The Tanakh · JPS 1917 Translation

Jeremiah 49

Jewish Publication Society 1917 · Nevi'im — the Prophets

Jeremiah chapter 49 — part of the Nevi'im — the Prophets in the Jewish Bible. In the classic JPS 1917 translation it opens: “Of the children of Ammon. Thus saith HaShem: Hath Israel no sons? Hath he no heir? Why then doth Malcam take possession of Gad, and his…” — the complete text of all 39 verses is below, free to read online.

1Of the children of Ammon. Thus saith HaShem: Hath Israel no sons? Hath he no heir? Why then doth Malcam take possession of Gad, and his people dwell in the cities thereof?

2Therefore, behold, the days come, saith HaShem, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard against Rabbah of the children of Ammon; and it shall become a desolate mound, and her daughters shall be burned with fire; then shall Israel dispossess them that did dispossess him, saith HaShem.

3Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai is undone; cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth; lament, and run to and fro among the folds; for Malcam shall go into captivity, his priests and his princes together.

4Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys, thy flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? that didst trust in thy treasures: 'Who shall come unto me?'

5Behold, I will bring a terror upon thee, saith the L-rd GOD of hosts, from all that are round about thee; and ye shall be driven out every man right forth, and there shall be none to gather up him that wandereth.

6But afterward I will bring back the captivity of the children of Ammon, saith HaShem.

7Of Edom. Thus saith HaShem 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 do bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time that I shall punish him.

9If grape-gatherers came to thee, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? if thieves by night, would they not destroy till they had 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 rear them, and let thy widows trust in Me.

12For thus saith HaShem: Behold, they to whom it pertained not to drink of the cup shall assuredly drink; and art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink.

13For I have sworn by Myself, saith HaShem, that Bozrah shall become an astonishment, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes.

14I have heard a message from HaShem, and an ambassador is sent among the nations: 'Gather yourselves together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle.'

15For, behold, I make thee small among the nations, and despised among men.

16Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, even the pride of thy 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 HaShem.

17And Edom shall become an astonishment; every one that passeth 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 HaShem, no man shall abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein.

19Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan against the strong habitation; for I will suddenly make him run away from it, and whoso is chosen, him will I appoint over it; for who is like Me? and who will appoint Me a time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before Me?

20Therefore hear ye the counsel of HaShem, 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 drag them away, surely their habitation shall be appalled at them.

21The earth quaketh at the noise of their fall; there is a cry, the noise whereof is heard in the Red Sea.

22Behold, he shall come up and swoop down as the vulture, and spread out his wings against Bozrah; and the heart of the mighty men of Edom at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.

23Of Damascus. Hamath is ashamed, and Arpad; for they have heard evil tidings, they are melted away; there is trouble in the sea; it cannot be quiet.

24Damascus is waxed feeble, she turneth herself to flee, and trembling hath seized on her; anguish and pangs have taken hold of her, as of a woman in travail.

25'How is the city of praise left unrepaired, the city of my joy?'

26Therefore her young men shall fall in her broad places, and all the men of war shall be brought to silence in that day, saith HaShem of hosts.

27And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall devour the palaces of Ben-hadad.

28Of Kedar, and of the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote. Thus saith HaShem: Arise ye, go up against Kedar, and spoil the children of the east.

29Their tents and their flocks shall they take, they shall carry away for themselves their curtains, and all their vessels, and their camels; and they shall proclaim against them a terror on every side.

30Flee ye, flit far off, dwell deep, O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith HaShem; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath taken counsel against you, and hath conceived a purpose against you.

31Arise, get you up against a nation that is at ease, that dwelleth without care, saith HaShem; that have neither gates nor bars, that dwell alone.

32And their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil; and I will scatter unto all winds them that have the corners polled; and I will bring their calamity from every side of them, saith HaShem.

33And Hazor shall be a dwelling-place of jackals, a desolation for ever; no man shall abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein.

34The word of HaShem that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying:

35Thus saith HaShem of hosts: behold, I will break the bow of Elam the chief of their might.

36And I will bring against Elam 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 dispersed of Elam shall not come.

37And 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 HaShem; 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 king and princes, saith HaShem.

39But it shall come to pass in the end of days, that I will bring back the captivity of Elam, saith HaShem.

39 verses · JPS 1917 (public domain)

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