)Edom.
Thus says Yahweh of hosts,
"Is there no longer any ^(C2)wisdom in ^(C3)Teman?
Has counsel been lost to the understanding?
Has their wisdom decayed?

⁸ "Flee away, turn back, inhabit the depths,
O inhabitants of ^(C1)Dedan,
For I ^(F1)will bring the ^(C2)disaster of Esau upon him
At the time I ^(F2)punish him.

⁹ "^(C1)If grape gatherers came to you,
Would they not have gleanings remain?
If thieves came by night,
They would ruin only ^(F1)until they had enough.

¹⁰ "But I have ^(C1)stripped Esau bare;
I have uncovered his hiding places,
So that he will not be able to conceal himself;
His seed has been destroyed along with his ^(F1)relatives
And his neighbors, and ^(C2)he is no more.

¹¹ "Leave your ^(F1)(C1)orphans behind, I will keep them alive;
And let your ^(C2)widows trust in Me."

¹² For thus says Yahweh, "Behold, those who are not under judgment to drink the ^(C1)cup will certainly drink it, but are you the one who will go ^(C2)completely unpunished? You will not go unpunished, but you will certainly drink it.¹³ "For I have ^(C1)sworn by Myself," declares Yahweh, "that ^(C2)Bozrah will become an ^(C3)object of horror, a reproach, a ruin, and an imprecation; and all its cities will become perpetual ^(F1)ruins."

¹⁴ I have ^(C1)heard a message from Yahweh,
And an ^(C2)envoy is sent among the nations, saying,
"^(C3)Gather yourselves together and come against her,
And rise up for battle!"

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

¹⁶ "As for the terror of you,
The arrogance of your heart has deceived you,
O you who dwell in the clefts of ^(F1)the ^(C1)rock,
Who seize the height of the hill.
Though you make your nest as ^(C2)high as an eagle's,
I will ^(C3)bring you down from there," declares Yahweh.

¹⁷ "Edom will become ^(F1)an ^(C1)object of horror; everyone who passes by it will ^(F2)be horrified and will ^(C2)hiss at all its wounds.¹⁸ "Like the ^(C1)overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah with its neighbors," says Yahweh, "^(C2)no one will live there, nor will a son of man sojourn in it.¹⁹ "^(C1)Behold, one will come up like a lion from the ^(F1)(C2)thickets of the Jordan against an enduring pasture; for in an instant I will make him run away from it, and whoever is ^(C3)chosen I shall appoint over it. For who is ^(C4)like Me, and who will ^(F2)summon Me into court? And who then is the shepherd ^(C5)who can stand against Me?"

²⁰ Therefore hear the ^(C1)counsel of Yahweh which He has counseled 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 ^(C2)desolate because of them.²¹ The ^(C1)earth has quaked at the noise of their downfall. There is an outcry! The noise of it has been heard at the ^(F1)Red Sea.²² Behold, ^(F1)He will mount up and ^(C1)swoop like an eagle and spread out His wings ^(F2)against Bozrah; and the ^(C2)hearts of the mighty men of Edom in that day will be like the heart of a woman in labor.

Word Against Damascus

²³ Concerning ^(C1)Damascus.
"^(C2)Hamath and ^(C3)Arpad are put to shame,
For they have heard a bad report;
They are ^(C4)melting away.
There is anxiety by the sea,
It ^(C5)cannot be quieted.

²⁴ "Damascus has become limp in their hands;
She has turned away to flee,
And panic has taken hold of her;
^(C1)Distress and pangs have seized her
Like a woman in childbirth.

²⁵ "How ^(F1)the ^(C1)city of praise has not been forsaken,
The town of My joy!

²⁶ "Therefore, her ^(C1)young men will fall in her open squares,
And all the men of war will be ^(F1)silenced in that day," declares Yahweh of hosts.

²⁷ "I will ^(C1)set fire to the wall of Damascus,
And it will devour the ^(F1)fortified towers of ^(C2)Ben-hadad."

Word Against Kedar and Hazor

²⁸ Concerning ^(C1)Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck down. Thus says Yahweh,

"Arise, go up to Kedar
And destroy the ^(F1)(C2)men of the east.

²⁹ "They will take away their tents and their flocks;
They will carry off for themselves
Their tent ^(C1)curtains, all their goods, and their ^(C2)camels,
And they will call out to one another, '^(C3)Terror on every side!'

³⁰ "Run away, flee earnestly! Inhabit the depths,
O inhabitants of Hazor," declares Yahweh;
"For ^(C1)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has taken counsel against you
And purposed a purpose against you.

³¹ "Arise, go up against a nation which is ^(C1)at ease,
Which inhabits its land securely," declares Yahweh.
"It has ^(C2)no gates or bars;
They ^(C3)dwell alone.

³² "Their camels will become plunder,
And their many cattle for spoil,
And I will ^(C1)scatter to all the winds those who ^(C2)cut the corners of their hair;
And I will bring their ^(F1)disaster from every side," declares Yahweh.

³³ "Hazor will become a ^(C1)haunt of jackals,
A desolation forever;
No one will inhabit there,
Nor will a son of man sojourn in it."

Word Against Elam

³⁴ That which came as the word of Yahweh to Jeremiah the prophet concerning ^(C1)Elam, ^(C2)in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying:

³⁵ "Thus says Yahweh of hosts,
'Behold, I am going to ^(C1)break the bow of Elam,
The ^(F1)finest of their might.

³⁶ 'I will bring upon Elam the ^(C1)four winds
From the four ends of heaven,
And I will ^(C2)scatter them to all these winds;
And there will be no nation
To which the banished ones of Elam will not go.

³⁷ 'So I will ^(F1)shatter Elam before their enemies
And before those who seek their lives;
And I will ^(C1)bring calamity upon them,
Even My ^(C2)burning anger,' declares Yahweh,
'And I will ^(C3)send out the sword after them
Until I have consumed them.

³⁸ 'Then I will set My throne in Elam
And cause king and princes from there to perish,'
Declares Yahweh.

³⁹ 'But it will be in the last days
That I will ^(F1)(C1)return the ^(F2)fortunes of Elam,'"
Declares Yahweh.