Other Nations

(13) And He said to Abram, “Know well that your offspring shall be strangers in a land not theirs, and they shall be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years; (14) but I will execute judgment on the nation they shall serve, and in the end they shall go free with great wealth. (15) As for you, You shall go to your fathers in peace; You shall be buried at a ripe old age. (16) And they shall return here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

(9) Yet I Destroyed the Amorite before them, Whose stature was like the cedar’s And who was stout as the oak, Destroying his boughs above And his trunk below! (10) And I Brought you up from the land of Egypt And led you through the wilderness forty years, To possess the land of the Amorite!

(1) we marched back into the wilderness by the way of the Sea of Reeds, as the LORD had spoken to me, and skirted the hill country of Seir a long time. (2) Then the LORD said to me: (3) You have been skirting this hill country long enough; now turn north. (4) And charge the people as follows: You will be passing through the territory of your kinsmen, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. Though they will be afraid of you, be very careful (5) not to provoke them. For I will not give you of their land so much as a foot can tread on; I have given the hill country of Seir as a possession to Esau. (6) What food you eat you shall obtain from them for money; even the water you drink you shall procure from them for money. (7) Indeed, the LORD your God has blessed you in all your undertakings. He has watched over your wanderings through this great wilderness; the LORD your God has been with you these past forty years: you have lacked nothing.

(8) We then moved on, away from our kinsmen, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir, away from the road of the Arabah, away from Elath and Ezion-geber; and we marched on in the direction of the wilderness of Moab. (9) And the LORD said to me: Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war. For I will not give you any of their land as a possession; I have assigned Ar as a possession to the descendants of Lot.— (10) It was formerly inhabited by the Emim, a people great and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites. (11) Like the Anakites, they are counted as Rephaim; but the Moabites call them Emim. (12) Similarly, Seir was formerly inhabited by the Horites; but the descendants of Esau dispossessed them, wiping them out and settling in their place, just as Israel did in the land they were to possess, which the LORD had given to them.—

(13) Up now! Cross the wadi Zered! So we crossed the wadi Zered. (14) The time that we spent in travel from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed the wadi Zered was thirty-eight years, until that whole generation of warriors had perished from the camp, as the LORD had sworn concerning them. (15) Indeed, the hand of the LORD struck them, to root them out from the camp to the last man.

(16) When all the warriors among the people had died off, (17) the LORD spoke to me, saying: (18) You are now passing through the territory of Moab, through Ar. (19) You will then be close to the Ammonites; do not harass them or start a fight with them. For I will not give any part of the land of the Ammonites to you as a possession; I have assigned it as a possession to the descendants of Lot.— (20) It, too, is counted as Rephaim country. It was formerly inhabited by Rephaim, whom the Ammonites call Zamzummim, (21) a people great and numerous and as tall as the Anakites. The LORD wiped them out, so that [the Ammonites] dispossessed them and settled in their place, (22) as He did for the descendants of Esau who live in Seir, when He wiped out the Horites before them, so that they dispossessed them and settled in their place, as is still the case.

(44) Why, everyone who uses proverbs applies to you the proverb “Like mother, like daughter.” (45) You are the daughter of your mother, who rejected her husband and children. And you are the sister of your sisters, who rejected their husbands and children; for you are daughters of a Hittite mother and an Amorite father. (46) Your elder sister was Samaria, who lived with her daughters to the north of you; your younger sister was Sodom, who lived with her daughters to the south of you. (47) Did you not walk in their ways and practice their abominations? Why, you were almost more corrupt than they in all your ways.

(48) As I live—declares the Lord GOD—your sister Sodom and her daughters did not do what you and your daughters did. (49) Only this was the sin of your sister Sodom: arrogance! She and her daughters had plenty of bread and untroubled tranquillity; yet she did not support the poor and the needy. (50) In their haughtiness, they committed abomination before Me; and so I removed them, as you saw. (51) Nor did Samaria commit even half your sins. You committed more abominations than they, and by all the abominations that you committed you made your sisters look righteous. (52) Truly, you must bear the disgrace of serving as your sisters’ advocate: Since you have sinned more abominably than they, they appear righteous in comparison. So be ashamed and bear your disgrace, because you have made your sisters look righteous.

(53) I will restore their fortunes—the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters—and your fortunes along with theirs. (54) Thus you shall bear your disgrace and feel your disgrace for behaving in such a way that they could take comfort. (55) Then your sister Sodom and her daughters shall return to their former state, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former state, and you and your daughters shall return to your former state. (56) Was not your sister Sodom a byword in your mouth in the days of your pride, (57) before your own wickedness was exposed? So must you now bear the mockery of the daughters of Aram and all her neighbors, the daughters of Philistia who jeer at you on every side. (58) You yourself must bear your depravity and your abominations—declares the LORD.

