1
Concerning the Ammonites.
Thus says the
Has Israel no sons?
Has he no heir?
Why then has Milcom dispossessed Gad,
and his people settled in its towns?
2
Therefore, the time is surely coming,
says the
when I will sound the battle alarm
against Rabbah of the Ammonites;
it shall become a desolate mound,
and its villages shall be burned with fire;
then Israel shall dispossess those who dispossessed him,
says the
3
Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste!
Cry out, O daughters 1 of Rabbah!
Put on sackcloth,
lament, and slash yourselves with whips! 2
For Milcom shall go into exile,
with his priests and his attendants.
4
Why do you boast in your strength?
Your strength is ebbing,
O faithless daughter.
You trusted in your treasures, saying,
"Who will attack me?"
5
I am going to bring terror upon you,
says the Lord
from all your neighbors,
and you will be scattered, each headlong,
with no one to gather the fugitives.
6
But afterward I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites, says the
7
Concerning Edom.
Thus says the
Is there no longer wisdom in Teman?
Has counsel perished from the prudent?
Has their wisdom vanished?
8
Flee, turn back, get down low,
inhabitants of Dedan!
For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him,
the time when I punish him.
9
If grape-gatherers came to you,
would they not leave gleanings?
If thieves came by night,
even they would pillage only what they wanted.
10
But as for me, I have stripped Esau bare,
I have uncovered his hiding places,
and he is not able to conceal himself.
His offspring are destroyed, his kinsfolk
and his neighbors; and he is no more.
11
Leave your orphans, I will keep them alive;
and let your widows trust in me.
12
For thus says the
14
I have heard tidings from the
and a messenger has been sent among the nations:
"Gather yourselves together and come against her,
and rise up for battle!"
15
For I will make you least among the nations,
despised by humankind.
16
The terror you inspire
and the pride of your heart have deceived you,
you who live in the clefts of the rock, 3
who hold the height of the hill.
Although you make your nest as high as the eagle's,
from there I will bring you down,
+qsays the
17
Edom shall become an object of horror; everyone who passes by it will be horrified and will hiss because of all its disasters.
18
As when Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors were overthrown, says the
23
Concerning Damascus.
Hamath and Arpad are confounded,
for they have heard bad news;
they melt in fear, they are troubled like the sea 7
that cannot be quiet.
24
Damascus has become feeble, she turned to flee,
and panic seized her;
anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her,
as of a woman in labor.
25
How the famous city is forsaken, 8
the joyful town! 9
26
Therefore her young men shall fall in her squares,
and all her soldiers shall be destroyed in that day,
+qsays the
27
And I will kindle a fire at the wall of Damascus,
and it shall devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad.
28
Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor that King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon defeated.
Thus says the
Rise up, advance against Kedar!
Destroy the people of the east!
29
Take their tents and their flocks,
their curtains and all their goods;
carry off their camels for yourselves,
and a cry shall go up: "Terror is all around!"
30
Flee, wander far away, hide in deep places,
O inhabitants of Hazor!
+qsays the
For King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon
has made a plan against you
and formed a purpose against you.
31
Rise up, advance against a nation at ease,
that lives secure,
+qsays the
that has no gates or bars,
that lives alone.
32
Their camels shall become booty,
their herds of cattle a spoil.
I will scatter to every wind
those who have shaven temples,
and I will bring calamity
against them from every side,
+qsays the
33
Hazor shall become a lair of jackals,
an everlasting waste;
no one shall live there,
nor shall anyone settle in it.
34
The word of the
35
Thus says the
39
But in the latter days I will restore the fortunes of Elam, says the