“Has Israel no sons?

Has he no heir?

Why then has ^bMilcom^{1 c}dispossessed Gad,

and his people settled in its cities?

2  Therefore, behold, the days are coming,

declares the Lord,

when I will cause ^dthe battle cry to be heard

against ^eRabbah of the Ammonites;

it shall become a desolate ^fmound,

and its villages shall be burned with fire;

then Israel shall dispossess those who dispossessed him,

says the Lord.

3  “Wail, O ^gHeshbon, for Ai is laid waste!

Cry out, O daughters of ^eRabbah!

^hPut on sackcloth,

lament, and run to and fro among the hedges!

For ⁱMilcom shall go into exile,

^jwith his priests and his officials.

4  Why do you boast of your valleys,²

^kO faithless daughter,

^lwho trusted in her treasures, saying,

‘Who will come against me?’

5  Behold, ^mI will bring terror upon you,

declares the Lord God of hosts,

from all who are around you,

and you shall be driven out, every man straight before him,

with none to gather the fugitives.

^p“Is wisdom no more in ^pTeman?

^qHas counsel perished from the prudent?

^qHas their wisdom vanished?

8  ^rFlee, turn back, dwell in the depths,

O inhabitants of ^sDedan!

For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him,

^tthe time when I punish him.

9  ^uIf grape gatherers came to you,

would they not leave ^vgleanings?

^uIf thieves came by night,

would they not destroy only enough for themselves?

10  ^wBut I have stripped Esau bare;

^uI have uncovered his hiding places,

and he is not able to conceal himself.

His children are destroyed, and his brothers,

and his neighbors; and ^xhe is no more.

11  ^yLeave your fatherless children; I will keep them alive;

^yand let your widows trust in me.”

14  ^eI have heard a message from the Lord,

and an envoy has been sent among the nations:

^f“Gather yourselves together and come against her,

and rise up for battle!

15  For behold, I will make you small among the nations,

despised among mankind.

16  The horror you inspire has deceived you,

and the pride of your heart,

you who live in the clefts of the rock,¹

who hold the height of the hill.

Though you ^gmake your nest as high as the eagle’s,

I will bring you down from there,

declares the Lord.

^a“Hamath and ^bArpad are confounded,

for they have heard bad news;

they melt in fear,

^cthey are troubled like the sea that cannot be quiet.

24  ^zDamascus has become feeble, ^dshe turned to flee,

and panic seized her;

anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her,

as ^yof a woman in labor.

25  How is ^ethe famous city not forsaken,

the city of my joy?

26  ^fTherefore her young men shall fall in her squares,

and all her soldiers shall be destroyed in that day,

declares the Lord of hosts.

27  And ^gI will kindle a fire in the wall of ^zDamascus,

and it shall devour the strongholds of ^hBen-hadad.”

Thus says the Lord:

^j“Rise up, advance against ⁱKedar!

Destroy ^kthe people of the east!

29  ^lTheir tents and their flocks shall be taken,

their ^lcurtains and all their goods;

their camels shall be led away from them,

and men shall cry to them: ^m‘Terror on every side!’

30  ⁿFlee, wander far away, dwell in the depths,

O inhabitants of Hazor!

declares the Lord.

For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon

has made a plan against you

and formed a purpose against you.

31  ^j“Rise up, advance against a nation ^oat ease,

^pthat dwells securely,

declares the Lord,

^pthat has no gates or bars,

that dwells alone.

32  ^qTheir camels shall become plunder,

their herds of livestock a spoil.

^rI will scatter to every wind

^sthose who cut the corners of their hair,

and I will bring their calamity

from every side of them,

declares the Lord.

33  Hazor shall become ^ta haunt of jackals,

an everlasting waste;

^uno man shall dwell there;

^uno man shall sojourn in her.”