HarperCollins Study Bible
Page 291
are before you, O inhabitants of Moab!
says the LORD.
44Everyone who flees from the terror
shall fall into the pit,
and everyone who climbs out of the pit
shall be caught in the trap.
For I will bring these thingsj upon Moab
in the year of their punishment,
says the LORD.
45In the shadow of Heshbon
fugitives stop exhausted;
for a fire has gone out from Heshbon,
a flame from the house of Sihon;
it has destroyed the forehead of Moab,
the scalp of the people of tumult.k
46Woe to you, O Moab!
The people of Chemosh have perished,
for your sons have been taken captive,
and your daughters into captivity.
47Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab
in the latter days, says the LORD.
Thus far is the judgment on Moab.
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a The place-name Madmen sounds like the Hebrew verb to be silent
b Cn: Heb he goes
c Gk Aquila: Heb like Aroer
d Gk: Heb works
e Heb lacks like wine
f Gk Aquila: Heb their
g Two Mss and Isa 16.8: MT the sea of Jazer
h Cn: Heb From the cry of Heshbon to Elealeh
i Or Kerioth
j Gk Syr: Heb bring upon it
k Or of Shaon
48.1–47 A series of oracles of judgment against Moab: the advance of Nebuchadrezzar (vv. 1–10), destruction is at hand (vv. 11–17), a taunt of destroyed Moab (vv. 18–28), a lament over fallen Moab (vv. 29–39), judgment against Moab (vv. 40–42), and a woe oracle ending with the promise of salvation (vv. 43–47). The oracles and prose additions (vv. 10, 12, 21–27, 34–39) feature extensive borrowings from Isa 15–16. Located east of Israel in the Transjordan, Moab was a historic enemy of Israel, often receiving prophetic condemnation (Isa 15–16; Zeph 2.8–11). When Jehoiakim rebelled against Nebuchadrezzar, Moabites joined in raids on Judah (2 Kings 24.2). According to 27.1–11, Moab joined in the conspiracy against the Babylonians (595 BCE). It is possible that Moab joined in the later revolt.
48.1 Nebo, a Moabite city (probably modern Khirbet Mekhayyet) approximately five miles southwest of Heshbon (see Isa 15.2). Kiriathaim, a city in Moab, probably located near modern el-Qereiyat, five and a half miles north-northwest of Dibon (see Ezek 25.9).
48.2 Heshbon, modern Tell Hesban, located near the Jordanian village of Hesban, was an important city in northern Moab (see Isa 15.4;16.8–9).
48.3 Horonaim, a town in Moab (see Isa. 15.5).
48.5 Luhith, a city of Moab, probably near the south end of the Dead Sea (see Isa 15.5).
48.7 Chemosh, the national deity of Moab (see 1 Kings 11.7).
48.13 Bethel. See 1 Kings 12.25–33; Am 7.10–17.
48.18 Dibon, modern Dhiban, was an important city located on the King’s Highway, thirteen miles east of the Dead Sea (see Isa 15.2, 9).
48.19 Aroer, a fortress on the Arnon River, identified with modern Khirbet Ara‘ir.
48.20 The Arnon River flows through Moab from the east into the Dead Sea.
48.21–24 Various towns and cities in Moab.
48.29–39 See the laments, both of God for the people (14.17–18) and of Judah and Jerusalem for themselves (14.1–10, 19–22).
48.31 Kir-heres, identified with modern el-Kerak (see Isa 15.1), was a capital city of Moab; it is about eleven miles east of the Dead Sea.
48.32 Sibmah, a Moabite city, may be modern Qurn el-Kibsh, five miles southwest of Hesban. Jazer, a Moabite city probably located just to the west of Amman.
48.34 A list of various Moabite sites.
48.45–47 These verses are missing in the Septuagint, an indication that they were added later.
48.45 Sihon, an Amorite king whose capital was Heshbon. He was defeated by the Israelites during their migration prior to the settlement in Canaan (see Num 21.21–30; Deut 2.24–37; Judg 11.18–22).
JEREMIAH 49
Judgment on the Ammonites
1Concerning the Ammonites.
Thus says the LORD:
Has Israel no sons?
Has he no heir?
Why then has Milcom dispossessed Gad,
and his people settled in its towns?
2Therefore, the time is surely coming,
says the LORD,
when I will sound the battle alarm
against Rabbah of the Ammonites;
it shall become a desolate mound,
and its villages shall be burned with fire;
then Israel shall dispossess those who dispossessed him,
says the LORD.
3Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste!
Cry out, O daughtersa of Rabbah!
Put on sackcloth,
lament, and slash yourselves with whips!b
For Milcom shall go into exile,
with his priests and his attendants.
4Why do you boast in your strength?
Your strength is ebbing,
O faithless daughter.
You trusted in your treasures, saying,
“Who will attack me?”
5I am going to bring terror upon you,
says the Lord GOD of hosts,
from all your neighbors,
and you will be scattered, each headlong,
with no one to gather the fugitives.
6But afterward I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites, says the LORD.
Judgment on Edom
7Concerning Edom.
Thus says the LORD of hosts:
Is there no longer wisdom in Teman?