(59) Truly, thus said the Lord GOD: I will deal with you as you have dealt, for you have spurned the pact and violated the covenant. (60) Nevertheless, I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish it with you as an everlasting covenant. (61) You shall remember your ways and feel ashamed, when you receive your older sisters and your younger sisters, and I give them to you as daughters, though they are not of your covenant. (62) I will establish My covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the LORD. (63) Thus you shall remember and feel shame, and you shall be too abashed to open your mouth again, when I have forgiven you for all that you did—declares the Lord GOD.

(1) Concerning the Ammonites. Thus said the LORD: Has Israel no sons, Has he no heir? Then why has Milcom dispossessed Gad, And why have his people settled in Gad’s towns? (2) Assuredly, days are coming —declares the LORD— When I will sound the alarm of war Against Rabbah of the Ammonites; It shall become a desolate mound, And its villages shall be set on fire. And Israel shall dispossess Those who dispossessed him —said the LORD. (3) Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is ravaged! Cry out, O daughters of Rabbah! Gird on sackcloth, lament, And run to and fro in the sheepfolds. For Milcom shall go into exile, Together with his priests and attendants. (4) Why do you glory in strength, Your strength is drained, O rebellious daughter, You who relied on your treasures, [Who said:] Who dares attack me? (5) I am bringing terror upon you —declares the Lord GOD of Hosts— From all those around you. Every one of you shall be driven in every direction, And none shall gather in the fugitives. (6) But afterward I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites—declares the LORD.

(34) The word of the LORD that came to the prophet Jeremiah concerning Elam, at the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah: (35) Thus said the LORD of Hosts: I am going to break the bow of Elam, the mainstay of their strength. (36) And I shall bring four winds against Elam from the four quarters of heaven, and scatter them to all those winds. There shall not be a nation to which the fugitives from Elam do not come. (37) And I will break Elam before their enemies, before those who seek their lives; and I will bring disaster upon them, My flaming wrath—declares the LORD. And I will dispatch the sword after them until I have consumed them. (38) And I will set My throne in Elam, And wipe out from there king and officials —says the LORD. (39) But in the days to come I will restore the fortunes of Elam—declares the LORD.

(1) In the tenth year, on the twelfth day of the tenth month, the word of the LORD came to me: (2) O mortal, turn your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt. (3) Speak these words: Thus said the Lord GOD: I am going to deal with you, O Pharaoh king of Egypt, Mighty monster, sprawling in your channels, Who said, My Nile is my own; I made it for myself. (4) I will put hooks in your jaws, And make the fish of your channels Cling to your scales; I will haul you up from your channels, With all the fish of your channels Clinging to your scales. (5) And I will fling you into the desert, With all the fish of your channels. You shall be left lying in the open, Ungathered and unburied: I have given you as food To the beasts of the earth And the birds of the sky. (6) Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know That I am the LORD. Because you were a staff of reed To the House of Israel: (7) When they grasped you with the hand, you would splinter, And wound all their shoulders, And when they leaned on you, you would break, And make all their loins unsteady. (8) Assuredly, thus said the Lord GOD: Lo, I will bring a sword against you, and will cut off man and beast from you, (9) so that the land of Egypt shall fall into desolation and ruin. And they shall know that I am the LORD—because he boasted, “The Nile is mine, and I made it.” (10) Assuredly, I am going to deal with you and your channels, and I will reduce the land of Egypt to utter ruin and desolation, from Migdol to Syene, all the way to the border of Nubia. (11) No foot of man shall traverse it, and no foot of beast shall traverse it; and it shall remain uninhabited for forty years. (12) For forty years I will make the land of Egypt the most desolate of desolate lands, and its cities shall be the most desolate of ruined cities. And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. (13) Further, thus said the Lord GOD: After a period of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were dispersed. (14) I will restore the fortunes of the Egyptians and bring them back to the land of their origin, the land of Pathros, and there they shall be a lowly kingdom. (15) It shall be the lowliest of all the kingdoms, and shall not lord it over the nations again. I will reduce the Egyptians, so that they shall have no dominion over the nations. (16) Never again shall they be the trust of the House of Israel, recalling its guilt in having turned to them. And they shall know that I am the Lord GOD.

