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1 Concerning the Ammonites, thus saith the Lord; Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? why then doth their king inherit Gad, and his people dwell in his cities?

2 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites; and it shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel be heir unto them that were his heirs, saith the Lord.

3 Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled: cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth; lament, and run to and fro by the hedges; for their king shall go into captivity, and his priests and his princes together.

4 Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys, thy flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? that trusted in her treasures, saying, Who shall come unto me?

5 Behold, I will bring a fear upon thee, saith the Lord God of hosts, from all those that be about thee; and ye shall be driven out every man right forth; and none shall gather up him that wandereth.

6 And afterward I will bring again the captivity of the children of Ammon, saith the Lord.

7 Concerning Edom, thus saith the Lord of hosts; Is wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished?

8 Flee ye, turn back, dwell deep, O inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time that I will visit him.

9 If grapegatherers come to thee, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? if thieves by night, they will destroy till they have 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 spoiled, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he is not.

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

12 For thus saith the Lord; Behold, they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunken; and art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink of it.

13 For I have sworn by myself, saith the Lord, that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes.

14 I have heard a rumour from the Lord, and an ambassador is sent unto the heathen, saying, Gather ye together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle.

15 For, lo, I will make thee small among the heathen, and despised among men.

16 Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the Lord.

17 Also Edom shall be a desolation: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof.

18 As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the Lord, no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it.

19 Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan against the habitation of the strong: but I will suddenly make him run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me?

20 Therefore hear the counsel of the Lord, that he hath taken against Edom; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitations desolate with them.

21 The earth is moved at the noise of their fall, at the cry the noise thereof was heard in the Red sea.

22 Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread his wings over Bozrah: and at that day shall the heart of the mighty men of Edom be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.

23 Concerning Damascus. Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea; it cannot be quiet.

24 Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.

25 How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!

26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the Lord of hosts.

27 And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.

28 Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon shall smite, thus saith the Lord; Arise ye, go up to Kedar, and spoil the men of the east.

29 Their tents and their flocks shall they take away: they shall take to themselves their curtains, and all their vessels, and their camels; and they shall cry unto them, Fear is on every side.

30 Flee, get you far off, dwell deep, O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith the Lord; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath taken counsel against you, and hath conceived a purpose against you.

31 Arise, get you up unto the wealthy nation, that dwelleth without care, saith the Lord, which have neither gates nor bars, which dwell alone.

32 And their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil: and I will scatter into all winds them that are in the utmost corners; and I will bring their calamity from all sides thereof, saith the Lord.

33 And Hazor shall be a dwelling for dragons, and a desolation for ever: there shall no man abide there, nor any son of man dwell in it.

34 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,

35 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might.

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

37 For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger, saith the Lord; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them:

38 And I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence the king and the princes, saith the Lord.

39 But it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring again the captivity of Elam, saith the Lord.

<html><b>Has Israel no sons?</b> The ‘beth’ is weak [without a ‘dagesh’], and the ‘heh’ is vowelized with a ‘hataph-pattah,’ which is an expression of wonder [interrogative]. <b>Malcam</b> The deity of the children of Ammon is named Malcam, as it is stated: “And to Milcom, the abomination of the children of Ammon” (II Kings 23:13), an expression of מֶלֶךְ, a king.</html>

<html><b>for Ai has been spoiled</b> Ai, that is near it, [has been spoiled,] and it is of the land of Ammon. <b>O villages of Rabbah</b> Rabbah of the children of Ammon. <b>and mobilize in companies</b> Heb. והתשוטטנה בגדרות. Jonathan renders: ואתהמכוּן בסיעָן, mobilize in companies. He interprets והתשוטטנה as an expression of armies that run to and fro (משוטטים) ; and גדרות is an expression of sheepcotes full of flocks, and can be interpreted as “and roll in the dung of the sheepcotes,” an expression of contempt. [Onkelos translates:] “And Esau despised” (Gen. 25:34), ושט עשו.</html>

<html><b>You boast</b> Heb. תתהללי (vanter in French). <b>about the valleys?</b> That your land is a land of valleys and lack of rainfall is not harmful to it since the sun does not penetrate into it. <b>Your valley is flowing</b> A misfortune of an overabundance of rain shall come upon it until the water will flow in the valley and inundate the roots of the grain So did Menahem [Machbereth Menahem p. 77] explain it.</html>

<html><b>each man forward</b> Anyone who can hurry and flee. <b>the wanderer</b> The term [לנדד] derives from נע ונד, “a wanderer and an exile” (Gen. 4:14).</html>

