Judgment on the Ammonites 1 Brenton Concerning the sons of Ammon thus saith the Lord, Are there no sons in Israel? or have they no one to succeed them ? wherefore has Melchol inherited Galaad, and why shall their people dwell in their cities? BSB BSB: Concerning the Ammonites, this is what the LORD says: “Has Israel no sons? Is he without heir? Why then has Milcom taken possession of Gad? Why have his people settled in their cities?
2 Brenton Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will cause to be heard in Rabbath a tumult of wars; and they shall become a waste and ruined place, and her altars shall be burned with fire; then shall Israel succeed to his dominion. BSB BSB: Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will sound the battle cry against Rabbah of the Ammonites. It will become a heap of ruins, and its villages will be burned. Then Israel will drive out their dispossessors, says the LORD.
3 Brenton Howl, O Esebon, for Gai has perished; cry, ye daughters of Rabbath, gird yourselves with sackclothes, and lament; for Melchol shall go into banishment, his priests and his princes together. BSB BSB: Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai has been destroyed; cry out, O daughters of Rabbah! Put on sackcloth and mourn; run back and forth within your walls, for Milcom will go into exile together with his priests and officials.
4 Brenton Why do ye exult in the plains of the Enakim, thou haughty daughter, that trustest in thy treasures, that sayest, Who shall come in to me? BSB BSB: Why do you boast of your valleys—your valleys so fruitful, O faithless daughter? You trust in your riches and say, ‘Who can come against me?’
5 Brenton Behold, I will bring terror upon thee, saith the Lord, from all the country round about thee; and ye shall be scattered every one right before him, and there is none to gather you. BSB BSB: Behold, I am about to bring terror upon you, declares the Lord GOD of Hosts, from all those around you. You will each be driven headlong, with no one to regather the fugitives.
Judgment on Edom (Obadiah 1:1–14)
7 Brenton Concerning Idumea, thus saith the Lord; There is no longer wisdom in Thæman, counsel has perished from the wise ones, their wisdom is gone, BSB BSB: Concerning Edom, this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Is there no longer wisdom in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom decayed?
8 Brenton their place has been deceived. Dig deep for a dwelling, ye that inhabit Dædam, for he has wrought grievously: I brought trouble upon him in the time at which I visited him. BSB BSB: Turn and run! Lie low, O dwellers of Dedan, for I will bring disaster on Esau at the time I punish him.
9 Brenton For grape-gatherers are come, who shall not leave thee a remnant; as thieves by night, they shall lay their hand upon thy possessions . BSB BSB: If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave some gleanings? Were thieves to come in the night, would they not steal only what they wanted?
10 Brenton For I have stripped Esau, I have uncovered their secret places; they shall have no power to hide themselves, they have perished each by the hand of his brother, my neighbour, and it is impossible BSB BSB: But I will strip Esau bare; I will uncover his hiding places, and he will be unable to conceal himself. His descendants will be destroyed along with his relatives and neighbors, and he will be no more.
11 Brenton for thy fatherless one to be left to live, but I shall live, and the widows trust in me. BSB BSB: Abandon your orphans; I will preserve their lives. Let your widows trust in Me.”
12 Brenton For thus saith the Lord; They who were not appointed to drink the cup have drunk it ; and thou shalt by no means be cleared: BSB BSB: For this is what the LORD says: “If those who do not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, can you possibly remain unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for you must drink it too.
13 Brenton for by myself I have sworn, saith the Lord, that thou shalt be in the midst of her an impassable land , and a reproach, and a curse; and all her cities shall be desert for ever. BSB BSB: For by Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, that Bozrah will become a desolation, a disgrace, a ruin, and a curse, and all her cities will be in ruins forever.”
14 Brenton I have heard a report from the Lord, and he has sent messengers to the nations, saying , Assemble yourselves, and come against her; rise ye up to war. BSB BSB: I have heard a message from the LORD; an envoy has been sent to the nations: “Assemble yourselves to march against her! Rise up for battle!”
15 Brenton I have made thee small among the nations, utterly contemptible among men. BSB BSB: “For behold, I will make you small among nations, despised among men.
16 Brenton Thine insolence has risen up against thee, the fierceness of thine heart has burst the holes of the rocks, it has seized upon the strength of a lofty hill; for as an eagle he set his nest on high: thence will I bring thee down. BSB BSB: The terror you cause and the pride of your heart have deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks, O occupiers of the mountain summit. Though you elevate your nest like the eagle, even from there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD.
17 Brenton And Idumea shall be a desert: every one that passes by shall hiss at it. BSB BSB: “Edom will become an object of horror. All who pass by will be appalled and will scoff at all her wounds.
18 Brenton As Sodom was overthrown and Gomorrha and they that sojourned in her, saith the Lord Almighty, no man shall dwell there, nor shall any son of man inhabit there. BSB BSB: As Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown along with their neighbors,” says the LORD, “no one will dwell there; no man will abide there.
19 Brenton Behold, he shall come up as a lion out of the midst of Jordan to the place of Ætham: for I will speedily drive them from it, and do ye set the young men against her: for who is like me? and who will withstand me? and who is this shepherd, who shall confront me? BSB BSB: Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan to the watered pasture. For in an instant I will chase Edom from her land. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? For who is like Me, and who can challenge Me? What shepherd can stand against Me?”
