7
This message was given concerning Edom. This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says:
“Is there no wisdom in Teman?
Is no one left to give wise counsel?
8
Turn and flee!
Hide in deep caves, you people of Dedan!
For when I bring disaster on Edom, 1
I will punish you, too!
9
Those who harvest grapes
always leave a few for the poor.
If thieves came at night,
they would not take everything.
10
But I will strip bare the land of Edom,
and there will be no place left to hide.
Its children, its brothers, and its neighbors
will all be destroyed,
and Edom itself will be no more.
11
But I will protect the orphans who remain among you.
Your widows, too, can depend on me for help.”
12 And this is what the Lord says: “If the innocent must suffer, how much more must you! You will not go unpunished! You must drink this cup of judgment! 13 For I have sworn by my own name,” says the Lord , “that Bozrah will become an object of horror and a heap of ruins; it will be mocked and cursed. All its towns and villages will be desolate forever.”
14
I have heard a message from the Lord
that an ambassador was sent to the nations to say,
“Form a coalition against Edom,
and prepare for battle!”
15
The Lord says to Edom,
“I will cut you down to size among the nations.
You will be despised by all.
16
You have been deceived
by the fear you inspire in others
and by your own pride.
You live in a rock fortress
and control the mountain heights.
But even if you make your nest among the peaks with the eagles,
I will bring you crashing down,”
says the Lord .
17
“Edom will be an object of horror.
All who pass by will be appalled
and will gasp at the destruction they see there.
18
It will be like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
and their neighboring towns,” says the Lord .
“No one will live there;
no one will inhabit it.
19
I will come like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan,
leaping on the sheep in the pasture.
I will chase Edom from its land,
and I will appoint the leader of my choice.
For who is like me, and who can challenge me?
What ruler can oppose my will?”
20
Listen to the Lord ’s plans against Edom
and the people of Teman.
Even the little children will be dragged off like sheep,
and their homes will be destroyed.
21
The earth will shake with the noise of Edom’s fall,
and its cry of despair will be heard all the way to the Red Sea. 2
22
Look! The enemy swoops down like an eagle,
spreading his wings over Bozrah.
Even the mightiest warriors will be in anguish
like a woman in labor.