← All Chapters The Book of Jeremiah · Chapter 49

Jeremiah 49: Oracles Against the Nations

Ammon, Edom, Damascus, Kedar, and Elam each face God's judgment, yet for some the LORD still promises to bring back their captivity in days to come.

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Jeremiah 49 (WEB)

1 Of the children of Ammon. Thus says Yahweh: Has Israel no sons? has he no heir? why then does Malcam possess Gad, and his people well in its cities?

2 Therefore behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard against Rabbah of the children of Ammon; and it shall become a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel possess those who possessed him, says Yahweh.

3 Wail, Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste; cry, you daughters of Rabbah, clothe yourself in sackcloth: lament, and run back and forth among the fences; for Malcam shall go into captivity, his priests and his princes together.

4 Why do you glory in the valleys, your flowing valley, backsliding daughter? who trusted in her treasures, saying, Who shall come to me?

5 Behold, I will bring a fear on you, says the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, from all who are around you; and you shall be driven out every man right out, and there shall be no one to gather together the fugitives.

6 But afterward I will bring back the captivity of the children of Ammon, says Yahweh.

7 Of Edom. Thus says Yahweh of Armies: Is wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished?

8 Flee, turn back, dwell in the depths, inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau on him, the time that I shall visit him.

9 If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? if thieves by night, wouldn’t they destroy until they had enough?

10 But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is destroyed, and his brothers, and his neighbors; and he is no more.

11 Leave your fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let your widows trust in me.

12 For thus says Yahweh: Behold, they to whom it didn’t pertain to drink of the cup shall certainly drink; and are you he who shall altogether go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, but you shall surely drink.

13 For I have sworn by myself, says Yahweh, that Bozrah shall become an astonishment, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all its cities shall be perpetual wastes.

14 I have heard news from Yahweh, and an ambassador is sent among the nations, saying, Gather yourselves together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle.

15 For, behold, I have made you small among the nations, and despised among men.

16 As for your terror, the pride of your heart has deceived you, O you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, who hold the height of the hill: though you should make your nest as high as the eagle, I will bring you down from there, says Yahweh.

17 Edom shall become an astonishment: everyone who passes by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all its plagues.

18 As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbor cities of it, says Yahweh, no man shall dwell there, neither shall any son of man live therein.

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

20 Therefore hear the counsel of Yahweh, that he has taken against Edom; and his purposes, that he has purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely they shall drag them away, the little ones of the flock; surely he shall make their habitation desolate over them.

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

22 Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, 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.

23 Of Damascus. Hamath is confounded, and Arpad; for they have heard evil news, they are melted away: there is sorrow on the sea; it can’t be quiet.

24 Damascus has grown feeble, she turns herself to flee, and trembling has seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her, as of a woman in travail.

25 How is the city of praise not forsaken, the city of my joy?

26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be brought to silence in that day, says Yahweh of Armies.

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

28 Of Kedar, and of the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck. Thus says Yahweh: Arise, go up to Kedar, and destroy the children of the east.

29 Their 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 cry to them, Terror on every side!

30 Flee, wander far off, dwell in the depths, you inhabitants of Hazor, says Yahweh; for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has taken counsel against you, and has conceived a purpose against you.

31 Arise, go up to a nation that is at ease, that dwells without care, says Yahweh; that have neither gates nor bars, that dwell alone.

32 Their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their livestock a plunder: and I will scatter to all winds those who have the corners of their beards cut off; and I will bring their calamity from every side of them, says Yahweh.

33 Hazor shall be a dwelling place of jackals, a desolation forever: no man shall dwell there, neither shall any son of man live therein.

34 Yahweh’s word that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,

35 Thus says Yahweh of Armies: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might.

36 On Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of the sky, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation where the outcasts of Elam shall not come.

37 I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before those who seek their life; and I will bring evil on them, even my fierce anger, says Yahweh; and I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them;

38 and I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from there king and princes, says Yahweh.

