Jeremiah 49

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Jeremiah 49:1-39 (KJV) 

1 Concerning 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? 

Dear Ammonites who worship the god of Molech, why are you occupying land that is not legally yours?  Does Israel have heirs, who should be dwelling in this land you have taken over?

2 Therefore, 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. 

You will be shocked at how I will remove you from being squatters in the land I gave to Israel.  I will burn all your possessions and all that will be left will be ashes.  This land will be again given back to My people.

3 Howl, 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.

Ai, Rabbah, and Heshbon, weep, you will be running backward and forward and trapped by the fences.  Your leaders will be caught and held in captivity, all living in the same jail cell.

 4 Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys, thy flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? that trusted in her treasures, [saying], Who shall come unto me? 

All of what you think you own will be mine, said the Lord; although you think because you live in a low land you are safe, you are not.  What I take back, who can take it from Me?

5 Behold, 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.

You will be afraid and the fear will be because I will drive you out of town, and no one will lead you back to safety after I cause you to lose your sense of direction.

 6 And afterward I will bring again the captivity of the children of Ammon, saith the LORD. 

After I finish what I started, I will bring back the captivity of Ammon.     When God brings you back your name will no longer be the name that will represent who you once were.  Ammon was the descendant of Lot who was Abraham's nephew.  

7 Concerning Edom, thus saith the LORD of hosts; [Is] wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished? 

Dear Edom, descendants of Esau,

You were known as people who figure things out, what happened?  What happened to your reputation of being wise?

8 Flee 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. 

The people of Esau will be defeated when I am done, said the Lord of Host.  You will run to and fro and you hide in deep places to seek a place to hide from my wrath.

9 If grapegatherers come to thee, would they not leave [some] gleaning grapes? if thieves by night, they will destroy till they have enough. 

Sometimes people drop a few pieces here and there, but,

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 spoiled, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he [is] not. 

when I clean the house of Esau out, nothing will be left.  I will even show you what Esau was trying to hide. No relative or neighbor of Esau will be found left in the place I will show my wrath.

11 Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve [them] alive; and let thy widows trust in me. 

You left the fatherless and widows, I will take care of them Myself said the Lord.

12 For 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]. 

You made a decree that you will not lose, your decree was false; you will not escape the judgment I have before you.

13 For 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. 

The Lord said I told Myself that I would destroy you and I will do what I swore to Myself.

14 I 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. 

God sent a representative to tell the army to fight against Edom.

15 For, lo, I will make thee small among the heathen, [and] despised among men. 

The Lord said He will make Edom smaller and despised among men.  Sin makes a nation a reproach just as Cain was in his day.  When people see you as a reproach, they will charge you extra, they will not allow the business to put their company in your neighborhood and if you want to live in places that are nice, the people who already live there will move out.  Your presence brings an unwanted scent to people and God has caused it to be that way.

16 Thy 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.

Your pride, your gated communities, those who have high positions, the Lord said I will bring you down. 

17 Also Edom shall be a desolation: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof. 

People will see the results of what I have destroyed in Edom and say, man.... what happened to this place?

18 As 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. 

God said just like the residue of Sodom and Gomorrah, not one trace of life will abide in the city I have destroyed.

19 Behold, 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? 

Edom will be startled by the one who is like a lion; the lion will quickly pounce on the land of Edom and take over.  I have a chosen army who will carry out my decision.  Then after I am done, who will approach Me about my judgment?

20 Therefore 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. 

A few men will drive Edom out.  And the few that will do what I have commanded them to do will make the land of Edom empty.

21 The earth is moved at the noise of their fall, at the cry the noise thereof was heard in the Red sea. 

Even the earth will hear of the noise of Edom, the cries of Edom were heard even in the Red Sea the same sea God brought Isreal across.

22 Behold, 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. 

When Edom sees the destruction designed to come against him, the men who were known to be protectors will cry like a woman in pain when in labor.

23 Concerning 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. 

Dear Damascus,

The cities connected to you heard of the destruction headed your way and they cried; the noise they were making on the sea is so loud they were unable to keep quiet.

24 Damascus 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.

Damascus is scared and weak.  They do not know where to turn because of the attack the anger of God sent on her.  The cities of Damascus cry like a woman in labor.

25 How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy! 

What happen to the city that made me glad?  Why do I not hear rejoicing in Damascus?

26 Therefore 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. 

The young men will not be able to support and the men of war will be stopped when the Lord brings judgment to Damascus.

27 And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad. 

A fire will burn the wall of Damascus its protection, and the palace will be left in ruin.

28 Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon shall smite, thus saith the LORD; 

Dear Kedar, you will be overthrown by Nebuchadnezzar.

Arise ye, go up to Kedar, and spoil the men of the east. 

Tell the army to get up and fight against Kedar.

29 Their 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. 

Your temporary place of stay and the cattle you attended to will be taken.  All of your items of necessity will be carried away.  You will cry but that will not stop the terror against you.

30 Flee, 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. 

Find a spot to hide because Nebuchadnezzar is having a meeting to destroy you and has a plan to utterly destroy you.

31 Arise, get you up unto the wealthy nation, that dwelleth without care, saith the LORD, which have neither gates nor bars, [which] dwell alone. 

God to the wealthy people, that live without worry, they do not live in gated communities because they are surrounded by all people who are rich.

32 And 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. 

Even their camels are of great value be taken from them and all of the stock they hold is not good.  God said He will scatter the items they hold dear with the wind far away from where it was and trouble will be on every side.

33 And 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.

Wild animals will live in your beautiful city and not one person will live there.

 34 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,

Dear Elam,

I Jeremiah, have a Word from the Lord for you,

 35 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might. 

You are known to be skilled in archery, God said He will break your weapons.

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. 

Elam will be blown by the wind and no one will be left after the wind storm in Elam.

37 For 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: 

Elam will be shocked at what is happening to them.  I am so angry with Elam until I have commanded the sword to take the lives of those who live in that place.

38 And I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence the king and the princes, saith the LORD.

I will be the King of Elam and all others who lived like the king and princes being evil, will be destroyed.

 39 But it shall come to pass in the latter days, [that] I will bring again the captivity of Elam, saith the LORD.

However, Elam will have some who will understand that I am God and I will bring those who learned the lesson back.