The Book of JEREMIAH - Chapter Forty Nine

 

A message about Ammon

1 Concerning the Ammonites:

This is what the Lord says:

‘Has Israel no sons?

    Has Israel no heir?

Why then has Molek taken possession of Gad?

    Why do his people live in its towns?

2 

But the days are coming,’

    declares the Lord,

‘when I will sound the battle cry

    against Rabbah of the Ammonites;

it will become a mound of ruins,

    and its surrounding villages will be set on fire.

Then Israel will drive out

    those who drove her out,’

says the Lord.

3 

‘Wail, Heshbon, for Ai is destroyed!

    Cry out, you inhabitants of Rabbah!

Put on sackcloth and mourn;

    rush here and there inside the walls,

for Molek will go into exile,

    together with his priests and officials.

4 

Why do you boast of your valleys,

    boast of your valleys so fruitful?

Unfaithful Daughter Ammon,

    you trust in your riches and say,

    “Who will attack me?”

5 

I will bring terror on you

    from all those around you,’

declares the Lord,

the Lord Almighty.

‘Every one of you will be driven away,

    and no one will gather the fugitives.

6 

‘Yet afterwards, I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites,’

declares the Lord.

A message about Edom

7 Concerning Edom:

This is what the Lord Almighty says:

‘Is there no longer wisdom in Teman?

    Has counsel perished from the prudent?

    Has their wisdom decayed?

8 

Turn and flee, hide in deep caves,

    you who live in Dedan,

for I will bring disaster on Esau

    at the time when I punish him.

9 

If grape-pickers came to you,

    would they not leave a few grapes?

If thieves came during the night,

    would they not steal only as much as they wanted?

10 

But I will strip Esau bare;

    I will uncover his hiding-places,

    so that he cannot conceal himself.

His armed men are destroyed,

    also his allies and neighbours,

    so there is no one to say,

11 

“Leave your fatherless children; I will keep them alive.

    Your widows too can depend on me.”’

12 

This is what the Lord says: ‘If those who do not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, why should you go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, but must drink it. 

13 I swear by myself,’ declares the Lord, ‘that Bozrah will become a ruin and a curse, an object of horror and reproach; and all its towns will be in ruins for ever.’

14 

I have heard a message from the Lord;

    an envoy was sent to the nations to say,

‘Assemble yourselves to attack it!

    Rise up for battle!’

15 

‘Now I will make you small among the nations,

    despised by mankind.

16 

The terror you inspire

    and the pride of your heart have deceived you,

you who live in the clefts of the rocks,

    who occupy the heights of the hill.

Though you build your nest as high as the eagle’s,

    from there I will bring you down,’

declares the Lord.

17 

‘Edom will become an object of horror;

    all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff

    because of all its wounds.

18 

As Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown,

    along with their neighbouring towns,’

says the Lord,

‘so no one will live there;

    no people will dwell in it.

19 

‘Like a lion coming up from Jordan’s thickets

    to a rich pasture-land,

I will chase Edom from its land in an instant.

    Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this?

Who is like me and who can challenge me?

    And what shepherd can stand against me?’

20 

Therefore, hear what the Lord has planned against Edom,

    what he has purposed against those who live in Teman:

the young of the flock will be dragged away;

    their pasture will be appalled at their fate.

21 

At the sound of their fall the earth will tremble;

    their cry will resound to the Red Sea.

22 

Look! An eagle will soar and swoop down,

    spreading its wings over Bozrah.

In that day the hearts of Edom’s warriors

    will be like the heart of a woman in labour.

A message about Damascus

23 Concerning Damascus:

‘Hamath and Arpad are dismayed,

    for they have heard bad news.

They are disheartened,

    troubled like the restless sea.

24 

Damascus has become feeble,

    she has turned to flee

    and panic has gripped her;

anguish and pain have seized her,

    pain like that of a woman in labour.

25 

Why has the city of renown not been abandoned,

    the town in which I delight?

26 

Surely, her young men will fall in the streets;

    all her soldiers will be silenced in that day,’

declares the Lord Almighty.

27 

‘I will set fire to the walls of Damascus;

    it will consume the fortresses of Ben-Hadad.’

A message about Kedar and Hazor

28 Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked:

This is what the Lord says:

‘Arise, and attack Kedar

    and destroy the people of the East.

