“Says Yahweh.
‘I have sworn
By myself
That Bozrah
Shall become
An object
Of horror,
Of ridicule,
Of a waste,
Of cursing.
All her towns
Shall be
Perpetual wastes.’”
Bozrah was the capital city of Edom in northern Edom, modern day Jordan. Yahweh swore to himself that this capital of the Edomites would become an object of horror, a place of ridicule and a waste, as well as a cursed place. All its surrounding towns would become perpetual waste sites.
“Thus says Yahweh.
‘If those who did 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.’”
Yahweh, via Jeremiah, said that the Edomites still had to drink from the cup of Yahweh’s wrath. Even if they did not deserve it, they would not go unpunished. Here Yahweh seems to indicate that the Edomites did not deserve the punishment that they were getting. However, they could not go unpunished. Thus they had to drink from this cup of wrath.
“But as for me,
I have stripped
Esau bare.
I have uncovered
His hiding places.
He is not able
To conceal himself.
His offspring are destroyed.
His kinsfolk are no more.
His neighbors are no more.
He is no more.
Leave your orphans!
I will keep them alive.
Let your widows trust
In me.”
Yahweh clearly says that he has destroyed Edom, the home of Esau, Jacob’s brother. He has stripped them bare, since they no longer have any hiding places. The men, their offspring, their families, and their neighbors have all been wiped out. They are no longer living anymore. However, Yahweh has a word of consolation for the Edomites. He was going to take care of their orphans and widows. Somehow, the orphans and widows were the privileged protected ones, whether in Israel or not.
“Concerning Edom!
Thus says Yahweh of hosts!
‘Is there no longer wisdom
In Teman?
Has counsel perished
From the prudent?
Has their wisdom vanished?
Flee!
Turn back!
Get down low!
O inhabitants of Dedan!
I will bring
The calamity of Esau
Upon him,
Like the time
When I punished him.
If grape-gatherers
Came to you,
Would they not
Leave gleanings?
If thieves came
By night,
Would they not pillage
Only what they wanted?”
Edom was south of the Dead Sea, south of Moab and south of Judah. Its biblical origin was the place where Esau, the twin brother of Jacob, went to live in Genesis, chapter 36. Yahweh has a series of questions for Edom. What happened to their wisdom, especially at Teman, perhaps a tribal group in Edom, since Teman was the name of the grandson of Esau. One of Job’s friends Eliphaz was a Temanite. Obadiah, an almost unknown minor prophet, seemed to take some of this diatribe against Edom into most of his work. Something has happened to the counsel and prudence of Edom. Has all their wisdom vanished? Dedan was a tribe involved in commerce. Both grape gatherers and thieves would leave something behind. They would not take everything. Thus the grape pickers would leave some grapes for the later gleaners to come along and get some of these overlooked grapes. The same is true about nightly thieves who would only take what they needed.
“‘But afterward
I will restore
The fortunes
Of the Ammonites.’
Says Yahweh.”
Just like with the Moabites, Yahweh was going to restore the Ammonites to the fortunes that they had. Yahweh always seems to be merciful after strongly criticizing a group of people. Thus this short section about the Ammonites comes to an end with a future restoration.
“‘Why do you boast
In your strength?
Your strength is ebbing.
O faithless daughter!
You trusted
In your treasures.
Saying,
‘Who will attack me?’
Says Yahweh
God of hosts.
‘I am going to bring terror
Upon you
From your neighbors.
You will be scattered,
Each headlong,
With no one
To gather the fugitives.’”
Yahweh, via Jeremiah, was clear. The Ammonites were going to suffer in terror. Why had they boasted about their strength, when they were actually losing strength. They had trusted in their treasures, thinking that no one would be able to attack them. Yahweh had other plans for them, although he also called them faithless daughters as if they were like the northern Israelites. They were going to be attacked by their neighbors, scattered headlong against each other. There would be no one left to gather all those who were fleeing Ammon.
“Says Yahweh.
‘Therefore,
The time is surely coming,
When I will sound
The battle alarm
Against Rabbah
Of the Ammonites.
It shall become
A desolate mound.
Its villages
Shall be burned
With fire.
Then Israel shall dispossess
Those who dispossessed him.’
Says Yahweh.
‘Wail!
O Heshbon!
Ai is laid waste!
Cry out!
O daughters of Rabbah!
Put on sackcloth!
Lament!
Slash yourselves
With whips!
Milcom shall go
Into exile,
With his priests,
With his attendants.’”
Yahweh spoke about the destruction of the major cities in Ammon. Rabbah was the capital city of Ammon that would become a desolate mound with its various villages around it. They would be burned to the ground. Thus the dispossessed Israelites would be able to re-possess it. However, it is not the Israelites who are invading, but the Babylonians. Heshbon was the ancient city of King Sihon that had been captured by the Israelites. It was part of the Reuben territory and then Gad territory, since it was almost on the border between Moab and Ammon. The city of Ai was near Bethel in the Benjamin territory on the west side of the Jordan River. However, here this is another otherwise unknown city named Ai near Heshbon. All of these cities were going to lament their situation with mourning and sack cloth. Their god Milcom with his priests and attendants would also go into exile.
“Concerning the Ammonites!
Thus says Yahweh!
‘Has Israel no sons?
Has he no heir?
Why then has Milcom
Dispossessed Gad?
Why has he dispossessed
His people?
Why has he settled
In its cities?’”
The Ammonites, like the Moabites, were considered the descendants of the incest of Lot with his second daughter from the story in Genesis, chapter 19. The country of Ammon was north of Moab, but south of Aram and Damascus. The country of Ammon existed from about the 10th century to the 4th century BCE in what would have been the Gad territory as outlined in Joshua chapter 13. Today it is part of the country of Jordan. Yahweh seems upset at Ammon. Did not Israel have sons and heirs to live in this Gad territory? Milcom, the god of the Ammonites, was a lot like Molech, the god of the Moabites. Some believe it was the same god with slightly different spellings for each country. This god Milcom had dispossessed the people of Yahweh and settled in their cities. In the Septuagint Greek translation, this is chapter 30, not chapter 49 as here.
“‘Yet I will restore
The fortunes of Moab
In the latter days.’
Says Yahweh.
Thus far is
The judgment on Moab.”
Thus this long chapter on Moab ends with a future undated restoration of Moab. After this entire long diatribe, Yahweh was still going to let Moab establish itself again, but no specific time was mentioned.
“‘Terror!
Pit!
Trap!
They are before you!
O inhabitants of Moab!’
Says Yahweh.
‘Everyone
Who flees from the terror
Shall fall into the pit.
Everyone who climbs
Out of the pit
Shall be caught in the trap.
I will bring these things
Upon Moab,
In the year of their punishment.’
Says Yahweh.
In the shadow of Heshbon,
Fugitives stop exhausted.
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.
Woe to you!
O Moab!
The people of Chemosh
Have perished.
Your sons
Have been taken captive.
Your daughters
Have been taken into captivity.”
There would be terror to hit Moab, like the terror of the apocalypse judgment day of Isaiah, chapter 24. Terror was all around with pits and snares to catch people. If they fled, they would fall into a pit. Even if they crawled out of the pit, they would be caught in a trap. There was no escape. They tried to flee to Heshbon, the capital of Ammon, the country north of Moab. However, they were surprised to learn that Heshbon was also on fire. This was the capital city of King Sihon, or house of Sihon, dating back to the days of Joshua, chapter 21. The Moabites would have problems with their foreheads and scalps. They would be cursed, and then perish. The people with their god Chemosh would lose their sons and daughters to captivity.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 