Has counsel perished from the prudent?
Has their wisdom vanished?
8Flee, turn back, get down low,
inhabitants of Dedan!
For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him,
the time when I punish him.
9If grape-gatherers came to you,
would they not leave gleanings?
If thieves came by night,
even they would pillage only what they wanted.
10But as for me, I have stripped Esau bare,
I have uncovered his hiding places,
and he is not able to conceal himself.
His offspring are destroyed, his kinsfolk
and his neighbors; and he is no more.
11Leave your orphans, I will keep them alive;
and let your widows trust in me.
12For thus says the LORD: If those who do not deserve to drink the cup still have to drink it, shall you be the one to go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished; you must drink it. 13For by myself I have sworn, says the LORD, that Bozrah shall become an object of horror and ridicule, a waste, and an object of cursing; and all her towns shall be perpetual wastes.
14I have heard tidings from the LORD,
and a messenger has been sent among the nations:
“Gather yourselves together and come against her,
and rise up for battle!”
15For I will make you least among the nations,
despised by humankind.
16The terror you inspire
and the pride of your heart have deceived you,
you who live in the clefts of the rock,c
who hold the height of the hill.
Although you make your nest as high as the eagle’s,
from there I will bring you down,
says the LORD.
17Edom shall become an object of horror; everyone who passes by it will be horrified and will hiss because of all its disasters. 18As when Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors were overthrown, says the LORD, no one shall live there, nor shall anyone settle in it. 19Like a lion coming up from the thickets of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly chase Edomd away from it; and I will appoint over it whomever I choose
.e For who is like me? Who can summon me? Who is the shepherd who can stand before me? 20Therefore hear the plan that the LORD has made against Edom and the purposes that he has formed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the little ones of the flock shall be dragged away; surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate. 21At the sound of their fall the earth shall tremble; the sound of their cry shall be heard at the Red Sea.f 22Look, he shall mount up and swoop down like an eagle, and spread his wings against Bozrah, and the heart of the warriors of Edom in that day shall be like the heart of a woman in labor.
Judgment on Damascus
23Concerning Damascus.
Hamath and Arpad are confounded,
for they have heard bad news;
they melt in fear, they are troubled like the seag
that cannot be quiet.
24Damascus has become feeble, she turned to flee,
and panic seized her;
anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her,
as of a woman in labor.
25How the famous city is forsaken,h
the joyful town!i
26Therefore her young men shall fall in her squares,
and all her soldiers shall be destroyed in that day,
says the LORD of hosts.
27And I will kindle a fire at the wall of Damascus,
and it shall devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad.
Judgment on Kedar and Hazor
28Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor that King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon defeated.
Thus says the LORD:
Rise up, advance against Kedar!
Destroy the people of the east!
29Take their tents and their flocks,
their curtains and all their goods;
carry off their camels for yourselves,
and a cry shall go up: “Terror is all around!”
30Flee, wander far away, hide in deep places,
O inhabitants of Hazor!
says the LORD.
For King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon
has made a plan against you
and formed a purpose against you.
31Rise up, advance against a nation at ease,
that lives secure,
says the LORD,
that has no gates or bars,
that lives alone.
32Their camels shall become booty,
their herds of cattle a spoil.
I will scatter to every wind
those who have shaven temples,
and I will bring calamity
against them from every side,
says the LORD.
33Hazor shall become a lair of jackals,
an everlasting waste;
no one shall live there,
nor shall anyone settle in it.
Judgment on Elam
34The word of the LORD that came to the prophet Jeremiah concerning Elam, at the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah.
35Thus says the LORD of hosts: I am going to break the bow of Elam, the mainstay of their might; 36and I will bring upon Elam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven; and I will scatter them to all these winds, and there shall be no nation to which the exiles from Elam shall not come. 37I will terrify Elam before their enemies, and before those who seek their life; I will bring disaster upon them, my fierce anger, says the LORD. I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them; 38and I will set my throne in Elam, and destroy their king and officials, says the LORD.
39But in the latter days I will restore the fortunes of Elam, says the LORD.
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a Or villages
b Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain
c Or of Sela
d Heb him
e Or and I will single out the choicest of his rams: Meaning of Heb uncertain
f Or Sea of Reeds
g Cn: Heb there is trouble in the sea
h Vg: Heb is not forsaken
i Syr Vg Tg: Heb the town of my joy
49.1–6 Ammon, a country in the Transjordan, east of Israel, and a perennial enemy. After the fall of Assyria, Ammon soon came under the control of the Babylonians and joined with them in the attack on Judah when Jehoiakim revolted (see 2 Kings 24.2). Later they joined in a conspiracy against Babylonia (Jer 27.3) and eventually revolted (see Ezek 21.18–23). After the fall of Judah in 587 BCE, Ammon continued the rebellion, even supporting a Jewish partisan, Ishmael, who assassinated Gedaliah (see ch. 41). Sometime later, Nebuchadrezzar sent punitive expeditions that led to the end of the Ammonite state. The oracle of judgment indicates destruction will come upon Ammon.