(1) Concerning Moab. Thus said the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: Alas, that Nebo should be ravaged, Kiriathaim captured and shamed, The stronghold shamed and dismayed! (2) Moab’s glory is no more; In Heshbon they have planned evil against her: “Come, let us make an end of her as a nation!” You too, O Madmen, shall be silenced; The sword is following you. (3) Hark! an outcry from Horonaim, Destruction and utter ruin! (4) Moab is broken; Her young ones cry aloud; (5) They climb to Luhith Weeping continually; On the descent to Horonaim A distressing cry of anguish is heard: (6) Flee, save your lives! And be like Aroer in the desert. (7) Surely, because of your trust In your wealth and in your treasures, You too shall be captured. And Chemosh shall go forth to exile, Together with his priests and attendants. (8) The ravager shall come to every town; No town shall escape. The valley shall be devastated And the tableland laid waste —because the LORD has spoken. (9) Give wings to Moab, For she must go hence. Her towns shall become desolate, With no one living in them. (10) Cursed be he who is slack in doing the LORD’s work! Cursed be he who withholds his sword from blood! (11) Moab has been secure from his youth on— He is settled on his lees And has not been poured from vessel to vessel— He has never gone into exile. Therefore his fine flavor has remained And his bouquet is unspoiled.

(12) But days are coming—declares the LORD—when I will send men against him to tip him over; they shall empty his vessels and smash his jars. (13) And Moab shall be shamed because of Chemosh, as the House of Israel were shamed because of Bethel, on whom they relied. (14) How can you say: We are warriors, Valiant men for war? (15) Moab is ravaged, His towns have been entered, His choice young men Have gone down to the slaughter —declares the King whose name is LORD of Hosts. (16) The doom of Moab is coming close, His downfall is approaching swiftly. (17) Condole with him, all who live near him, All you who know him by name! Say: “Alas, the strong rod is broken, The lordly staff!” (18) Descend from glory And sit in thirst, O inhabitant of Fair Dibon; For the ravager of Moab has entered your town, He has destroyed your fortresses. (19) Stand by the road and look out, O inhabitant of Aroer. Ask of him who is fleeing And of her who is escaping: Say, “What has happened?” (20) Moab is shamed and dismayed; Howl and cry aloud! Tell at the Arnon That Moab is ravaged! (21) Judgment has come upon the tableland—upon Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath; (22) upon Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim; (23) upon Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon; (24) upon Kerioth and Bozrah—upon all the towns of the land of Moab, far and near. (25) The might of Moab has been cut down, His strength is broken —declares the LORD. (26) Get him drunk For he vaunted himself against the LORD. Moab shall vomit till he is drained, And he too shall be a laughingstock. (27) Wasn’t Israel a laughingstock to you? Was he ever caught among thieves, That you should shake your head Whenever you speak of him? (28) Desert the cities And dwell in the crags, O inhabitants of Moab! Be like a dove that nests In the sides of a pit. (29) We have heard of Moab’s pride— Most haughty is he— Of his arrogance and pride, His haughtiness and self-exaltation. (30) I know his insolence—declares the LORD—the wickedness that is in him, the wickedness he has committed.

(31) Therefore I will howl for Moab, I will cry out for all Moab, I will moan for the men of Kir-heres. (32) With greater weeping than for Jazer I weep for you, O vine of Sibmah, Whose tendrils crossed the sea, Reached to the sea, to Jazer. A ravager has come down Upon your fig and grape harvests. (33) Rejoicing and gladness Are gone from the farm land, From the country of Moab; I have put an end to wine in the presses, No one treads [the grapes] with shouting— The shout is a shout no more. (34) There is an outcry from Heshbon to Elealeh, They raise their voices as far as Jahaz, From Zoar to Horonaim and Eglathshelishiah. The waters of Nimrim Shall also become desolation. (35) And I will make an end in Moab —declares the LORD— Of those who offer at a shrine And burn incense to their god. (36) Therefore, My heart moans for Moab like a flute; Like a flute my heart moans For the men of Kir-heres— Therefore, The gains they have made shall vanish— (37) For every head is bald And every beard is shorn; On all hands there are gashes, And on the loins sackcloth. (38) On all the roofs of Moab, And in its squares There is naught but lamentation; For I have broken Moab Like a vessel no one wants —declares the LORD. (39) How he is dismayed! Wail! How Moab has turned his back in shame! Moab shall be a laughingstock And a shock to all those near him.

(40) For thus said the LORD: See, he soars like an eagle And spreads out his wings against Moab! (41) Kerioth shall be captured And the strongholds shall be seized. In that day, the heart of Moab’s warriors Shall be like the heart of a woman in travail. (42) And Moab shall be destroyed as a people, For he vaunted himself against the LORD. (43) Terror, and pit, and trap Upon you who dwell in Moab! —declares the LORD. (44) He who flees from the terror Shall fall into the pit; And he who climbs out of the pit Shall be caught in the trap. For I will bring upon Moab The year of their doom —declares the LORD. (45) In the shelter of Heshbon Fugitives halt exhausted; For fire went forth from Heshbon, Flame from the midst of Sihon, Consuming the brow of Moab, The pate of the people of Shaon. (46) Woe to you, O Moab! The people of Chemosh are undone, For your sons are carried off into captivity, Your daughters into exile. (47) But I will restore the fortunes of Moab in the days to come—declares the LORD. Thus far is the judgment on Moab.