The Prophets · Old Testament
Jeremiah 49
Jeremiah 49: words against Ammon, Edom, Damascus, Kedar, Hazor and Elam
General context
Concerning the Ammonites, the Lord asks whether Israel has no heir, that their king inherits Gad; an alarm of war will sound in Rabbah, and Israel will be heir to those who took his inheritance. Heshbon is told to howl, their king goes into captivity, and the daughter who trusted in treasures is driven out; afterward Ammon's captivity will be brought again. Concerning Edom, the Lord asks whether wisdom has left Teman, tells Dedan to dwell deep, and says that where grapegatherers would leave gleanings he has made Esau bare. Fatherless children will be preserved and widows may trust him. Those not judged to drink the cup have drunk it, so Edom will not go unpunished, and Bozrah will be a desolation. Edom's pride in the clefts of the rock deceived him; though he nests as high as the eagle he will be brought down and left like Sodom and Gomorrah. One comes up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan, the Lord asks who is like him, and the earth moves at Edom's fall. Concerning Damascus, Hamath and Arpad are confounded, Damascus turns to flee, her young men fall in the streets, and fire consumes the palaces of Ben-hadad. Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar will smite, the men of the east lose tents, flocks and camels; the careless nation without gates or bars is scattered, and Hazor becomes a dwelling for dragons. Concerning Elam, in the beginning of Zedekiah's reign, the Lord will break Elam's bow, scatter them to the four winds, send the sword after them and set his throne there, yet in the latter days bring their captivity again.
Cited passages: Jeremiah 49:1, Jeremiah 49:2, Jeremiah 49:3, Jeremiah 49:4, Jeremiah 49:6, Jeremiah 49:7, Jeremiah 49:8, Jeremiah 49:9, Jeremiah 49:10, Jeremiah 49:11, Jeremiah 49:12, Jeremiah 49:13, Jeremiah 49:14, Jeremiah 49:16, Jeremiah 49:18, Jeremiah 49:19, Jeremiah 49:21, Jeremiah 49:22, Jeremiah 49:23, Jeremiah 49:26, Jeremiah 49:27, Jeremiah 49:28, Jeremiah 49:29, Jeremiah 49:31, Jeremiah 49:33, Jeremiah 49:34, Jeremiah 49:35, Jeremiah 49:38, Jeremiah 49:39
Jeremiah 49 (KJV)
1Concerning the Ammonites, thus saith the Lord; Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? why then doth their king inherit Gad, and his people dwell in his cities?
2Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites; and it shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel be heir unto them that were his heirs, saith the Lord.
3Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled: cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth; lament, and run to and fro by the hedges; for their king shall go into captivity, and his priests and his princes together.
4Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys, thy flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? that trusted in her treasures, saying, Who shall come unto me?
5Behold, I will bring a fear upon thee, saith the Lord God of hosts, from all those that be about thee; and ye shall be driven out every man right forth; and none shall gather up him that wandereth.
6And afterward I will bring again the captivity of the children of Ammon, saith the Lord.
7Concerning Edom, thus saith the Lord of hosts; Is wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished?
8Flee ye, turn back, dwell deep, O inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time that I will visit him.
9If grapegatherers come to thee, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? if thieves by night, they will destroy till they have enough.
10But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is spoiled, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he is not.
11Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me.
12For thus saith the Lord; Behold, they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunken; and art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink of it.
13For I have sworn by myself, saith the Lord, that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes.
14I have heard a rumour from the Lord, and an ambassador is sent unto the heathen, saying, Gather ye together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle.
15For, lo, I will make thee small among the heathen, and despised among men.
16Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, 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 the Lord.
17Also Edom shall be a desolation: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof.
18As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the Lord, no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it.
19Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan against the habitation of the strong: but I will suddenly make him run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me?
20Therefore hear the counsel of the Lord, that he hath taken against Edom; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitations desolate with them.
21The earth is moved at the noise of their fall, at the cry the noise thereof was heard in the Red sea.
22Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread his wings over Bozrah: and at that day shall the heart of the mighty men of Edom be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.
23Concerning Damascus. Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea; it cannot be quiet.
24Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.
25How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
26Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the Lord of hosts.
27And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Ben-hadad.
28Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon shall smite, thus saith the Lord; Arise ye, go up to Kedar, and spoil the men of the east.
29Their tents and their flocks shall they take away: they shall take to themselves their curtains, and all their vessels, and their camels; and they shall cry unto them, Fear is on every side.
30Flee, get you far off, dwell deep, O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith the Lord; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath taken counsel against you, and hath conceived a purpose against you.
31Arise, get you up unto the wealthy nation, that dwelleth without care, saith the Lord, which have neither gates nor bars, which dwell alone.
32And their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil: and I will scatter into all winds them that are in the utmost corners; and I will bring their calamity from all sides thereof, saith the Lord.
