33Rejoicing and gladness
Are gone from the farm land,
From the country of Moab;
I have put an end to wine in the presses,
No one treads [the grapes] with shouting—
f-The shout is a shout no more.-f
34There is an outcry from Heshbon to Elealeh,
They raise their voices as far as Jahaz,
From Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiah.
The waters of Nimrim
Shall also become desolation.
35And I will make an end in Moab
—declares the LORD—
Of those who offer at a shrine
And burn incense to their god.
36Therefore,
My heart moans for Moab like a flute;
Like a flute my heart moans
For the men of Kir-heres—
f-Therefore,
The gains they have made shall vanish-f—
37For every head is bald
And every beard is shorn;
On all hands there are gashes,
And on the loins sackcloth.
38On all the roofs of Moab,
And in its squares
There is naught but lamentation;
For I have broken Moab
Like a vessel no one wants
—declares the LORD.
39How he is dismayed! Wail!
How Moab has turned his back in shame!
Moab shall be a laughingstock
And a shock to all those near him.
40For thus said the LORD:
See, he soars like an eagle
And spreads out his wings against Moab!
41Kerioth shall be captured
And the strongholds shall be seized.
In that day, the heart of Moab’s warriors
Shall be like the heart of a woman in travail.
42And Moab shall be destroyed as a people,
For he vaunted himself against the LORD.
43k-Terror, and pit, and trap-k
Upon you who dwell in Moab!
—declares the LORD.
44He who flees from the terror
Shall fall into the pit;
And he who climbs out of the pit
Shall be caught in the trap.
For I will bring upon Moab
The year of their doom
—declares the LORD.
45In the shelter of Heshbon
Fugitives halt exhausted;
For fire went forth from Heshbon,
Flame from the midstl of Sihon,
Consuming the brow of Moab,
The pate of the people of Shaon.m
46Woe to you, O Moab!
The people of Chemosh are undone,
For your sons are carried off into captivity,
Your daughters into exile.
47But I will restore the fortunes of Moab in the days to come—declares the LORD.
Thus far is the judgment on Moab.
49 Concerning the Ammonites.
Thus said the LORD:
Has Israel no sons,
Has he no heir?
Then why has Milcoma dispossessed Gad,
And why have his people settled in Gad’sb towns?
2Assuredly, days are coming
—declares the LORD—
When I will sound the alarm of war
Against Rabbah of the Ammonites;
It shall become a desolate mound,
And its villages shall be set on fire.
And Israel shall dispossess
Those who dispossessed him
—said the LORD.
3Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is ravaged!
Cry out, O daughters of Rabbah!
Gird on sackcloth, lament,
c-And run to and fro in the sheepfolds.-c
For Milcom shall go into exile,
Together with his priests and attendants.
4d-Why do you glory in strength,
Your strength is drained,-d
O rebellious daughter,
You who relied on your treasures,
[Who said:] Who dares attack me?
5I am bringing terror upon you
—declares the Lord GOD of Hosts—
From all those around you.
Every one of you shall be driven e-in every direction,-e
And none shall gather in the fugitives.
6But afterward I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites—declares the LORD.
7Concerning Edom.
Thus said the LORD of Hosts:
Is there no more wisdom in Teman?
Has counsel vanished from the prudent?
Has their wisdom gone stale?
8Flee, turn away, sit down low,
O inhabitants of Dedan,
For I am bringing Esau’s doom upon him,
The time when I deal with him.
9f-If vintagers were to come upon you,
Would they leave no gleanings?
Even thieves in the night
Would destroy only for their needs!-f
10But it is I who have bared Esau,
Have exposed his place of concealment;
He cannot hide.
His offspring is ravaged,
His kin and his neighbors—
g-He is no more.-g
11“Leave your orphans with me,
I will rear them;
Let your widows rely on me!”
12For thus said the LORD: If they who rightly should not drink of the cup must drink it, are you the one to go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished: you will have to drink! 13For by Myself I swear—declares the LORD—Bozrah shall become a desolation, a mockery, a ruin, and a curse;h and all its towns shall be ruins for all time.
14I have received tidings from the LORD,
And an envoy is sent out among the nations:
Assemble, and move against her,
And rise up for war!
15For I will make you least among nations,
Most despised among men.
16c-Your horrible nature,-c
Your arrogant heart has seduced you,
You who dwell in clefts of the rock,
Who occupy the height of the hill!
Should you nest as high as the eagle,
From there I will pull you down
—declares the LORD.
17And Edom shall be a cause of appallment; whoever passes by will be appalled and will hissi at all its wounds. 18It shall be like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors—said the LORD: no man shall live there, no human shall sojourn there. 19It shall be as when a lion comes up out of the jungle of the Jordan against a secure pasture: in a moment j-I can harry him out of it and appoint over it anyone I choose.-j Then who is like Me? Who can summon Me? Who is the shepherd that can stand up against Me? 20Hear, then, the plan which the LORD has devised against Edom, and what He has purposed against the inhabitants of Teman:
Surely the shepherd boys
Shall drag them away;
Surely the pasture shall be
Aghast because of them.
