1. This message was given concerning the Ammonites. This is what the lord says:“Are there no descendants of Israelto inherit the land of Gad?Why are you, who worship Molech,living in its towns?
2. In the days to come,” says the lord,“I will sound the battle cry against your city of Rabbah.It will become a desolate heap of ruins,and the neighboring towns will be burned.Then Israel will take back the landyou took from her,” says the lord.
3. “Cry out, O Heshbon,for the town of Ai is destroyed.Weep, O people of Rabbah!Put on your clothes of mourning.Weep and wail, hiding in the hedges,for your god Molech, with his priests and officials,will be hauled off to distant lands.
4. You are proud of your fertile valleys,but they will soon be ruined.You trusted in your wealth,you rebellious daughter,and thought no one could ever harm you.
5. But look! I will bring terror upon you,”says the Lord, the lord of Heaven’s Armies.“Your neighbors will chase you from your land,and no one will help your exiles as they flee.
6. But I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonitesin days to come.I, the lord, have spoken.”
7. This message was given concerning Edom. This is what the lord of Heaven’s Armies says:“Is there no wisdom in Teman?Is no one left to give wise counsel?
8. Turn and flee!Hide in deep caves, you people of Dedan!For when I bring disaster on Edom,I will punish you, too!
9. Those who harvest grapesalways leave a few for the poor.If thieves came at night,they would not take everything.
10. But I will strip bare the land of Edom,and there will be no place left to hide.Its children, its brothers, and its neighborswill all be destroyed,and Edom itself will be no more.
11. But I will protect the orphans who remain among you.Your widows, too, can depend on me for help.”
12. And this is what the lord says: “If the innocent must suffer, how much more must you! You will not go unpunished! You must drink this cup of judgment!
13. For I have sworn by my own name,” says the lord, “that Bozrah will become an object of horror and a heap of ruins; it will be mocked and cursed. All its towns and villages will be desolate forever.”