Judgment on Ammon
1 iConcerning the Ammonites.
Thus says the Lord:
“Has Israel no sons?
Has he no heir?
Why then has jMilcom1 dispossessed Gad,
and his people settled in its cities?
2 Therefore, behold, the days are coming,
declares the Lord,
when I will cause the battle cry to be heard
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 “Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste!
Cry out, O daughters of Rabbah!
Put on sackcloth,
lament, and run to and fro among the hedges!
For Milcom kshall go into exile,
with his priests and his officials.
4 Why do you boast of your valleys,2
O faithless daughter,
who trusted in her treasures, saying,
‘Who will come against me?’
5 Behold, I 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.
6 “But afterward I will lrestore the fortunes of the Ammonites, declares the Lord.”
Judgment on Edom
7 mConcerning Edom.
Thus says the Lord of hosts:
“Is nwisdom no more in Teman?
Has counsel perished from the prudent?
Has their wisdom vanished?
8 Flee, turn back, dwell in the depths,
O inhabitants of Dedan!
For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him,
the time when I punish him.
9 If grape gatherers came to you,
would they not leave gleanings?
oIf thieves came by night,
would they not destroy only enough for themselves?
10 But I have stripped Esau bare;
I have uncovered his hiding places,
and he is not able to conceal himself.
His children are destroyed, and his brothers,
and his neighbors; and he is no more.
11 Leave your fatherless children; I will keep them alive;
and let your widows trust in me.”
12 For thus says the Lord: “If those who did not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, will you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, but pyou must drink. 13 For I have sworn by myself, declares the Lord, that Bozrah shall become a horror, a taunt, a waste, and a curse, and all her cities shall be qperpetual wastes.”
14 rI have heard a message from the Lord,
and an envoy has been sent among the nations:
“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 make your nest as high as the eagle’s,
I will bring you down from there,
declares the Lord.
17 “Edom shall become a horror. sEveryone who passes by it will be horrified and will hiss because of all its disasters. 18 tAs when Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities were overthrown, says the Lord, no man shall dwell there, no man shall sojourn in her. 19 uBehold, like a lion coming up from the jungle of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make him4 run away from her. And I will appoint over her whomever I choose. For who is like me? vWho will summon me? What shepherd can stand before me? 20 wTherefore hear the plan that the Lord has made against Edom and the purposes that he has formed against the inhabitants of Teman: Even the little ones of the flock shall be dragged away. Surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate. 21 xAt the sound of their fall the earth shall tremble; the sound of their cry shall be heard at the Red Sea. 22 yBehold, one shall mount up and fly swiftly like an eagle and spread his wings against Bozrah, and the heart of the warriors of Edom shall be in that day like the heart of a woman in her birth pains.”
Judgment on Damascus
23 zConcerning 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 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 How is the famous city not forsaken,
the city of my joy?
26 aTherefore her young men shall fall in her squares,
and all her soldiers shall be destroyed in that day,
declares the Lord of hosts.
27 bAnd I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus,
and it shall devour the strongholds of cBen-hadad.”
Judgment on Kedar and Hazor
28 Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck down.
Thus says the Lord:
“Rise up, advance against Kedar!
Destroy the people of the east!
29 Their tents and their flocks shall be taken,
their curtains and all their goods;
their camels shall be led away from them,
and men shall cry to them: d‘Terror on every side!’
30 Flee, 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 “Rise up, advance against a nation at ease,
that dwells securely,
declares the Lord,
that has eno gates or bars,
that dwells alone.
32 Their camels shall become plunder,
their herds of livestock a spoil.
I will scatter to every wind
those who fcut the corners of their hair,
and I will bring their calamity
from every side of them,
declares the Lord.
33 Hazor shall become a haunt of gjackals,
an everlasting waste;
no man shall dwell there;
no man shall sojourn in her.”
Judgment on Elam
34 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning hElam, iin the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah.
35 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the mainstay of their might. 36 And I will bring upon Elam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven. And I will scatter them to all those winds, and there shall be no nation to which those driven out of Elam shall not come. 37 I will terrify Elam before their enemies and before those who seek their life. I will bring disaster upon them, my fierce anger, declares the Lord. jI will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them, 38 and I will set my throne in Elam and destroy their king and officials, declares the Lord.
39 “But in the latter days I will krestore the fortunes of Elam, declares the Lord.”
The Earthly Holy Place
1 Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness. 2 For a utent1 was prepared, the first section, in which were the vlampstand and the wtable and the xbread of the Presence.2 It is called the Holy Place. 3 Behind the second curtain was a second section3 called the yMost Holy Place, 4 having the zgolden altar of incense and the aark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the bmanna, and cAaron’s staff that dbudded, and the etablets of the covenant. 5 Above it were the fcherubim of glory overshadowing the gmercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.
6 These preparations having thus been made, hthe priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, 7 but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but ionce a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers jfor himself and for the unintentional sins of the people. 8 By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the kway into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing 9 (which is symbolic for the present age).4 According to this arrangement, lgifts and sacrifices are offered mthat cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, 10 but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.