29 

Their tents and their flocks will be taken;

    their shelters will be carried off

    with all their goods and camels.

People will shout to them,

    “Terror on every side!”

30 

‘Flee quickly away!

    Stay in deep caves, you who live in Hazor,’

declares the Lord.

‘Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has plotted against you;

    he has devised a plan against you.

31 

‘Arise and attack a nation at ease,

    which lives in confidence,’

declares the Lord,

‘a nation that has neither gates nor bars;

    its people live far from danger.

32 

Their camels will become plunder,

    and their large herds will be spoils of war.

I will scatter to the winds those who are in distant places

    and will bring disaster on them from every side,’

declares the Lord.

33 

‘Hazor will become a haunt of jackals,

    a desolate place for ever.

No one will live there;

    no people will dwell in it.’

A message about Elam

34 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, early in the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah:

35 This is what the Lord Almighty says:

‘See, I will break the bow of Elam,

    the mainstay of their might.

36 

I will bring against Elam the four winds

    from the four quarters of heaven;

I will scatter them to the four winds,

    and there will not be a nation

    where Elam’s exiles do not go.

37 

I will shatter Elam before their foes,

    before those who want to kill them;

I will bring disaster on them,

    even my fierce anger,’

declares the Lord.

‘I will pursue them with the sword

    until I have made an end of them.

38 

I will set my throne in Elam

    and destroy her king and officials,’

declares the Lord.

39 

‘Yet I will restore the fortunes of Elam

    in days to come,’

declares the Lord.

=-=-=-=-=

READINGS

The Book of JEREMIAH 

Chapter Forty Nine

Read by Sir David Suchet

=-=-=-=-=

OVERVIEW 

The Book of JEREMIAH

 - Overview -

The Bible Project 

Jeremiah  “The Bible in 5”

Tim Mackie (the Bible Project)

=-=-=-=-=-=-=

STUDY - LINKS

The Book of JEREMIAH 

David Pawson

Part 1

Part 2 

-=-=-=-=-

-=-

The Book of JEREMIAH - Chapter Forty Eight

 

1 Concerning Moab:

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:

‘Woe to Nebo, for it will be ruined.

    Kiriathaim will be disgraced and captured;

    the stronghold will be disgraced and shattered.

2 

Moab will be praised no more;

    in Heshbon people will plot her downfall:

    “Come, let us put an end to that nation.”

You, the people of Madmen, will also be silenced;

    the sword will pursue you.

3 

Cries of anguish arise from Horonaim,

    cries of great havoc and destruction.

4 

Moab will be broken;

    her little ones will cry out.

5 

They go up the hill to Luhith,

    weeping bitterly as they go;

on the road down to Horonaim

    anguished cries over the destruction are heard.

6 

Flee! Run for your lives;

    become like a bush in the desert.

7 

Since you trust in your deeds and riches,

    you too will be taken captive,

and Chemosh will go into exile,

    together with his priests and officials.

8 

The destroyer will come against every town,

    and not a town will escape.

The valley will be ruined

    and the plateau destroyed,

    because the Lord has spoken.

9 

Put salt on Moab,

    for she will be laid waste;

her towns will become desolate,

    with no one to live in them.

10 

‘A curse on anyone who is lax in doing the Lord’s work!

    A curse on anyone who keeps their sword from bloodshed!

11 

‘Moab has been at rest from youth,

    like wine left on its dregs,

not poured from one jar to another –

    she has not gone into exile.

So she tastes as she did,

    and her aroma is unchanged.

12 

But days are coming,’

    declares the Lord,

‘when I will send men who pour from pitchers,

    and they will pour her out;

they will empty her pitchers

    and smash her jars.

13 

Then Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh,

    as Israel was ashamed

    when they trusted in Bethel.

14 

‘How can you say, “We are warriors,

    men valiant in battle”?

15 

Moab will be destroyed and her towns invaded;

    her finest young men will go down in the slaughter,’

    declares the King, whose name is the Lord Almighty.

16 

‘The fall of Moab is at hand;

    her calamity will come quickly.

17 

Mourn for her, all who live around her,

    all who know her fame;

say, “How broken is the mighty sceptre,

    how broken the glorious staff!”

18 

‘Come down from your glory

    and sit on the parched ground,

    you inhabitants of Daughter Dibon,

for the one who destroys Moab

    will come up against you

    and ruin your fortified cities.