33And Hazor shall be a dwelling for dragons, and a desolation for ever: there shall no man abide there, nor any son of man dwell in it.
34The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,
35Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might.
36And 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.
37For 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 the Lord; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them:
38And I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence the king and the princes, saith the Lord.
39But it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring again the captivity of Elam, saith the Lord.
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Historical context
The chapter holds five oracles, the fourth covering Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor together, and only the last carries a date, the beginning of Zedekiah's reign for Elam. Nebuchadrezzar is named as the one who will smite Kedar and Hazor; the other oracles leave the attacker unnamed, a lion, an eagle, or gathered nations. Ammon's king is called only "their king," and the charge is that he holds Gad's cities as if Israel had no heir. An Ai is named beside Heshbon in the Ammon oracle, and the text does not locate it. Edom is spoken of as Esau, with Teman, Dedan and Bozrah named; Bozrah was also printed among Moab's cities in chapter 48, and the text does not comment. The Edom oracle refers to "the cup" that others have drunk, matching the cup of chapter 25, where Edom, Ammon, Dedan and the kings of Elam are all listed. Ben-hadad's palaces in Damascus are named without explanation of who Ben-hadad is. Kedar and Hazor are described as tent-dwellers with camels, "the men of the east," and Hazor as "kingdoms" in the plural. Restoration is promised for Ammon and Elam but not stated for Edom, Damascus, Kedar or Hazor. The "I" who has heard a rumour in the Edom oracle is not named. None of the events is narrated in the book.
Cited passages: Jeremiah 49:34, Jeremiah 49:28, Jeremiah 49:30, Jeremiah 49:19, Jeremiah 49:14, Jeremiah 49:1, Jeremiah 49:3, Jeremiah 49:8, Jeremiah 49:13, Jeremiah 48:24, Jeremiah 49:12, Jeremiah 25:21, Jeremiah 25:23, Jeremiah 25:25, Jeremiah 49:27, Jeremiah 49:6, Jeremiah 49:39
Literary context
Each oracle opens with its own device. Ammon and Edom begin with questions, one about Israel's heir and one about Teman's wisdom; Damascus begins with cities already fainthearted; Kedar with a command to arise and spoil; Elam with a bow to be broken. Images repeat across the peoples. The eagle appears twice in the Edom section, once as the height of Edom's nest and once as the attacker's spread wings, and the second use, with the hearts of mighty men "as the heart of a woman in her pangs," repeats almost exactly the close of the Moab oracle. Damascus too is "as a woman in travail." "Dwell deep" is said to Dedan and to Hazor. The cry "Fear is on every side" in the Kedar oracle echoes "fear was round about" in the word on Egypt. The Edom section moves from gleaning grapes, where something is always left, to Esau made bare with nothing left, and then interrupts itself with the line about fatherless children and widows. The lion from the swelling of Jordan and the chain of questions, who is like me, who will appoint me the time, what shepherd can stand, present the Lord as the one no one can meet. The Elam word sets the Lord's throne in Elam, as the sign at Tahpanhes set Nebuchadrezzar's throne on hidden stones, and then closes with restoration. Two of the five oracles end that way; the other three do not.
Cited passages: Jeremiah 49:1, Jeremiah 49:7, Jeremiah 49:23, Jeremiah 49:28, Jeremiah 49:35, Jeremiah 49:16, Jeremiah 49:22, Jeremiah 48:41, Jeremiah 49:24, Jeremiah 49:8, Jeremiah 49:30, Jeremiah 49:29, Jeremiah 46:5, Jeremiah 49:9, Jeremiah 49:10, Jeremiah 49:11, Jeremiah 49:19, Jeremiah 49:38, Jeremiah 43:10, Jeremiah 49:39
Key moments
- Hath Israel no heir? (Jeremiah 49:1). The Lord challenges Ammon's king for holding Gad's cities.
- Ammon's captivity returned (Jeremiah 49:6). After the alarm of war the Lord promises to bring Ammon back.
- Fatherless and widows (Jeremiah 49:11). Inside the word on Edom the Lord promises to keep the orphans alive.
- A nest as high as the eagle (Jeremiah 49:16). Edom's pride in the rock clefts will not keep it from being brought down.
- The city of praise (Jeremiah 49:25). Damascus is lamented as the city of joy not left.
- A nation without gates or bars (Jeremiah 49:31). The attackers are told to go up against a nation that dwells without care, having neither gates nor bars.
- A throne in Elam (Jeremiah 49:38). The Lord will destroy Elam's king and princes and set his throne there.
For reflection
In the middle of the sentence on Edom the Lord says to leave the fatherless children with him and let the widows trust him. What does it mean for a promise to the bereaved to sit inside a judgment on their people?
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