20 Brenton Therefore hear ye the counsel of the Lord, which he has framed against Idumea; and his device, which he has devised against the inhabitants of Thæman: surely the least of the sheep shall be swept off; surely their dwelling shall be made desolate for them. BSB BSB: Therefore hear the plans that the LORD has drawn up against Edom and the strategies He has devised against the people of Teman: Surely the little ones of the flock will be dragged away; certainly their pasture will be made desolate because of them.
21 Brenton For at the sound of their fall the earth was scared, and the cry of the sea was not heard. BSB BSB: At the sound of their fall the earth will quake; their cry will resound to the Red Sea.
22 Brenton Behold, he shall look upon her as an eagle, and spread forth his wings over her strongholds; and the heart of the mighty men of Idumea shall be in that day as the heart of a woman in her pangs. BSB BSB: Look! An eagle will soar and swoop down, spreading its wings over Bozrah. In that day the hearts of Edom’s mighty men will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
Judgment on Damascus (Isaiah 17:1–14)
23 Brenton Concerning Damascus. Emath is brought to shame, and Arphath: for they have heard an evil report: they are amazed, they are angry, they shall be utterly unable to rest. BSB BSB: Concerning Damascus: “Hamath and Arpad are put to shame, for they have heard a bad report; they are agitated like the sea; their anxiety cannot be calmed.
24 Brenton Damascus is utterly weakened, she is put to flight; trembling has seized upon her. BSB BSB: Damascus has become feeble; she has turned to flee. Panic has gripped her; anguish and pain have seized her like a woman in labor.
25 Brenton How has she not left my city, they have loved the village? BSB BSB: How is the city of praise not forsaken, the town that brings Me joy?
26 Brenton Therefore shall the young men fall in thy streets, and all thy warriors shall fall, saith the Lord. BSB BSB: For her young men will fall in the streets, and all her warriors will be silenced in that day,” declares the LORD of Hosts.
27 Brenton And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall devour the streets of the son of Ader. BSB BSB: “I will set fire to the walls of Damascus; it will consume the fortresses of Ben-hadad.”
Judgment on Kedar and Hazor 28 Brenton Concerning Kedar the Queen of the Palace, whom Nabuchodonosor King of Babylon smote, thus saith the Lord; Arise ye, and go up to Kedar, and fill the sons of Kedem. BSB BSB: Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated, this is what the LORD says: “Rise up, advance against Kedar, and destroy the people of the east!
29 Brenton They shall take their tents and their sheep, they shall take for themselves their garments, and all their baggage and their camels; and summon ye destruction against them from every side. BSB BSB: They will take their tents and flocks, their tent curtains and all their goods. They will take their camels for themselves. They will shout to them: ‘Terror is on every side!’
30 Brenton Flee ye, dig very deep for a dwelling-place, ye that dwell in the palace; for the king of Babylon has framed a counsel, and devised a device against you. BSB BSB: Run! Escape quickly! Lie low, O residents of Hazor,” declares the LORD, “for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has drawn up a plan against you; he has devised a strategy against you.
31 Brenton Rise up, and go up against a nation settled and dwelling at ease, who have no doors, nor bolts, nor bars, who dwell alone. BSB BSB: Rise up, advance against a nation at ease, one that dwells securely,” declares the LORD. “They have no gates or bars; they live alone.
32 Brenton And their camels shall be a spoil, and the multitude of their cattle shall be destroyed: and I will scatter them as chaff with every wind, having their hair cut about their foreheads, I will bring on their overthrow from all sides, saith the Lord. BSB BSB: Their camels will become plunder, and their large herds will be spoil. I will scatter to the wind in every direction those who shave their temples; I will bring calamity on them from all sides,” declares the LORD.
33 Brenton And the palace shall be a resting-place for ostriches, and desolate for ever: no man shall abide there, and no son of man shall dwell there. BSB BSB: “Hazor will become a haunt for jackals, a desolation forever. No one will dwell there; no man will abide there.”
Judgment on Elam 34 Brenton The Prophecies of Jeremias against the Nations of Ælam. BSB BSB: This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah.
35 Brenton Thus saith the Lord, The bow of Ælam is broken, even the chief of their power. BSB BSB: This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Behold, I will shatter Elam’s bow, the mainstay of their might.
36 Brenton And I will bring upon Ælam the four winds from the four corners of heaven, and I will disperse them toward all these winds; and there shall be no nation to which they shall not come—even the outcasts of Ælam. BSB BSB: I will bring the four winds against Elam from the four corners of the heavens, and I will scatter them to all these winds. There will not be a nation to which Elam’s exiles will not go.
37 Brenton And I will put them in fear before their enemies that seek their life; and I will bring evils upon them according to my great anger; and I will send forth my sword after them, until I have utterly destroyed them. BSB BSB: So I will shatter Elam before their foes, before those who seek their lives. I will bring disaster upon them, even My fierce anger,” declares the LORD. “I will send out the sword after them until I finish them off.
38 Brenton And I will set my throne in Ælam, and will send forth thence king and rulers. BSB BSB: I will set My throne in Elam, and destroy its king and officials,” declares the LORD.
39 Brenton But it shall come to pass at the end of days, that I will turn the captivity of Ælam, saith the Lord. In the beginning of the reign of king Sedekias, there came this word concerning Ælam. BSB BSB: “Yet in the last days, I will restore Elam from captivity,” declares the LORD.