Study Desk

Concerning the sons of ^(C1)Ammon. This is what the LORD says: "Does Israel have no sons? Or has he no heirs? Why then has ^(F1)Malcam taken possession of Gad, And his people settled in its cities?

-"Therefore behold, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "When I will cause an alarm of ^(C1)war to be heard Against ^(C2)Rabbah of the sons of Ammon; And it will become a desolate heap, And her ^(C3)towns will be set on fire. Then Israel will take ^(C4)possession of his possessors," Says the LORD.

"Wail, ^(C1)Heshbon, for ^(C2)Ai has been destroyed! Cry out, daughters of Rabbah, ^(C3)Put on sackcloth and mourn, And move about inside the walls; For ^(F1)Malcam will ^(C4)go into exile Together with his priests and his leaders.

-"How you ^(C1)boast about the valleys! Your valley is flowing away, You ^(C2)backsliding daughter Who trusts in her ^(C3)treasures, saying, '^(C4)Who can come against me?'

-"Behold, I am going to bring ^(C1)terror upon you," Declares the Lord ^(F1)GOD of armies, "From all directions around you; And you will be ^(C2)driven away ^(F2)one after another, With no one to gather the ^(C3)fugitives together.

-"But afterward I will ^(C1)restore The fortunes of the sons of Ammon," Declares the LORD.

Concerning ^(C1)Edom. This is what the LORD of armies says: "Is there no longer any ^(C2)wisdom in ^(C3)Teman? Has good advice been lost by the prudent? Has their wisdom decayed?

-"Flee away, turn back, dwell in the depths, You inhabitants of ^(C1)Dedan, For I ^(F1)will bring the ^(C2)disaster of Esau upon him At the time I ^(F2)punish him.

-"^(C1)If grape pickers came to you, Would they not leave gleanings? If thieves came by night, They would destroy only what was sufficient for them.

-"But I have ^(C1)stripped Esau bare, I have uncovered his hiding places So that he will not be able to conceal himself; His ^(F1)offspring have been destroyed along with his ^(F2)brothers And his neighbors, and ^(C2)he no longer exists.

-"Leave your ^(F1)(C1)orphans behind, I will keep them alive; And let your ^(C2)widows trust in Me."

For this is what the LORD says: "Behold, those ^(F1)who were not sentenced to drink the ^(C1)cup will certainly drink it, so are you the one who will be held ^(C2)completely blameless? You will not be held blameless, but you will certainly drink it.

"For I have ^(C1)sworn by Myself," declares the LORD, "that ^(C2)Bozrah will become an ^(C3)object of horror, a disgrace, a wasteland, and a curse; and all its cities will become permanent ruins."

I have ^(C1)heard a message from the LORD, And a ^(C2)messenger is being sent among the nations, saying, "^(C3)Gather yourselves together and come against her, And rise up for battle!"

"For behold, I have made you small among the nations, Despised among people.

-"As for the terror you cause, The arrogance of your heart has deceived you, You who live in the clefts of ^(F1)the ^(C1)rock, Who occupy the height of the hill. Though you make your nest as ^(C2)high as an eagle's, I will ^(C3)bring you down from there," declares the LORD.

"Edom will become an ^(C1)object of horror; everyone who passes by it will be appalled and will ^(F1)(C2)hiss at all its wounds.

"Like the ^(C1)overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah with its neighbors," says the LORD, "^(C2)no one will live there, nor will ^(F1)anyone of mankind reside in it.

"^(C1)Behold, one will come up like a lion from the ^(C2)thicket of the Jordan to a perennially watered pasture; for in an instant I will chase him away from it, and I will appoint over it whoever is ^(C3)chosen. For who is ^(C4)like Me, and who will summon Me into court? And who then is the shepherd ^(C5)who can stand against Me?"

Therefore hear the ^(C1)plan of the LORD which He has planned against Edom, and His purposes which He has in mind against the inhabitants of Teman: they will certainly drag them off, even the little ones of the flock; He will certainly make their pasture ^(C2)desolate because of them.

The ^(C1)earth has quaked at the noise of their downfall. There is an outcry! The noise of it has been heard at the ^(F1)Red Sea.

Behold, ^(F1)He will mount up and ^(C1)swoop like an eagle, and spread out His wings ^(F2)against Bozrah; and the ^(C2)hearts of the warriors of Edom on that day will be like the heart of a woman in labor.

Concerning ^(C1)Damascus: "^(C2)Hamath and ^(C3)Arpad are put to shame, For they have heard bad news; They ^(C4)despair. There is anxiety at the sea, It ^(C5)cannot be calmed.

-"Damascus has become helpless; She has turned away to flee, And panic has gripped her; ^(C1)Distress and labor pains have seized her Like a woman in childbirth.

-"How the ^(C1)city of praise has not been deserted, The town of My joy!

-"Therefore, her ^(C1)young men will fall in her streets, And all the men of war will perish on that day," declares the LORD of armies.

"I will ^(C1)set fire to the wall of Damascus, And it will devour the fortified palace of ^(C2)Ben-hadad."

Concerning ^(C1)Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated. This is what the LORD says: "Arise, go up to Kedar And devastate the ^(F1)(C2)people of the east.

-"They will take away their tents and their flocks; They will carry off for themselves Their tent ^(C1)curtains, all their goods and their ^(C2)camels, And they will call out to one another, '^(C3)Horror on every side!'

-"Run away, flee! Dwell in the depths, You inhabitants of Hazor," declares the LORD; "For ^(C1)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has formed a plan against you And devised a scheme against you.

-"Arise, go up against a nation which is ^(C1)at ease, Which lives securely," declares the LORD. "It has ^(C2)no gates or bars; They ^(C3)dwell alone.

-"Their camels will become plunder, And their many livestock for spoils, And I will ^(C1)scatter to all the winds those who ^(C2)cut the corners of their hair; And I will bring their disaster from every side," declares the LORD.

"Hazor will become a ^(C1)haunt of jackals, A desolation forever; No one will live there, Nor will ^(F1)anyone of mankind reside in it."

The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning ^(C1)Elam, ^(C2)at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying:

"This is what the LORD of armies says: 'Behold, I am going to ^(C1)break the bow of Elam, The ^(F1)finest of their might.

-'I will bring upon Elam the ^(C1)four winds From the four ends of heaven, And will ^(C2)scatter them to all these winds; And there will be no nation To which the outcasts of Elam will not go.

-'So I will ^(F1)shatter Elam before their enemies And before those who seek their lives; And I will ^(C1)bring disaster upon them, Even My ^(C2)fierce anger,' declares the LORD, 'And I will ^(C3)send the sword after them Until I have consumed them.

-'Then I will set My throne in Elam, And eliminate from there the king and officials,' Declares the LORD.

'But it will come about in the last days That I will ^(C1)restore the fortunes of Elam,'" Declares the LORD.