49.1 Milcom, the national deity of Ammon and, like Baal, a god of war and fertility (see 1 Kings 11.5, 33). Gad, an Israelite tribe that occupied land east of the Jordan between the Jabbok and Arnon rivers. Ammon took over territory formerly claimed by Israel (see Judg 10.6–12.6; 2 Sam 12.26–31).
49.2 Rabbah, the capital of Ammon, modern Amman (see Ezek 25.5; Am 1.14).
49.3 Heshbon (see note on 48.2) may have fallen into Ammonite hands. Ai, possibly an Israelite settlement just south of the ancient city of Ai (located two miles southeast of Bethel) or, since Ai means “ruin” in Hebrew, Rabbah. Cf. the calls for Judah and Jerusalem to lament (6.26; 9.10; 9.17–22).
49.6 This verse, a promise of salvation, is absent in the Septuagint, an indication it was added later (see 48.45–47).
49.7–22 Against Edom, a bitter rival of Israel. Tradition traced Edom’s origins back to Esau, the twin brother of Jacob (Israel; see Gen 25.19–28). Its territory was to the east and south of Israel. The Edomites were often the object of prophetic invective (see Ps 137; Isa 11.14; 34.5–17; Ezek 35; Am 1.6, 9, 11;2.1; Obadiah; Mal 1.2–5). A vassal of Nebuchadrezzar’s expanding empire as early as 604 BCE, Edom joined in his conquest of Jerusalem in 587 BCE and exulted over the devastation of the city (Ps 137.7; Lam 4.21–22; Ob 10–16). After the exile in 587 BCE, some Edomites moved into southern Judah, making Hebron their capital. The present oracle is closely related to Obadiah (vv. 14–16 are close to Ob 1–4; vv. 9–10a are similar to Ob 5–6).
49.7 Teman, a significant military and commercial city in central Edom. Edom was famous for its wisdom.
49.8 Dedan, a country in northwest Arabia known for its commerce (see Ezek 25.13).
49.13 Bozrah was the chief city of northern Edom (see Isa 34.6; Am 1.12).
49.18 Sodom and Gomorrah. See note on 20.16.
49.23–27 Damascus, the capital of Syria (see 1 Kings 11.24; 15.18; 19.15; 20.34; 2 Kings 8.7, 9; 16.10–12; Isa 7.8). It was conquered by the Assyrians in 733/2 BCE and became the center of a province ruled by successive empires. Little is known of its history for the next several centuries. It is not in the list of nations doomed to drink the cup of the Lord’s wrath in 25.18–26 and thus was probably a later addition to this collection.
49.23 Hamath (modern Hama), both a Syrian city on the Orontes River between Damascus and Aleppo and a kingdom in its own right. Arpad (Tell Erfad), a city in northern Syria located some twenty-five miles north of Aleppo. Hamath and Arpad were destroyed by the Assyrians (see 2 Kings 18.34; 19.13; Isa 10.9; 36.19; 37.13).
49.27 This verse is taken from Am 1.4. Ben-hadad, the name of several kings of Damascus (1 Kings 15.18, 20; 2 Kings 13.24).
49.28–33 An oracle of judgment against Arabian tribes (see 25.23–24). Kedar (see note on 2.10–11) was apparently conquered by Nebuchadrezzar. Hazor, an unknown site in the Arabian desert, possibly conquered by Nebuchadrezzar.
49.32 Shaven temples. See note on 9.26.
49.34–39 Elam, a country located east of the Tigris River. Its capital was Susa. Conquered by the Assyrians, Elam helped in the Assyrian war against Israel (see Isa 11.11; 21.2; 22.6). Eventually Elam came under Babylonian and then Persian control. The oracle is dated at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah (597 BCE).
49.39 This verse is probably a later addition (see 46.25–26; 48.47;49.6).
JEREMIAH 50<
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Judgment on Babylon
1The word that the LORD spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by the prophet Jeremiah:
2Declare among the nations and proclaim,
set up a banner and proclaim,
do not conceal it, say:
Babylon is taken,
Bel is put to shame,
Merodach is dismayed.
Her images are put to shame,
her idols are dismayed.
3For out of the north a nation has come up against her; it shall make her land a desolation, and no one shall live in it; both human beings and animals shall flee away.
4In those days and in that time, says the LORD, the people of Israel shall come, they and the people of Judah together; they shall come weeping as they seek the LORD their God. 5They shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, and they shall come and joina themselves to the LORD by an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.
6My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains; from mountain to hill they have gone, they have forgotten their fold. 7All who found them have devoured them, and their enemies have said, “We are not guilty, because they have sinned against the LORD, the true pasture, the LORD, the hope of their ancestors.”
8Flee from Babylon, and go out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be like male goats leading the flock. 9For I am going to stir up and bring against Babylon a company of great nations from the land of the north; and they shall array themselves against her; from there she shall be taken. Their arrows are like the arrows of a skilled warrior who does not return empty-handed. 10Chaldea shall be plundered; all who plunder her shall be sated, says the LORD.
11Though you rejoice, though you exult,
O plunderers of my heritage,
though you frisk about like a heifer on the grass,
and neigh like stallions,