19 

Stand by the road and watch,

    you who live in Aroer.

Ask the man fleeing and the woman escaping,

    ask them, “What has happened?”

20 

Moab is disgraced, for she is shattered.

    Wail and cry out!

Announce by the Arnon

    that Moab is destroyed.

21 

Judgment has come to the plateau –

    to Holon, Jahzah and Mephaath,

22 

    to Dibon, Nebo and Beth Diblathaim,

23 

    to Kiriathaim, Beth Gamul and Beth Meon,

24 

    to Kerioth and Bozrah –

    to all the towns of Moab, far and near.

25 

Moab’s horn is cut off;

    her arm is broken,’

declares the Lord.

26 

‘Make her drunk,

    for she has defied the Lord.

Let Moab wallow in her vomit;

    let her be an object of ridicule.

27 

Was not Israel the object of your ridicule?

    Was she caught among thieves,

that you shake your head in scorn

    whenever you speak of her?

28 

Abandon your towns and dwell among the rocks,

    you who live in Moab.

Be like a dove that makes its nest

    at the mouth of a cave.

29 

‘We have heard of Moab’s pride –

    how great is her arrogance! –

of her insolence, her pride, her conceit

    and the haughtiness of her heart.

30 

I know her insolence but it is futile,’

declares the Lord,

    ‘and her boasts accomplish nothing.

31 

Therefore I wail over Moab,

    for all Moab I cry out,

    I moan for the people of Kir Hareseth.

32 

I weep for you, as Jazer weeps,

    you vines of Sibmah.

Your branches spread as far as the sea;

    they reached as far as Jazer.

The destroyer has fallen

    on your ripened fruit and grapes.

33 

Joy and gladness are gone

    from the orchards and fields of Moab.

I have stopped the flow of wine from the presses;

    no one treads them with shouts of joy.

Although there are shouts,

    they are not shouts of joy.

34 

‘The sound of their cry rises

    from Heshbon to Elealeh and Jahaz,

from Zoar as far as Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah,

    for even the waters of Nimrim are dried up.

35 

In Moab I will put an end

    to those who make offerings on the high places

    and burn incense to their gods,’

declares the Lord.

36 

‘So my heart laments for Moab like the music of a pipe;

    it laments like a pipe for the people of Kir Hareseth.

    The wealth they acquired is gone.

37 

Every head is shaved

    and every beard cut off;

every hand is slashed

    and every waist is covered with sackcloth.

38 

On all the roofs in Moab

    and in the public squares

there is nothing but mourning,

    for I have broken Moab

    like a jar that no one wants,’

declares the Lord.

39 

‘How shattered she is! How they wail!

    How Moab turns her back in shame!

Moab has become an object of ridicule,

    an object of horror to all those around her.’

40 This is what the Lord says:

‘Look! An eagle is swooping down,

    spreading its wings over Moab.

41 

Kerioth will be captured

    and the strongholds taken.

In that day the hearts of Moab’s warriors

    will be like the heart of a woman in labour.

42 

Moab will be destroyed as a nation

    because she defied the Lord.

43 

Terror and pit and snare await you,

    you people of Moab,’

declares the Lord.

44 

‘Whoever flees from the terror

    will fall into a pit,

whoever climbs out of the pit

    will be caught in a snare;

for I will bring on Moab

    the year of her punishment,’

declares the Lord.

45 

‘In the shadow of Heshbon

    the fugitives stand helpless,

for a fire has gone out from Heshbon,

    a blaze from the midst of Sihon;

it burns the foreheads of Moab,

    the skulls of the noisy boasters.

46 

Woe to you, Moab!

    The people of Chemosh are destroyed;

your sons are taken into exile

    and your daughters into captivity.

47 

‘Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab

    in days to come,’

declares the Lord.

Here ends the judgment on Moab.

=-=-=-=-=

READINGS

The Book of JEREMIAH 

Chapter Forty Eight

Read by Sir David Suchet

=-=-=-=-=

OVERVIEW 

The Book of JEREMIAH

 - Overview -

The Bible Project 

Jeremiah  “The Bible in 5”

Tim Mackie (the Bible Project)

=-=-=-=-=-=-=

STUDY - LINKS

The Book of JEREMIAH 

David Pawson

Part 1

Part 2 

-=-=-=-=-

-=-