21At the sound of their downfall
The earth shall shake;
The sound of screaming
Shall be heard at the Sea of Reeds.
22See, like an eagle he flies up,
He soars and spreads his wings against Bozrah;
And the heart of Edom’s warriors in that day
Shall be like the heart of a woman in travail.
23Concerning Damascus.
Hamath and Arpad are shamed,
For they have heard bad news.
They shake with anxiety,
Likek the sea which cannot rest.
24Damascus has grown weak,
She has turned around to flee;
Trembling has seized her,
Pain and anguish have taken hold of her,
Like a woman in childbirth.
25l-How has the glorious city not been deserted,-l
The citadel of my joy!
26Assuredly, her young men shall lie fallen in her squares.
And all her warriors shall be stilled in that day
—declares the LORD of Hosts.
27I will set fire to the wall of Damascus,
And it shall consume the fortresses of Ben-hadad.
28Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which King
Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon conquered.
Thus said the LORD:
Arise, march against Kedar,
And ravage the Kedemites!
29They will take away their tents and their flocks,
Their tent cloths and all their gear;
They shall carry off their camels,
And shall proclaim against them:
Terror all around!
30Flee, wander far,
Sit down low, O inhabitants of Hazor
—says the LORD.
For King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon
Has devised a plan against you
And formed a purpose against you:
31Rise up, attack a tranquil nation
That dwells secure
—says the LORD—
That has no barred gates,
That dwells alone.
32Their camels shall become booty,
And their abundant flocks a spoil;
And I will scatter to every quarter
Those who have their hair clipped;
And from every direction I will bring
Disaster upon them
—says the LORD.
33Hazor shall become a lair of jackals,
A desolation for all time.
No man shall live there,
No human shall sojourn there.
34The word of the LORD that came to the prophet Jeremiah concerning Elam, at the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah:
35Thus said the LORD of Hosts: I am going to break the bow of Elam, the mainstay of their strength. 36And I shall bring four winds against Elam from the four quarters of heaven, and scatter them to all those winds. There shall not be a nation to which the fugitives from Elam do not come. 37And I will break Elam before their enemies, before those who seek their lives; and I will bring disaster upon them, My flaming wrath—declares the LORD. And I will dispatch the sword after them until I have consumed them.
38And I will set My throne in Elam,
And wipe out from there king and officials
—says the LORD.
39But in the days to come I will restore the fortunes of Elam—declares the LORD.
50 The word which the LORD spoke concerning Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, through the prophet Jeremiah:
2Declare among the nations, and proclaim;
Raise a standard, proclaim;
Hide nothing! Say:
Babylon is captured,
Bela is shamed,
Merodacha is dismayed.
Her idols are shamed,
Her fetishes dismayed.
3For a nation from the north has attacked her,
It will make her land a desolation.
No one shall dwell in it,
Both man and beast shall wander away.
4In those days and at that time—declares the LORD—the people of Israel together with the people of Judah shall come, and they shall weep as they go to seek the LORD their God. 5They shall inquire for Zion; in that direction their faces shall turn; b-they shall come-b and attach themselves to the LORD by a covenant for all time, which shall never be forgotten. 6My people were lost sheep: their shepherds led them astray, they drove them out to the mountains, they roamed from mount to hill, they forgot their own resting place. 7All who encountered them devoured them; and their foes said, “We shall not be held guilty, because they have sinned against the LORD, the true Pasture, the Hope of their fathers—the LORD.”
8Flee from Babylon,
Leave the land of the Chaldeans,
And be like he-goats that lead the flock!
9For see, I am rousing and leading
An assemblage of great nations against Babylon
From the lands of the north.
They shall draw up their lines against her,
There she shall be captured.
Their arrows are like those of c-a skilled warrior-c
Who does not turn back without hitting the mark.
10Chaldea shall be despoiled,
All her spoilers shall be sated
—declares the LORD.
11For you rejoiced, you exulted,
You who plundered My possession;
You stamped like a heifer treading grain,
You neighed like steeds.
12So your mother will be utterly shamed,
She who bore you will be disgraced.
Behold the end of the nations—
Wilderness, desert, and steppe!
13Because of the LORD’s wrath she shall not be inhabited;
She shall be utterly desolate.
Whoever passes by Babylon will be appalled
And will hiss at all her wounds.
14Range yourselves roundabout Babylon,
All you who draw the bow;
Shoot at her, don’t spare arrows,
For she has sinned against the LORD.
15Raise a shout against her all about!
d-She has surrendered;-d
Her bastions have
