Common English Bible CEB
New Revised Standard NRS
1 Concerning the Ammonites, the LORD proclaims: Doesn't Israel have children? Aren't there heirs to his land? Why then has Milcom taken over Gad? Why have his people settled in its towns?
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Concerning the Ammonites. Thus says the Lord: 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 coming, declares the LORD, when I will sound the battle alarm against Rabbah, the capital city of the Ammonites. The city will be demolished, and its neighboring villages will be burned to the ground. Then Israel will repossess the land seized by its captors, says the LORD.
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Therefore, the time is surely coming, says the Lord, 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 Lord.
3 Weep, you people of Heshbon; Ai has been destroyed. Wail, you daughters of Rabbah; put on funeral clothing, cry your eyes out, run for shelter. Milcom will surely go into exile, together with his priests and ministers.
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Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste! Cry out, O daughters of Rabbah! Put on sackcloth, lament, and slash yourselves with whips! For Milcom shall go into exile, with his priests and his attendants.
4 Why do you brag about your strength? Your strength is exhausted, you rebellious daughter. You trust in your treasures, never imagining who would attack you.
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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'm the one who will terrify you from every side, declares the LORD of heavenly forces. Every one of you will be scattered about; no one will gather those who fled.
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I am going to bring terror upon you, says the Lord God of hosts, from all your neighbors, and you will be scattered, each headlong, with no one to gather the fugitives.
6 Afterward, though, I will bring back the Ammonites from captivity, declares the LORD.
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But afterward I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites, says the Lord.
7 Concerning Edom, the LORD of heavenly forces proclaims: Is wisdom no longer in Teman? Has good sense vanished from the perceptive? Are they no longer wise?
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Concerning Edom. Thus says the Lord of hosts: Is there no longer wisdom in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom vanished?
8 Turn, flee, and run for cover, you inhabitants of Dedan. I'm bringing disaster on Esau: its day of reckoning.
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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 workers would come to you to pick grapes, they would at least leave a few on the vine. If thieves would come in the night, they would take only what they needed.
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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 me? I will strip Esau bare. I will expose his hiding places, and he will find no place to take cover. His offspring, family, and acquaintances will perish, and there will be no one left to say,
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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 me your orphans, and I'll look after them; trust your widows into my care."
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Leave your orphans, I will keep them alive; and let your widows trust in me.
12 The LORD proclaims: If the innocent must drink the cup, why do you expect to escape punishment? You won't! You will drink it!
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For thus says the Lord: If those who do not deserve to drink the cup still have to drink it, shall you be the one to go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished; you must drink it.
13 I myself swear, declares the LORD, that Bozrah will become an object of horror and scorn, a wasteland and a curse. And all of its towns will lie in ruins forever.
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For by myself I have sworn, says the Lord, that Bozrah shall become an object of horror and ridicule, a waste, and an object of cursing; and all her towns shall be perpetual wastes.
14 I have heard a report from the LORD that a messenger is sent among the nations: Join forces and come against her; prepare for war!
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I have heard tidings from the Lord, and a messenger has been sent among the nations: "Gather yourselves together and come against her, and rise up for battle!"
15 I'm about to cut you down to size before the nations; you will be scorned by everyone.
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For I will make you least among the nations, despised by humankind.
16 The terror you have inflicted on others has deceived you, as has your own pride. Though you live in a fortress and occupy the high ground; though you nest on high like the eagles, I will bring you down, declares the LORD.
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The terror you inspire and the pride of your heart have deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock, 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, says the Lord.
17 Then Edom will become a wasteland. All who pass by will be shocked by its injuries.
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Edom shall become an object of horror; everyone who passes by it will be horrified and will hiss because of all its disasters.
18 It will be like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and their surrounding towns, says the LORD. No one will live there; no human will dwell in it.
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As when Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors were overthrown, says the Lord, no one shall live there, nor shall anyone settle in it.
19 Like a lion coming up from the jungle of the Jordan to a well-watered meadow, so I will suddenly chase down Edom and single out its choicest of rams. Who is like me? Who can direct me? What shepherd can withstand me?
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Like a lion coming up from the thickets of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly chase Edom away from it; and I will appoint over it whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who can summon me? Who is the shepherd who can stand before me?
