1 Prophecy against Ammon Concerning theWhen the tribes of the Northern Kingdom were taken captive in 734-732 b.c., the Ammonites, a nomadic, warlike people descended from Lot through his younger daughter, moved into the territory of the tribe of Gad east of the Jordan.sons (descendants) of Ammon.Thus says the L:“Does Israel have no sons [to reclaim Gad from the Ammonites]?Has he no heir?Why then hasMalcam or Milcom (1 Kin 11:5, 33; Zeph 1:5) was the national god of the Ammonites. Other variant forms of this name include Milcham and Malcham.Malcam taken possession of GadAnd [why do] his people live in the cities [of Gad]?
2 Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the L,“When I will cause an alarm of war to be heardAgainst Rabbah of the Ammonites;And it [along with the high ground on which it stands] will become a desolate heap,And its villages will be set on fire.Then will Israel take possession of his possessors,”Says the L.
3 “Wail, OOriginally a Moabite town, Heshbon was located south of Ammon.Heshbon, for Ai [in Ammon] has been destroyed!Cry out, O daughters of Rabbah!Wrap yourselves with sackcloth and lament (cry out in grief),And rush back and forth inside the enclosures;For Malcam [your powerless god] will go into exileTogether with his priests and his princes.
4 Why do you boast of your valleys?Your valley is flowing away,[O Ammon] rebelliousandfaithless daughterWho trusts in her treasures,saying,‘Who will come against me?’
5 Behold, I am going to bring terror on you,”Says the Lord Gof hosts,“From all who are around you;And each of you will be driven out headlong,And there will be no one to gather the fugitives together.
6 ButAs complete and continuous as the desolation of Moab and Ammon was for so many centuries, yet God is keeping His word for their restoration “in the latter days” (48:47) in a remarkable manner. For instance, Amman, the capital of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (formerly called Transjordania, and in ancient times, Rabbath of Ammon or the City of Waters), was a mere village in 1900, but by the year 2000 it was a city of almost 2,000,000 inhabitants.afterward I will reverseThe captivity of the children of Ammonandrestore their fortunes,”Says the L.
7 Prophecy against Edom Concerning Edom.Thus says the Lof hosts,“Is there no longer any wisdom inTeman was an important stronghold located in central Edom. It was about three miles from Sela (Petra). Teman was also used as a generic name to represent all of Edom.Teman?Has good counsel vanished from the intelligentandprudent?Has their wisdom decayed?
8 Flee, turn back, dwell in the depths [of the desert to escape the judgment of Edom],O inhabitants ofA tribal settlement and trading center on Edom’s southeastern border.Dedan,For I will bring the destruction ofThe Edomites were the descendants of Esau, Jacob’s elder twin brother. Because of his godlessness he and his descendants were cursed.Esau (Edom) upon himWhen I inspectandpunish him.
9 If grape gatherers came to you,Would they not leave some ungleaned grapes [on the vines]?If thieves came by night,Would they not destroy [only] what is enough [for them]?
10 But I have stripped Esau (Edom) bare;I have uncovered his hiding placesAnd he cannot hide himself.His descendants have been destroyed along with his brothers (relatives) and his neighbors;And he is no more.
11 Leave your orphans behind; I will [do what is needed to] keep them alive.And let [those who are] your widows trustandconfide in Me.”
12 For thus says the L, “Behold, those (Israel) who were not sentenced to drink the cup [of wrath] shall certainly drink it, and are you to remain unpunished? You will not be acquittedandgo unpunished, but you will certainly drink [from the cup of wrath and judgment].
13 For I have sworn [an oath] by Myself,” says the L, “thatLocated in northern Edom, between Petra and the Dead Sea, the area was famous for its dyed garments.Bozrah will become an object of horror, a reproach, a ruin, and a curse; and all its cities will becomeHow except by divine inspiration could the prophets have foretold that Edom’s desolation would be perpetual? After 2,500 years the statement is so literally true that in the land of Edom, where millions once lived, there are only a few people barely existing, and the land is in ruins. For there was no prophecy that Edom would recover “in the latter days” (48:47), as was predicted for Moab and Ammon, but Edom’s desolation was to be lasting. The short book of Obadiah presents an interesting further clarification of God’s reason for this exceptional treatment of Edom. It was the outcome of a deception and a family quarrel between two brothers, Jacob and Esau, which erupted into acts of violence and which continued from Genesis to the Gospels (see Gen 27).perpetual ruins.”
14 I have heard a report from the L,And a messenger has been sent to the nations, saying,“Gather together and come against her,And rise up for the battle.”
15 “For behold, [Edom] I have made you small among the nationsAnd despised among men.
16 As for Your terror,The prideandarrogance of your heart have deceived you,O you who live in the clefts of the rock (Sela also calledPetra, once an important Roman province in Edom, was lost for many centuries but rediscovered in 1812. On the height above its ruins is the great high place. Other evidence of idolatry has been found on neighboring heights.Petra),Who holdandoccupy the height of the hill.Though you make your nest as high as the eagle’s,I will bring you down from there,” says the L.
17 “Edom will become an object of horror; everyone who goes by it will be astonished and shall hiss [scornfully] at all its plaguesanddisasters.
18 As [it was] in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah with their neighboring cities,” says the L, “no man will live there, nor will a son of man dwell in it.
