18. As when Sodom, Gomorrah, and their neighbors were overthrown—oracle of the Lord—no one shall live in it, nor anyone settle there.
19. As when a lion comes up from a thicket of the Jordanto a permanent pasture,So in an instant, I will chase them off;I will establish there whomever I choose.For who is like me? Who holds me accountable?What shepherd can stand against me?
20. Therefore, listen to the strategythe Lord devised for Edom;The plans he has drawn upagainst the inhabitants of Teman:They shall be dragged away, even the smallest of the flock;their pasture shall be aghast because of them.
21. With the din of their collapse the earth quakes,to the Red Sea the outcry is heard!
22. Look! like an eagle he soars aloft,and spreads his wings over Bozrah;On that day the hearts of Edom’s warriors becomelike the heart of a woman in labor.
23. Concerning Damascus.Hamath and Arpad are shamed,for they have heard bad news;Anxious, they surge like the seawhich cannot calm down.
24. Damascus loses heart, turns to flee;panic has seized it.Distress and pangs take hold,like the pain of a woman in labor.
25. How can the glorious city be abandoned,the town of joy!
26. But now its young men shall fall in its squares,all the warriors destroyed on that day—oracle of the Lord of hosts.
27. I will set fire to the wall of Damascus;it shall devour the palaces of Ben-hadad.
28. About Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, defeated.Thus says the Lord:Rise up, attack Kedar,destroy the people from the east.
29. Their tents and flocks shall be taken away,their tent curtains and all their goods;Their camels they carry off,they shout over them, “Terror on every side!”
30. Flee! wander about, hide deep for lodging,inhabitants of Hazor—oracle of the Lord;For Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, has devised a strategy against you,drawn up a plan against you,
31. Get up! set out against a tranquil nation,living in security—oracle of the Lord—Without gates or bars,dwelling alone.
32. Their camels shall become spoils,their hordes of cattle, plunder;I will scatter to the winds those who shave their temples;from every side I will bring their ruin—oracle of the Lord.
33. Hazor shall become a haunt for jackals,a wasteland forever,Where no one lives,no mortal stays.
34. 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. Thus says the Lord of hosts:Look! I will break the bow of Elam,the mainstay of their might.
36. I will bring upon Elam the four windsfrom the four ends of the heavens:I will scatter them to all these winds, until there is no nationto which the outcasts of Elam have not gone.
37. I will terrify Elam before their foes,those seeking their life;I will bring evil upon them,my burning wrath—oracle of the Lord.I will send sword after themuntil I have finished them off;
38. I will set up my throne in Elamand destroy from there king and princes—oracle of the Lord.