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A message about Ammon
1 This message is about the Ammon people-group. This is what Yahweh says:
“There are [RHQ] plenty of Israeli people left
to occupy the land of the tribe of Gad.
So, why are [RHQ] the people who worship the god Molech living in those towns?
2 There will be a time when I will sound the battle-cry
for their enemies to attack their capital city, Rabbah.
Then it will become a heap of ruins,
and all the nearby towns will be burned.
Then the people of Israel will again possess the land
that the Ammon people-group took away from them.
3 You people of Heshbon city [MTY], wail,
because Ai town nearby will be destroyed.
You people of Rabbah city, weep;
put on ◄rough clothing/sackcloth► to show you are mourning;
run back and forth in confusion inside the city walls,
because your god Milcom, along with its priests and officials, will be taken away ◄in exile/to other countries►.
4 You are [RHQ] very proud of your very fertile valleys,
but they will soon be ruined.
You rebellious people, you trusted in your wealth,
and you said, ‘Certainly no [RHQ] army will be able to attack us!’
5 But listen to this: 'I, the Commander of the armies of angels,
will cause you to become terrified.
You will all be forced to flee to other countries,
and no one will be able to bring you together again.'
6 But some day I will enable the Ammon people-group to return to their land.
That will surely happen, because I, Yahweh, have said it.”
Messages about Edom
7 This message is about the Edom people-group. This is what the Commander of the armies of angels says:
“It seems that [RHQ] there are no wise people in Teman district in Edom!
There are no people left who can give others good advice.
The people who were wise [PRS] have disappeared.
8 You people of Dedan city in the south of Edom,
turn and flee and hide in deep caves,
because when I cause the Edom people-group to experience disaster,
I will punish you, too.
9 Those who harvest grapes
always [RHQ] leave some on the vines.
When thieves come at night,
they surely [RHQ] steal only as much as they want.
10 But I will cause everything in Edom to be destroyed, and there will be nothing left,
and there will be no place for people to hide.
Many of [HYP] the children, their relatives and their neighbors, will die,
and Edom will not exist any more.
11 But I will protect the orphans,
and the widows also will be able to depend on me to help them.”
12 And this is also what Yahweh says: “If those who do not deserve to suffer [MET] must suffer, you people of Edom must [RHQ] suffer much more [DOU]! You will not escape being punished.
13 I, Yahweh, have solemnly promised, using my own name, that your chief city Bozrah will become a place that people will be horrified about. It will be a heap of ruins. People will make fun of it and use its name when they curse people. All the nearby towns and villages will be a ruins forever.”
14 I heard this message from Yahweh:
“I have sent an ambassador to many nations,
to tell them to gather together to attack Edom.
They must prepare for battle!”
15 And Yahweh says to the people of Edom,
“I will cause your nation to become very unimportant among the other nations.
They will all despise your country.
16 You have caused people of other nations to be terrified,
and you [MTY] have been very proud,
but you have deceived yourselves.
You live in caves in the rock cliffs;
you think that you are safe there because you live high up there.
But even if you make your homes as high up as the eagles’ nests,
I will cause you to come crashing down.
17 Edom will become a place about which people are horrified;
people who pass by will be horrified and will ◄gasp/be shocked►
when they see the destruction.
18 Edom will be destroyed as completely as Sodom and Gomorrah and the nearby towns were destroyed long ago.
As a result, no one will live there any more [DOU].
19 I will come to Edom suddenly like [SIM] a lion comes out of the jungle
and leaps on the sheep that are eating in the good pastureland.
I will quickly chase the people of Edom from their land.
And then I will appoint for them a leader whom I will choose;
I can do that because there is no one [RHQ] like me who can object to what I do.
No ruler can oppose me.
20 Listen to what I have planned to do to the people of Teman town and the rest of Edom:
Even the little children will be dragged away,
and I will completely get rid of the people [MET] who live there.
21 When Edom is destroyed, the noise will be extremely great,
with the result that the earth will shake,
and the wailing of the people will be heard as far away as the Red Sea.
22 Look! The enemy troops will swoop/rush down over Bozrah
like an eagle spreads its wings when it swoops down to seize an animal.
On that day, even the strongest warriors of Edom will be afraid
like [SIM] a woman who is about to give birth.”
A message about Damascus
23 This message is about Damascus. This is what Yahweh says:
“The people in the nearby cities of Hamath and Arpad are confused,
because they have heard bad news about Damascus.
They are very anxious and restless,
like [SIM] a sea in a big storm.
24 The people of Damascus have become very weak,
and they all have ◄panicked/fled because they are very afraid►.
The people are anguished and in pain
like [SIM] a woman experiences who is about to give birth.
25 That famous city, that I was previously pleased with,
will be abandoned.
26 Its young men will fall in the streets.
Its soldiers will all be killed in one day.
27 And I, the Commander of the armies of angels, will start a fire to burn the walls that surround Damascus,
and the palaces of King Ben-Hadad will be burned down.”
A message about Kedar and Hazor
28 This is a message about the Kedar people-group and the kingdom of Hazor which the army of Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon attacked. This is what Yahweh says:
“I will cause an army to advance to attack Kedar
and destroy those people who live east of Judah.
29 Their tents and their flocks of sheep will be captured.
The curtains in their tents and their camels and their other possessions will be taken away.
Everywhere men will shout,
‘We are terrified because terrible things are happening all around us!’
30 So I, Yahweh, say, ‘Run away quickly!
You people who live in Hazor, go and hide in deep caves,
because King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon wants to attack you with his army;
he is planning to destroy you!’
31 But I say to Nebuchadnezzar,
‘Go up and attack that nation whose people feel secure;
they do not have allies who will help them and do not have walls with gates that have bars in them.
32 Your troops will seize their camels and other livestock.
I will scatter in every direction [IDM] those people who live in remote places (OR, who cut their hair short).
I will cause them to experience disasters from every direction.
33 Hazor will become a place where jackals/wolves live,
and it will be deserted forever.
No one will live there again;
no one will settle there [DOU].’ ”
A message about Elam
34 I received this message from Yahweh when King Zedekiah was starting to rule Judah.
35 This is what the Commander of the armies of angels says:
“The men of Elam are famous ◄archers/men who shoot arrows well►;
that is how they have made their country very powerful.
But I will get rid of them [MET].
36 I will bring their enemies from all directions [IDM, DOU],
and they will scatter the people of Elam in all directions.
The people of Elam will be exiled to every nation on the earth [LIT, HYP].
37 Because I am very angry with the people of Elam,
I will enable their enemies to smash Elam;
I will cause the people of Elam to experience great disasters.
I will enable their enemies, who want to kill them, to pursue them and kill them with swords
until I completely get rid of all of them.
38 I, Yahweh, will judge them there [MTY],
and then I will get rid of their king and his officials.
39 But some day, I will enable the people of Elam to return to their land.
That will surely happen because I, Yahweh, have said it.”