“Has Israel no sons?

Has he no heir?

Why then has ^bMilcom^{1 c}dispossessed Gad,

and his people settled in its cities?

2  Therefore, behold, the days are coming,

declares the Lord,

when I will cause ^dthe battle cry to be heard

against ^eRabbah of the Ammonites;

it shall become a desolate ^fmound,

and its villages shall be burned with fire;

then Israel shall dispossess those who dispossessed him,

says the Lord.

3  “Wail, O ^gHeshbon, for Ai is laid waste!

Cry out, O daughters of ^eRabbah!

^hPut on sackcloth,

lament, and run to and fro among the hedges!

For ⁱMilcom shall go into exile,

^jwith his priests and his officials.

4  Why do you boast of your valleys,²

^kO faithless daughter,

^lwho trusted in her treasures, saying,

‘Who will come against me?’

5  Behold, ^mI will bring terror upon you,

declares the Lord God of hosts,

from all who are around you,

and you shall be driven out, every man straight before him,

with none to gather the fugitives.

^p“Is wisdom no more in ^pTeman?

^qHas counsel perished from the prudent?

^qHas their wisdom vanished?

8  ^rFlee, turn back, dwell in the depths,

O inhabitants of ^sDedan!

For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him,

^tthe time when I punish him.

9  ^uIf grape gatherers came to you,

would they not leave ^vgleanings?

^uIf thieves came by night,

would they not destroy only enough for themselves?

10  ^wBut I have stripped Esau bare;

^uI have uncovered his hiding places,

and he is not able to conceal himself.

His children are destroyed, and his brothers,

and his neighbors; and ^xhe is no more.

11  ^yLeave your fatherless children; I will keep them alive;

^yand let your widows trust in me.”

14  ^eI have heard a message from the Lord,

and an envoy has been sent among the nations:

^f“Gather yourselves together and come against her,

and rise up for battle!

15  For behold, I will make you small among the nations,

despised among mankind.

16  The horror you inspire has deceived you,

and the pride of your heart,

you who live in the clefts of the rock,³

who hold the height of the hill.

Though you ^gmake your nest as high as the eagle’s,

I will bring you down from there,

declares the Lord.

^a“Hamath and ^bArpad are confounded,

for they have heard bad news;

they melt in fear,

^cthey are troubled like the sea that cannot be quiet.

24  ^zDamascus has become feeble, ^dshe turned to flee,

and panic seized her;

anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her,

as ^yof a woman in labor.

25  How is ^ethe famous city not forsaken,

the city of my joy?

26  ^fTherefore her young men shall fall in her squares,

and all her soldiers shall be destroyed in that day,

declares the Lord of hosts.

27  And ^gI will kindle a fire in the wall of ^zDamascus,

and it shall devour the strongholds of ^hBen-hadad.”

Thus says the Lord:

^j“Rise up, advance against ⁱKedar!

Destroy ^kthe people of the east!

29  ^lTheir tents and their flocks shall be taken,

their ^lcurtains and all their goods;

their camels shall be led away from them,

and men shall cry to them: ^m‘Terror on every side!’

30  ⁿFlee, wander far away, dwell in the depths,

O inhabitants of Hazor!

declares the Lord.

For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon

has made a plan against you

and formed a purpose against you.

31  ^j“Rise up, advance against a nation ^oat ease,

^pthat dwells securely,

declares the Lord,

^pthat has no gates or bars,

that dwells alone.

32  ^qTheir camels shall become plunder,

their herds of livestock a spoil.

^rI will scatter to every wind

^sthose who cut the corners of their hair,

and I will bring their calamity

from every side of them,

declares the Lord.

33  Hazor shall become ^ta haunt of jackals,

an everlasting waste;

^uno man shall dwell there;

^uno man shall sojourn in her.”

2  “Declare among the nations and proclaim,

set up a banner and proclaim,

conceal it not, and say:

^e‘Babylon is taken,

^fBel is put to shame,

Merodach is dismayed.

^eHer images are put to shame,

her idols are dismayed.’

11  ^y“Though you rejoice, though you exult,

O plunderers of my heritage,

though you frolic like a heifer in the pasture,

and neigh like stallions,

12  your mother shall be utterly shamed,

and she who bore you shall be disgraced.

Behold, she shall be the last of the nations,

^za wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.

13  ^aBecause of the wrath of the Lord she shall not be inhabited

but shall be an utter desolation;

^beveryone who passes by Babylon shall be appalled,

^band hiss because of all her wounds.

14  ^cSet yourselves in array against Babylon all around,

^dall you who bend the bow;

shoot at her, spare no arrows,

^efor she has sinned against the Lord.

15  ^fRaise a shout against her all around;

she has surrendered;

her bulwarks have fallen;

^gher walls are thrown down.

For ^hthis is the vengeance of the Lord:

take vengeance on her;

ⁱdo to her as she has done.