19 See, one will come like a lion from the thicket of the Jordan against the enduring habitation [of Edom]andits watered pastures; for in an instant I will makeIn about 550 b.c. the Nabataeans completely overthrew the Edomites and drove them from their land. They took control of the great Middle Eastern trade routes and made Petra (Sela) their capital city.him (Edom) run from his land. I will appoint over him the one whom I choose. For who is like Me, and who will summon Me [into court]andprosecute Me [for this]? Who is the [earthly] shepherd who can stand [defiantly] before Me?”
20 Therefore hear the plan of the Lwhich He has devised against Edom, and [hear] what He has purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: surely they will be dragged away, even the little ones of the flock; surely He will make their dwelling place desolate because of them.
21 The earth has quaked at the noise of their downfall. There is an outcry! The sound of its noise has been heard at the Red Sea.
22 Behold, He will mount up and fly swiftly like an eagle and spread His wings against [the city of] Bozrah; and in that day the heart of the mighty warriors of Edom will be like the heart of a woman in childbirth.
23 Prophecy against Damascus Concerning Damascus [in Syria].“Hamath and Arpad are perplexedandshamed,For they have heard bad news;They are disheartened;Troubledandanxious like a [storm-tossed] seaWhich cannot be calmed.
24 Damascus has become helpless;She has turned away to flee,Terror (panic) has seized her;Anguish and distress have gripped herLike a woman in childbirth.
25 Why has the renowned city not been deserted,The city of My joy!
26 Therefore, her young men will fall in her streets,And all her men of war will be destroyed in that day,” says the Lof hosts.
27 “I will set fire to the wall of Damascus,And it will consume the palaces ofBen-hadad (“son of Hadad,” a pagan god) was the title given to the early Syrian kings who ruled in Damascus.Ben-hadad.”
28 Prophecy against Kedar and Hazor ConcerningA tribe of nomadic Arabs descended from Ishmael’s second son, Kedar (Gen 25:13).Kedar and concerning the kingdoms ofThis Hazor is not to be confused with three others mentioned elsewhere (Josh 11:1; 15:23; Neh 11:33). It was a region in the Arabian Desert east of Palestine. Jeremiah’s prophecy concerning it was literally fulfilled. Nebuchadnezzar conquered Arabia, according to historians, and Hazor’s exact situation is long since unknown. Hazor is also known as that part of the Arab nation which used fixed dwellings in unwalled towns, in contrast to nomadic Arabs.Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated. Thus says the L,“Arise, go up against KedarAnd destroy the men of the east.
29 They (the Babylonians) will take away their tents and their flocks;They will carry off for themselvesTheir tent curtains, all their goods and their camels,And they will call out to one another, ‘Terror on every side!’
30 Flee, run far away! Dwell in the depths [of the desert],O inhabitants of Hazor,” says the L,“For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has planned a course of action against youAnd devised a scheme against you.
31 Arise [Nebuchadnezzar], go up against a nation which is at ease,Which lives securely,” says the L,“A nation which has neither gates nor bars;They dwell apartandalone.
32 Their camels will become plunder,And their herds of cattle a spoil;And I will scatter to all the [four] winds those who cut the corners of their hair [as evidence of their idolatry],And I will bring their disaster from every side,” says the L.
33 “Hazor will become a hauntanddwelling place of jackals,A desolation forever;No one will live there,Nor will a son of man reside in it.”
34 Prophecy against Elam The word of the Lthat came to Jeremiah the prophet concerningElam was located in what is now southwestern Iran (Khuzistan); however, no modern descendants remain. Susa (Heb Shushan), the ancient capital, was named for the gorgeous lilies that grew in the area. East of Babylonia, Elam was on the northern shore of the Persian Gulf in the lower Tigris Valley. After a long period of subjugation to foreign powers, it joined with Media, its northern neighbor, and ultimately captured Babylon (Is 21:2, 9). Elam became a province of the Persian Empire. Elamites settled as colonists in Samaria long before the return of the Jews from Babylon, and they joined with others in attempting to prevent the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple (Ezra 4:9). There were also Elamites present on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:9), but they became extinct in the eleventh century. Thus this prophecy of that nation’s destruction is long since fulfilled, with the restoration of Elam’s fortunes predicted in v 39.Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying:
35 “Thus says the Lof hosts,‘Behold (listen carefully), I am going to break the bow of Elam,The finest [weapon] of their strength.
36 And I will bring upon Elam the four windsFrom the four corners of heaven;And I will scatter them toward all those winds,And there will be no nationTo which the outcasts of Elam will not go.
37 So I will cause Elam to be shattered (dismayed) before their enemiesAnd before those who seek their lives;And I will bring disaster on them,Even My fierce anger,’ says the L.‘And I will send the sword after themUntil I have consumed them.
38 Then I will set My throne [of judgment] inSusa (Heb Shushan), Elam’s capital, was the winter home of the Persian kings. During an excavation in 1901, the Code of Hammurabi was discovered among its ruins. Daniel’s vision of the ram and the goat was set in the great citadel of Susa (Dan 8:2).ElamAnd I will destroy from there the king and princes,’Says the L.
39 ‘But it will be in the last days (the end of days)That I will reverse the captivityandrestore the fortunes of Elam,’ ”Says the L.