20 Therefore, listen to the counsel that the LORD has for Edom and the plans he's devised against the people of Teman: The little ones of the flock will be dragged off, as their pasture watches in utter disbelief.
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Therefore hear the plan that the Lord has made against Edom and the purposes that he has formed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the little ones of the flock shall be dragged away; surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate.
21 The earth quakes as the Edomites go down; their screams echo as far as the Reed Sea.
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At the sound of their fall the earth shall tremble; the sound of their cry shall be heard at the Red Sea.
22 Look! One who mounts up and soars like an eagle, who swoops down and spreads his wings over Bozrah. On that day, the heart of every soldier from Edom will be like that of a woman in the throes of labor.
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Look, he shall mount up and swoop down like an eagle, and spread his wings against Bozrah, and the heart of the warriors of Edom in that day shall be like the heart of a woman in labor.
23 Concerning Damascus: Hamath and Arpad lose heart when they hear the bad news. They are trembling with fear, like the raging sea, which can't become quiet.
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Concerning Damascus. Hamath and Arpad are confounded, for they have heard bad news; they melt in fear, they are troubled like the sea that cannot be quiet.
24 Damascus staggers about; she tries to flee, but panic overwhelms her. She's gripped by anguish and pain, like a woman in labor.
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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 Forsaken is the renowned city, city of my delight.
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How the famous city is forsaken, the joyful town!
26 Yes, her young men will fall in the streets, and her soldiers will be silent on that day, declares the LORD of heavenly forces.
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Therefore her young men shall fall in her squares, and all her soldiers shall be destroyed in that day, says the Lord of hosts.
27 I will set fire to the walls of Damascus; it will burn up the fortresses of Ben-hadad.
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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, which Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar defeated, the LORD proclaims: Get ready to attack Kedar; destroy the people from the east!
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Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor that King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon defeated. Thus says the Lord: Rise up, advance against Kedar! Destroy the people of the east!
29 Seize their tents and their flocks, their belongings and all their goods. Take off with their camels and shout as you go: "Panic Lurks Everywhere!"
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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 Run away; take cover, you people of Hazor, declares the LORD. Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar has taken counsel and devised a plan against you.
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Flee, wander far away, hide in deep places, O inhabitants of Hazor! says the Lord. For King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon has made a plan against you and formed a purpose against you.
31 Get ready to attack a nation that feels safe and secure, declares the LORD, one without barred gates that lives by itself.
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Rise up, advance against a nation at ease, that lives secure, says the Lord, that has no gates or bars, that lives alone.
32 Their camels will become plunder; their many cattle will be pillaged. I will scatter to the winds those who are clean-shaven, and I will bring disaster on them from every side, declares the LORD.
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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, says the Lord.
33 Hazor will become a den for wild dogs, a wilderness forever. No one will live there; no human will dwell in it.
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Hazor shall become a lair of jackals, an everlasting waste; no one shall live there, nor shall anyone settle in it.
34 This is what the LORD told the prophet Jeremiah concerning Elam at the beginning of the rule of Judah's King Zedekiah.
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The word of the Lord that came to the prophet Jeremiah concerning Elam, at the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah.
35 The LORD of heavenly forces proclaims: I'm going to break the bow of Elam, the backbone of its military might.
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Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am going to break the bow of Elam, the mainstay of their might;
36 I will bring against Elam four winds from the four corners of heaven, and I will scatter them to the winds. Those banished from Elam will migrate to every nation.
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and I will bring upon Elam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven; and I will scatter them to all these winds, and there shall be no nation to which the exiles from Elam shall not come.
37 I will terrify Elam before their enemies, before those who seek to kill them. I will bring disaster upon them, my fierce anger, declares the LORD. I will send the sword to attack them until I have destroyed them all.
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I will terrify Elam before their enemies, and before those who seek their life; I will bring disaster upon them, my fierce anger, says the Lord. I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them;
38 I will establish my rule in Elam and dispose of its king and officials, declares the LORD.
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and I will set my throne in Elam, and destroy their king and officials, says the Lord.
39 But in the days to come I will bring back the captives of Elam, declares the LORD.
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But in the latter days I will restore the fortunes of Elam, says the Lord.
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.