Jeremiah 49:11-21

11 Leave your orphans with me, and I will take care of them. Your widows can depend on me.
12 "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 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 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 The Lord is going to make you weak, and no one will respect you.
16 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 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 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. 1
19 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? 2
20 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 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.

Jeremiah 49:11-21 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 49

This chapter contains prophecies concerning the judgments of God on several nations and kingdoms, chiefly bordering on the land of Israel; on the Ammonites, Jer 49:1-6; on the Edomites, Jer 49:7-22; on the kingdom of Damascus, or the Syrians, Jer 49:23-27; on the Kedarenes or Arabians, Jer 49:28-33; and on the Elamites or Persians, Jer 49:34-39.

Cross References 2

  • 1. 49.18Genesis 19.24, 25.
  • 2. +249.19Wisdom 12.12.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.