English · ASV

Jeremiah 49

Listen to this chapter
0:00 0:00

Judgment Against Ammon 1–6

1
Of the children of Ammon. Thus saith Jehovah: Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? why then doth Malcam possess Gad, and his people dwell in the cities thereof? ​
2
Therefore, behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard against Rabbah of the children of Ammon; and it shall become a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel possess them that did possess him, saith Jehovah. ​
3
Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste; cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth: lament, and run to and fro among the fences; for Malcam shall go into captivity, his priests and his princes together. ​
4
Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys, thy flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? that trusted in her treasures, saying, Who shall come unto me?
5
Behold, I will bring a fear upon thee, saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, from all that are round about thee; and ye shall be driven out every man right forth, and there shall be none to gather together the fugitives.
6
But afterward I will bring back the captivity of the children of Ammon, saith Jehovah. ​

Judgment Against Edom 7–22

7
Of Edom. Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Is wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished? ​
8
Flee ye, turn back, dwell in the depths, O inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time that I shall visit him.
9
If grape-gatherers came to thee, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? if thieves by night, would they not destroy till they had enough? ​
10
But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is destroyed, and his brethren, and his neighbors; and he is not.
11
Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me. ​
12
For thus saith Jehovah: Behold, they to whom it pertained not to drink of the cup shall assuredly drink; and art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink. ​
13
For I have sworn by myself, saith Jehovah, that Bozrah shall become an astonishment, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes.
14
I have heard tidings from Jehovah, and an ambassador is sent among the nations, saying, Gather yourselves together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle.
15
For, behold, I have made thee small among the nations, and despised among men.
16
As for thy terribleness, the pride of thy heart hath deceived thee, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith Jehovah. ​
17
And Edom shall become an astonishment: every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof.
18
As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbor cities thereof, saith Jehovah, no man shall dwell there, neither shall any son of man sojourn therein. ​
19
Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the pride of the Jordan against the strong habitation: for I will suddenly make them run away from it; and whoso is chosen, him will I appoint over it: for who is like me? and who will appoint me a time? and who is the shepherd that will stand before me?
20
Therefore hear ye the counsel of Jehovah, that he hath taken against Edom; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely they shall drag them away, even the little ones of the flock; surely he shall make their habitation desolate over them. ​
21
The earth trembleth at the noise of their fall; there is a cry, the noise whereof is heard in the Red Sea.
22
Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread out his wings against Bozrah: and the heart of the mighty men of Edom at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.

Judgment Against Damascus 23–27

23
Of Damascus. Hamath is confounded, and Arpad; for they have heard evil tidings, they are melted away: there is sorrow on the sea; it cannot be quiet. ​
24
Damascus is waxed feeble, she turneth herself to flee, and trembling hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her, as of a woman in travail.
25
How is the city of praise not forsaken, the city of my joy? ​
26
Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be brought to silence in that day, saith Jehovah of hosts.
27
And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall devour the palaces of Ben-hadad. ​

Judgment Against Kedar and Hazor 28–33

28
Of Kedar, and of the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote. Thus saith Jehovah: Arise ye, go up to Kedar, and destroy the children of the east. ​
29
Their tents and their flocks shall they take; they shall carry away for themselves their curtains, and all their vessels, and their camels; and they shall cry unto them, Terror on every side!
30
Flee ye, wander far off, dwell in the depths, O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith Jehovah; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath taken counsel against you, and hath conceived a purpose against you.
31
Arise, get you up unto a nation that is at ease, that dwelleth without care, saith Jehovah; that have neither gates nor bars, that dwell alone. ​
32
And their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil: and I will scatter unto all winds them that have the corners of their hair cut off; and I will bring their calamity from every side of them, saith Jehovah. ​
33
And Hazor shall be a dwelling-place of jackals, a desolation for ever: no man shall dwell there, neither shall any son of man sojourn therein.

Judgment Against Elam 34–39

34
The word of Jehovah that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, ​
35
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might. ​
36
And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.
37
And I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life; and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger, saith Jehovah; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them:
38
and I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence king and princes, saith Jehovah. ​
39
But it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring back the captivity of Elam, saith Jehovah. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Jeremiah 49

Verse 1

doth their king inherit Gad — The question turns on one root, yarash, to possess: 'no heir', 'inherit', and in v.2 'be heir'. Moses gave Gad an inheritance whose coast took in 'half the land of the children of Ammon, unto Aroer that is before Rabbah' (Josh 13:24–25).

Verse 2

a desolate heap — Tel shemamah, a ruin-mound. Rabbah of the Ammonites is named again in Ezek 21:20, and its 'daughters' (bath) are the dependent towns. The reversal rests on the root of v.1: 'then shall Israel be heir unto them that were his heirs', so the dispossessor is dispossessed.

Verse 3

priests and his princes together — The closing wording matches Jer 48:7, 'Chemosh shall go forth into captivity with his priests and his princes together', said of Moab. To 'gird… with sackcloth' (saq) is mourning dress; 'hedges' (gederah) are enclosures, usually for flocks.