39 But it shall happen in the latter days, that I will bring back the captivity of Elam, says Yahweh.

Summary

This chapter gathers a series of oracles against several of Judah's neighbors. Ammon, who seized Israel's territory and trusted in her treasures, will hear the alarm of war and go into captivity, yet God promises afterward to bring back her captivity. Edom, proud in her rocky strongholds and famed for wisdom, is told that her pride has deceived her; though she nests as high as the eagle, God will bring her down, leaving her an astonishment like Sodom and Gomorrah. Damascus, the city of praise, melts in fear and sorrow, her young men falling in the streets as fire devours her palaces. The desert tribes of Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, struck by Nebuchadnezzar, are scattered to every wind, their tents and camels carried off. Finally, Elam in the distant east will have her might broken and her people scattered to the four winds before God's fierce anger—yet here too the LORD promises to bring back her captivity in the latter days. Throughout, the refrain is the same: “who is like me?” No nation, however proud or remote, lies outside God's rule.

Key Figures

  • Ammon and Edom — Neighboring nations judged for seizing Israel's land and for proud self-trust, yet Ammon is promised a future restoration.
  • Damascus — The renowned city of Syria, melting in fear as God's fire consumes the palaces of Ben Hadad.
  • Kedar, Hazor, and Elam — Desert tribes and a distant eastern power, scattered to the winds by God's judgment through Babylon, with Elam promised later mercy.
  • Yahweh (the LORD) — The incomparable God—“who is like me?”—who rules and judges every nation near and far, and who still extends hope of restoration.

Key Verse

Jeremiah 49:11 (WEB)

Leave your fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let your widows trust in me.

Lessons Learned

  • Pride in wisdom, strength, or location offers no shelter from the God who rules all nations.
  • God's incomparable sovereignty—“who is like me?”—extends to the farthest and proudest peoples.
  • Even amid judgment, God shows tender care, preserving the fatherless and bidding widows trust him.
  • Judgment is not always God's final word; he promises to restore the captivity of some nations.
  • Pride deceives the heart. “the pride of your heart has deceived you” (Jeremiah 49:16, WEB). Edom's confidence in her cliffs blinded her to the God who could bring her down.
  • No height escapes God's reach. “though you should make your nest as high as the eagle, I will bring you down” (Jeremiah 49:16, WEB). Human security cannot rise above God's sovereign hand.
  • God cares for the helpless even in judgment. “Leave your fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let your widows trust in me” (Jeremiah 49:11, WEB). His mercy reaches the vulnerable amid the storm.
  • God is utterly incomparable. “for who is like me? and who will appoint me a time?” (Jeremiah 49:19, WEB). No power or ruler can summon or stand against the Lord of the nations.
  1. What do these varied oracles together teach about the scope of God's authority?
  2. How does Edom's misplaced confidence in her rocky strongholds mirror the way people trust in their own defenses?
  3. What surprising note of tenderness appears in verse 11, and why is it striking amid words of judgment?
  4. Why does God repeatedly ask, “who is like me?” in these oracles?
  5. How does knowing that God rules every nation—even those far from you—shape your prayers and your trust?
  1. From neighboring Ammon and Edom to distant Elam in the east, every nation falls under God's word. Together the oracles declare that no people—near or far, mighty or obscure—lies beyond his rule. The God of Israel is the God of all the earth.
  2. Edom felt safe “in the clefts of the rock” and on the heights (49:16), trusting geography and reputation for wisdom. People likewise lean on defenses, expertise, or position. God's word exposes such confidence as self-deception when set against his power.
  3. Amid threats of ruin, God says, “Leave your fatherless children, I will preserve them alive” (49:11). This tender provision for the vulnerable shows that even in judgment God's compassion is at work, distinguishing the innocent and inviting trust.
  4. The question “who is like me?” (49:19) underscores God's incomparable sovereignty; no one can summon him, fix his timing, or withstand him. It anchors the oracles in worship of a God whose authority over the nations is absolute.
  5. This is a personal-application question. Encourage members to pray for nations and peoples far from them, trusting that God reigns there too. As leader, connect this to confidence in prayer and to hope for the gospel among all peoples.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), the King James Version (KJV), and the American Standard Version (ASV), all of which are in the public domain.