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What the Lord Says about Ammon

49 (A) The Lord has this to say about the nation of Ammon:

The people of Israel
have plenty of children
    to inherit their lands.
So why have you worshipers
    of the god Milcom[a]
taken over towns and land
    belonging to the tribe of Gad?
Someday I will send an army
to attack you in Rabbah,
    your capital city.
It will be left in ruins,
and the surrounding villages
    will lie in ashes.
You took some of Israel's land,
but on that day
    Israel will take yours!

Cry, people of Heshbon;[b]
your town will become
    a pile of rubble.[c]
You will turn here and there,
    but your path will be blocked.[d]

Put on sackcloth[e] and mourn,
    you citizens of Rabbah,
because the idol you worship[f]
will be taken
    to a foreign country,
along with its priests
    and temple officials.
You rebellious Ammonites
trust your wealth and ask,
    “Who could attack us?”
But I warn you not to boast
    when your strength is fading.[g]
I, the Lord All-Powerful,
will send neighboring nations
    to strike you with terror.
You will be scattered,
with no one to care
    for your refugees.
Yet someday, I will bring
    your people back home.
I, the Lord, have spoken.

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Footnotes

  1. 49.1 Milcom: The national god of Ammon, probably the same as the god Molech in 32.35.
  2. 49.3 Heshbon: See also 48.45; since Heshbon was near the border of Moab and Ammon, it was probably ruled by the country that was stronger at the time.
  3. 49.3 your town will become a pile of rubble: Or “because the town of Ai has been destroyed”; referring to an Ammonite town named Ai, not the town of that name near Bethel in the land of Israel.
  4. 49.3 You will turn … blocked: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  5. 49.3 sackcloth: See the note at 4.8.
  6. 49.3 the idol you worship: Hebrew “Milcom” (see verse 1 and the note there).
  7. 49.4 when … fading: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

A Message About Ammon

49 Concerning the Ammonites:(A)

This is what the Lord says:

“Has Israel no sons?
    Has Israel no heir?
Why then has Molek[a](B) taken possession of Gad?(C)
    Why do his people live in its towns?
But the days are coming,”
    declares the Lord,
“when I will sound the battle cry(D)
    against Rabbah(E) of the Ammonites;
it will become a mound of ruins,(F)
    and its surrounding villages will be set on fire.
Then Israel will drive out
    those who drove her out,(G)
says the Lord.
“Wail, Heshbon,(H) for Ai(I) is destroyed!
    Cry out, you inhabitants of Rabbah!
Put on sackcloth(J) and mourn;
    rush here and there inside the walls,
for Molek(K) will go into exile,(L)
    together with his priests and officials.
Why do you boast of your valleys,
    boast of your valleys so fruitful?
Unfaithful Daughter Ammon,(M)
    you trust in your riches(N) and say,
    ‘Who will attack me?’(O)
I will bring terror on you
    from all those around you,”
declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.
“Every one of you will be driven away,
    and no one will gather the fugitives.(P)

“Yet afterward, I will restore(Q) the fortunes of the Ammonites,”
declares the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 49:1 Or their king; also in verse 3

Judgment against Ammon

28 (A) The Lord God said:

Ezekiel, son of man, the Ammonites have insulted Israel, so condemn them and tell them I am saying:

A sword is drawn,
    ready to slaughter;
it is polished and prepared
    to kill as fast as lightning.

29 You wicked Ammonites see false visions and believe untrue messages. But your day of punishment is coming soon, and my sword will slaughter you!

30 Your days to punish others are over, so put your swords away.[a] You will be punished in the land of your birth. 31 My furious anger will scorch you like fire, and I will hand you over to cruel men who are experts in killing. 32 You will be burned and will die in your own land. Then you will be forgotten forever. I, the Lord, have spoken.