Verse 6

bring again the captivity — Shub shebut, to turn back the captivity. The same promise closes the oracles on Moab (Jer 48:47) and Elam (v.39), and Egypt receives it in Ezek 29:14. 'Afterward' (achar) places the restoration after the judgment of vv.1–5.

Verse 7

Is wisdom no more in Teman? — Teman was a son of Eliphaz, son of Esau (Gen 36:15), and Job's friend Eliphaz is 'the Temanite' (Job 2:11). Three words for wisdom stand together: chokmah, wisdom, etsah, counsel, and bin, understanding. Obad 1:8 asks the same, 'destroy the wise men out of Edom'.

Verse 9

gleaning grapes — Olelah is the small cluster left after the gathering. Even grapegatherers (batsar) leave some, and thieves destroy only 'till they have enough' (day). Edom's case is worse: 'I have made Esau bare' (v.10). Obad 1:5 asks the same two questions.

Verse 11

Leave thy fatherless children — Chayah, to keep alive. The LORD is 'a father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows' (Ps 68:5); here the fatherless (yatom) and widows (almanah) of Edom are kept alive, and the widows are bidden 'trust' (batach) in him. The promise sits inside an oracle of judgment.

Verse 12

the cup — The cup (kos) is the 'wine cup of this fury' of Jer 25:15, passed to the nations. If those 'whose judgment was not to drink' drink, 'thou shalt surely drink of it'; Jer 25:29 shows judgment beginning 'on the city which is called by my name'. Lam 4:21 says it directly: 'the cup also shall pass through unto thee'.

Verse 16

the clefts of the rock — Obad 1:3–4 has nearly the same words: 'The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock'. 'Terribleness' (tiphletseth) is fearfulness; the verse says it 'deceived' Edom. The eagle's nest 'as high' is the image Obad 1:4 uses; 'I will bring thee down from thence'.

Verse 18

Sodom and Gomorrah — The overthrow of Gen 19:24, when the LORD 'rained… brimstone and fire'. Mahpekah is an overturning. The same verdict, 'no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it', is given for Hazor (49:33), and for Babylon in 50:40, 'As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah'.

Verse 20

the least of the flock — Tsa'ir is the smallest, the least regarded, and the shepherd's picture continues in 'habitations' (naveh), a dwelling or pasture. 'The counsel of the LORD' (etsah) and 'purposes' (machashavah) are repeated against Babylon in 50:45. Mal 1:3 says he 'laid his mountains and his heritage waste'.

Verse 23

Hamath… and Arpad — The two cities are paired in 2 Kgs 18:34, 'Where are the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad?', and in Isa 10:9. 'Sorrow on the sea' is de'agah, anxiety. 'It cannot be quiet' is the figure of the sea in Isa 57:20: 'the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest'.

Verse 25

the city of praise — Tehillah, praise, the word of Jer 51:41, 'how is the praise of the whole earth surprised!' said of Babylon. The city is named 'of my joy' (masos). The verse is a lament, 'How is… not left!', over a city that has not been spared.

Verse 27

the palaces of Benhadad — The same words stand in Amos 1:4, 'a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Benhadad'. Benhadad was a king of Syria 'that dwelt at Damascus' (1 Kgs 15:18). The fire is kindled 'in the wall', the city's defence.

Verse 28

Kedar — Kedar was a son of Ishmael (Gen 25:13). 'The men of the east' (bene-qedem) is the phrase of Job 1:3, 'the greatest of all the men of the east'. The command 'Arise ye, go up' is given to the invader, and is repeated in v.31; the instrument named is Nebuchadrezzar.

Verse 31

neither gates nor bars — Deleth and berich, door and bar. The verse describes an unwalled people, as in Ezek 38:11, 'the land of unwalled villages… neither bars nor gates'. 'Wealthy' (shalev) is at ease, and 'without care' is betach, security. 'Alone' (badad) is the word of Deut 33:28, 'Israel then shall dwell in safety alone'.

Verse 32

the utmost corners — The Hebrew joins qatsats, to cut off, with pe'ah, corner; pe'ah is the 'corners' of the head in Lev 19:27, 'Ye shall not round the corners of your heads'. The same people are named in Jer 9:26 and 25:23. 'Booty' and 'spoil' (baz, shalal) fall to the invader.

Verse 34

Elam — Elam was a son of Shem (Gen 10:22), and Chedorlaomer was 'king of Elam' (Gen 14:1); Shushan lay in its province (Dan 8:2). The oracle is dated 'in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah', and Elam already stands among the nations of the cup in Jer 25:25.

Verse 35

the bow of Elam — Isa 22:6 has 'Elam bare the quiver', so the bow stands for its strength. 'Chief' (reshit) is the word translated 'beginning' in v.34. The LORD 'breaketh the bow' in Ps 46:9.

Verse 38

I will set my throne in Elam — The throne is the LORD's own; in Jer 43:10 he sets the throne of 'Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant' upon 'these stones that I have hid'. Here he 'will destroy from thence the king and the princes' (sar).

Verse 39

the latter days — Acharit hayyamim, 'the end of the days'. Elam's restoration follows the pattern of Ammon (v.6) and Moab (Jer 48:47): judgment, then the captivity brought back. Mic 4:1 uses the same phrase of 'the last days' when the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established.