16  Cut off from Babylon the sower,

and the one who handles the sickle in time of harvest;

^jbecause of the sword of the oppressor,

^kevery one shall turn to his own people,

and every one shall flee to his own land.

21  “Go up against the land of Merathaim,⁵

and against the inhabitants of Pekod.⁶

Kill, ^xand devote them to destruction,⁷

declares the Lord,

and do all that I have commanded you.

22  ^yThe noise of battle is in the land,

and great destruction!

23  ^zHow the hammer of the whole earth

is cut down and broken!

^aHow Babylon ^bhas become

a horror among the nations!

24  ^cI set a snare for you and you were taken, O Babylon,

and ^dyou did not know it;

you were found and caught,

because you opposed the Lord.

25  The Lord has opened his armory

and brought out ^ethe weapons of his wrath,

for the Lord God of hosts has a work to do

in the land of the Chaldeans.

26  Come against her from every quarter;

open her granaries;

^fpile her up like heaps of grain, and devote her to destruction;

let nothing be left of her.

27  Kill all ^gher bulls;

let them go down to the slaughter.

Woe to them, for their day has come,

^hthe time of their punishment.

31  “Behold, I am against you, O ⁿproud one,

declares the Lord God of hosts,

^pfor your day has come,

the time when I will punish you.

32  ⁿThe proud one shall stumble and fall,

with none to raise him up,

^qand I will kindle a fire in his cities,

and it will devour all that is around him.

35  “A sword against the Chaldeans, declares the Lord,

and against the inhabitants of Babylon,

and against ^wher officials and her ^xwise men!

36  A sword against the diviners,

that they may become fools!

A sword against her ^ywarriors,

that they may be destroyed!

37  A sword against her horses and against her chariots,

and against all ^zthe foreign troops in her midst,

that ^athey may become women!

^bA sword against all her treasures,

that they may be plundered!

38  ^cA drought against her waters,

that they may be dried up!

^dFor it is a land of images,

and they are mad over idols.

41  ^h“Behold, a people comes from the north;

a mighty nation and many kings

are stirring from the farthest parts of the earth.

42  They lay hold of bow and spear;

they are cruel and have no mercy.

The sound of them is like the roaring of the sea;

they ride on horses,

arrayed as a man for battle

against you, O daughter of Babylon!

43  “The king of Babylon heard the report of them,

and his hands fell helpless;

anguish seized him,

pain as of a woman in labor.

1  ^zHe who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck,

will suddenly be ^abroken ^bbeyond healing.

2  When ^cthe righteous increase, the people rejoice,

but when ^dthe wicked rule, the people groan.

3  He who ^eloves wisdom makes his father glad,

but ^fa companion of prostitutes ^gsquanders his wealth.

4  By justice a king ^hbuilds up the land,

but he who exacts gifts¹ tears it down.

5  ⁱA man who flatters his neighbor

spreads ^ja net for his feet.

6  An evil man is ^kensnared in his transgression,

but a righteous man ^lsings and rejoices.

7  A righteous man ^mknows the rights of the poor;

a wicked man does not ⁿunderstand such knowledge.

8  ^oScoffers set a city aflame,

but the wise turn away wrath.

9  If a wise man has an argument with a fool,

the fool only rages and laughs, and there is ^pno quiet.

10  Bloodthirsty men ^qhate one who is blameless

and seek the life of the upright.²

11  A fool gives full vent to his spirit,

but a wise man quietly holds it back.

12  If a ruler listens to falsehood,

all his officials will be wicked.

13  The poor man and the oppressor ^rmeet together;

the Lord ^sgives light to the eyes of both.

14  If a king ^tfaithfully judges the poor,

his throne will ^ube established forever.

15  ^vThe rod and reproof give wisdom,

but a child left to himself ^wbrings shame to his mother.

16  When the wicked increase, transgression increases,

but ^xthe righteous will look upon their downfall.

17  ^yDiscipline your son, and he will give you rest;

he will give delight to your heart.

18  Where ^zthere is no prophetic vision the people ^acast off restraint,³

but blessed is he who ^bkeeps the law.

19  By mere words a servant is not disciplined,

for though he understands, he will not respond.

20  Do you see a man who is hasty in his words?

^cThere is more hope for a fool than for him.

21  Whoever pampers his servant from childhood

will in the end find him his heir.⁴

22  ^dA man of wrath stirs up strife,

and one given to anger causes much transgression.

23  ^eOne’s pride will bring him low,

^fbut he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.

24  The partner of a thief ^ghates his own life;

^hhe hears the curse, but discloses nothing.

25  ⁱThe fear of man lays a snare,

but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.

26  Many ^jseek the face of a ruler,

but it is from the Lord that a man ^kgets justice.

27  ^lAn unjust man is an abomination to the righteous,

but one whose way is straight is an abomination to the wicked.