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Footnotes

  1. 21.30 Your days … put your swords away: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

28 “And you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says about the Ammonites(A) and their insults:

“‘A sword,(B) a sword,
    drawn for the slaughter,
polished to consume
    and to flash like lightning!
29 Despite false visions concerning you
    and lying divinations(C) about you,
it will be laid on the necks
    of the wicked who are to be slain,
whose day has come,
    whose time of punishment has reached its climax.(D)

30 “‘Let the sword return to its sheath.(E)
    In the place where you were created,
in the land of your ancestry,(F)
    I will judge you.
31 I will pour out my wrath on you
    and breathe(G) out my fiery anger(H) against you;
I will deliver you into the hands of brutal men,
    men skilled in destruction.(I)
32 You will be fuel for the fire,(J)
    your blood will be shed in your land,
you will be remembered(K) no more;
    for I the Lord have spoken.’”

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Judgment on Ammon

25 (A) The Lord God said:

Ezekiel, son of man, condemn the people of Ammon and tell them:

You celebrated when my temple was destroyed, when Israel was defeated, and when my people were taken away as prisoners. Now I am going to let you be conquered by tribes from the eastern desert. They will set up their camps in your land and eat your fruit and drink your milk. Your capital city of Rabbah will be nothing but pastureland for camels, and the rest of the country will be pastures for sheep. Then you will know that I am the Lord God.

You hated Israel so much that you clapped and shouted and celebrated. And so I will hand you over to enemies who will rob you. I will completely destroy you. There won't be enough of your people left to be a nation ever again, and you will know that I, the Lord, have done these things.

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A Prophecy Against Ammon

25 The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, set your face against(A) the Ammonites(B) and prophesy against them.(C) Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the Sovereign Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you said “Aha!(D)” over my sanctuary when it was desecrated(E) and over the land of Israel when it was laid waste and over the people of Judah when they went into exile,(F) therefore I am going to give you to the people of the East(G) as a possession. They will set up their camps(H) and pitch their tents among you; they will eat your fruit and drink your milk.(I) I will turn Rabbah(J) into a pasture for camels and Ammon into a resting place for sheep.(K) Then you will know that I am the Lord. For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you have clapped your hands(L) and stamped your feet, rejoicing with all the malice of your heart against the land of Israel,(M) therefore I will stretch out my hand(N) against you and give you as plunder(O) to the nations. I will wipe you out from among the nations and exterminate you from the countries. I will destroy(P) you, and you will know that I am the Lord.(Q)’”

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(A) The Lord All-Powerful,
    the God of Israel, said:
I've heard Moab and Ammon
insult my people
    and threaten their nation.[a]
(B) And so, I swear by my very life
that Moab and Ammon will end up
    like Sodom and Gomorrah—
covered with thornbushes
    and salt pits forever.
Then my people who survive
    will take their land.
10 This is how Moab and Ammon
will at last be repaid
    for their pride—
and for sneering at the nation
that belongs to me,
    the Lord All-Powerful.
11 I will fiercely attack.
Then every god on this earth
    will shrink to nothing,
and everyone of every nation
will bow down to me,
    right where they are.

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Footnotes

  1. 2.8 threaten their nation: Or “boast about their own nation.”

Moab and Ammon

“I have heard the insults(A) of Moab(B)
    and the taunts of the Ammonites,(C)
who insulted(D) my people
    and made threats against their land.(E)
Therefore, as surely as I live,”
    declares the Lord Almighty,
    the God of Israel,
“surely Moab(F) will become like Sodom,(G)
    the Ammonites(H) like Gomorrah—
a place of weeds and salt pits,
    a wasteland forever.
The remnant of my people will plunder(I) them;
    the survivors(J) of my nation will inherit their land.(K)

10 This is what they will get in return for their pride,(L)
    for insulting(M) and mocking
    the people of the Lord Almighty.(N)
11 The Lord will be awesome(O) to them
    when he destroys all the gods(P) of the earth.(Q)
Distant nations will bow down to him,(R)
    all of them in their own lands.

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