New International Version NIV
Good News Translation GNT
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?
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This is what the Lord said about Ammon: "Where are the men of Israel? Is there no one to defend their land? Why have they let the people who worship Molech take the territory of the tribe of Gad and settle there?
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.
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But the time is coming when I will make the people of the capital city of Rabbah hear the noise of battle, and it will be left in ruins and its villages burned to the ground. Then Israel will take its land back from those who took it from them.
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.
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People of Heshbon, cry out! Ai is destroyed! Women of Rabbah, go into mourning! Put on sackcloth and mourn. Run about in confusion. Your god Molech will be taken into exile, together with his priests and princes.
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?’
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Why do you unfaithful people boast? Your strength is failing. Why do you trust in your power and say that no one would dare attack you?
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.
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I will bring terror on you from every side. You will all run away. Each one will run for his life, and there will be no one to bring your troops together again.
6 “Yet afterward, I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites,” declares the LORD.
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"But later on I will make Ammon prosperous again. I, the Lord, have spoken."
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?
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This is what the Lord Almighty said about Edom: "Have the people of Edom lost their good judgment? Can their advisers no longer tell them what to do? Has all their wisdom disappeared?
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.
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People of Dedan, turn and run! Hide! I am going to destroy Esau's descendants because the time has come for me to punish them.
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?
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When people pick grapes, they leave a few on the vines, and when robbers come at night, they take only what they want.
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 neighbors, so there is no one to say,
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But I have stripped Esau's descendants completely and uncovered their hiding places, so that they can no longer hide. All the people of Edom are destroyed. Not one of them is left.
11 ‘Leave your fatherless children; I will keep them alive. Your widows too can depend on me.’ ”
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Leave your orphans with me, and I will take care of them. Your widows 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.
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"If even those who did not deserve to be punished had to drink from the cup of punishment, do you think that you will go unpunished? No, you must drink from the cup!
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 forever.”
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I myself have sworn that the city of Bozrah will become a horrifying sight and a desert; people will make fun of it and use its name as a curse. All the nearby villages will be in ruins forever. I, the Lord, have spoken."
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!”
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I said, "Edom, I have received a message from the Lord. He has sent a messenger to tell the nations to assemble their armies and to get ready to attack you.
15 “Now I will make you small among the nations, despised by mankind.
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The Lord is going to make you weak, and no one will respect you.
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.
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Your pride has deceived you. No one fears you as much as you think they do. You live on the rocky cliffs, high on top of the mountain; but even though you live as high up as an eagle, the Lord will bring you down. The Lord has spoken."
17 “Edom will become an object of horror; all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff because of all its wounds.
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The Lord said, "The destruction that will come on Edom will be so terrible that everyone who passes by will be shocked and terrified.
18 As Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown, along with their neighboring towns,” says the LORD, “so no one will live there; no people will dwell in it.
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The same thing will happen to Edom that happened to Sodom and Gomorrah, when they and the nearby towns were destroyed. No one will ever live there again. I, the Lord, have spoken.
19 “Like a lion coming up from Jordan’s thickets to a rich pastureland, 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?”
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Like a lion coming out of the thick woods along the Jordan River up to the green pasture land, I will come and make the Edomites run away suddenly from their country. Then the leader I choose will rule the nation. Who can be compared to me? Who would dare challenge me? What ruler could oppose 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.
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So listen to the plan that I have made against the people of Edom, and to what I intend to do to the people of the city of Teman. Even their children will be dragged off, and everyone will be horrified.
21 At the sound of their fall the earth will tremble; their cry will resound to the Red Sea.
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When Edom falls, there will be such a noise that the entire earth will shake, and the cries of alarm will be heard as far away as the Gulf of Aqaba.
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 labor.
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The enemy will attack Bozrah like an eagle swooping down with outspread wings. On that day Edom's soldiers will be as frightened as a woman in labor."
23 Concerning Damascus: “Hamath and Arpad are dismayed, for they have heard bad news. They are disheartened, troubled like the restless sea.
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This is what the Lord said about Damascus: "The people in the cities of Hamath and Arpad are worried and troubled because they have heard bad news. Anxiety rolls over them like a sea, and they cannot rest.
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 labor.
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The people of Damascus are weak and have fled in terror. They are in pain and misery like a woman in labor.
25 Why has the city of renown not been abandoned, the town in which I delight?
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The famous city that used to be happy is completely deserted.
26 Surely, her young men will fall in the streets; all her soldiers will be silenced in that day,” declares the LORD Almighty.
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On that day her young men will be killed in the city streets, and all her soldiers destroyed.
27 “I will set fire to the walls of Damascus; it will consume the fortresses of Ben-Hadad.”
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I will set the walls of Damascus on fire and will burn down King Benhadad's palaces. I, the Lord Almighty, have spoken."
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.
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This is what the Lord said about the tribe of Kedar and the districts controlled by Hazor, which were conquered by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia: "Attack the people of Kedar and destroy that tribe of eastern people!
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!’
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Seize their tents and their flocks, their tent curtains and everything in their tents. Take their camels and tell the people, "Terror is all around you!'
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.
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"People of Hazor, I, the Lord, warn you to run far away and hide. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia has plotted against you, and this is what he says,
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.
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"Come on! We'll attack those people that feel safe and secure! Their city has no gates or locks and is completely unprotected.'
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 placesand will bring disaster on them from every side,” declares the LORD.
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"Take their camels and all their livestock! I will scatter in every direction those people who cut their hair short, and I will bring disaster on them from every side.
33 “Hazor will become a haunt of jackals, a desolate place forever. No one will live there; no people will dwell in it.”
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Hazor will be made a desert forever, a place where only jackals live. No one will ever live there again. I, the Lord, have spoken."
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:
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Soon after Zedekiah became king of Judah, the Lord Almighty spoke to me about the country of Elam.
35 This is what the LORD Almighty says: “See, I will break the bow of Elam, the mainstay of their might.
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He said, "I will kill all the archers who have made Elam so powerful.
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.
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I will make winds blow against Elam from all directions, and I will scatter her people everywhere, until there is no country where her refugees have not gone.
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.
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I will make the people of Elam afraid of their enemies, who want to kill them. In my great anger I will destroy the people of Elam and send armies against them until I have wiped them out.
38 I will set my throne in Elam and destroy her king and officials,” declares the LORD.
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I will destroy their kings and leaders, and set up my throne there.
39 “Yet I will restore the fortunes of Elam in days to come,” declares the LORD.
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But later on I will make the people of Elam prosperous again. I, the Lord, have spoken."
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.