<html><b>in the south?</b> Edom is in the south of Eretz Israel, as it is stated. “And your south side shall be from the desert of Zin close by the side of Edom” (Num. 34:3). <b>from the sons</b> Heb. מבנים, from this generation. <b>has spoiled</b> Heb. נסרחה.</html>

<html><b>Clear out!</b> Heb. הפנו. Vacate this place. This is an expression of “And they shall clear out (וּפְּנוּ) the house” (Lev. 14:36). <b>Dwell deep</b> to hide in the secret valleys. נֻסוּ הָפְנוּ הֶעְמִקוּ are all in the imperative form.</html>

<html><b>If vintagers have come upon you, etc.</b> I have exposed Esau, etc. I have heard tidings, etc. On this order, Obadiah prophesied concerning Edom, but since one watchword is passed to many prophets, but no two prophets prophesy under the same watchword, they differ in several words. <b>will they not leave over gleaning grapes?</b> This is the interrogative. Yet the spoilers who came upon you left over nothing for you.</html>

<html><b>I exposed</b> Heb. חשפתי, uncovered. Cf. “the exposure (מַחְשֹף) of the white” (Gen. 30:37). And you delivered the survivors of Israel in order that no one remain of them, as it is stated: “Neither should you have delivered his survivors” (Obadiah 1:14). <b>and he could not hide</b> He will seek to hide but will be unable.</html>

<html><b>Leave your orphans</b> whom you have orphaned of Israel.</html>

<html><b>those who do not deserve to drink</b> For they were not brothers to Israel, and if they harmed them, they do not deserve the death sentence like you.</html>

<html><b>that Bozrah shall become desolation, reproach, waste, and a curse</b> Bozrah was one of the cities of Moab, but because it raised up a king for Edom, as the matter is stated, “And Jobab the son of Zerah from Bozrah” (Gen. 36:33), it will suffer with them.</html>

<html><b>I have made you small</b> For they have no king who is the son of a king. It was not their custom to set up a king the son of a king.</html>

<html><b>Your hastiness</b> Heb. תפלצתך, an expression of haste, for you hurried and were hasty to arouse your hatred for your brother. And there are some who translate this as an expression of fright (פַּלָצוּת), and there are some who translate it as an expression of an image (מפלצת). <b>has enticed you</b> to harm them. <b>you who dwell</b> Heb. שכני, like שׁוֹכֵן. <b>who hold</b> תפשי, like תּופֵשׂ, and the ‘yud’ is superfluous in it.</html>

<html><b>as a lion</b> that ascends from the heights of the Jordan, which is a place frequented by lions, as Jonathan renders, so shall the enemy ascend upon the strong dwelling place. <b>for I will bring the moment</b> Heb. ארגיעה. <b>I will hasten him away from her</b> Suddenly and successfully he shall destroy her and return in a brief movement to his place. But I say that אריצנוּ מעליה means: I will hasten him over her, that he shall overpower her and be over her. Cf. “Above (ממעל) the expanse” (Gen. 1: 7); “Above (ממעל) for Him” (Isa. 6:2); “Over (מֵעַל) his garments” (I Sam. 17:39). <b>and he who is chosen</b> He whom I have chosen to wreak My vengeance, I will appoint over her. 7 <b>and who will appoint Me a time</b> For bartle, to wage war with Me? <b>a shepherd</b> A king.</html>

<html><b>if…not</b> An expression of ‘indeed.’ <b>drag them</b> Heb. יסחבום. <b>the young of the flock</b>. The despised of the nations, and our Rabbis [Yoma 10] expounded that it refers to Persia, who was the youngest of Japheth’s sons. <b>make desolate</b> Heb. ישים, an expression of desolation (שממה).</html>

<html><b>Hamath and Arpad are shamed</b> [Hamath and Arpad,] cities of Aram, [are shamed,] for they heard bad news concerning Damascus, which is the head of Aram, as it is stated. “For the head of Aram is Damascus” (Isa. 7:8). Therefore, they melted. <b>there is worry in the sea</b> He compares her worry to the worry of the sea, which cannot be quiet. Every instance of דאגה, worry, is an expression of fear.</html>

<html><b>Damascus become feeble</b> Her hands have become too feeble to wage war. <b>trembling</b> Heb. רֶטֶט.</html>

<html><b>“How was…not fortified”</b> It was not filled with earth around its wall to strengthen the wall. Cf. “And they fortified (ויעזבוּ) Jerusalem up to the wall” (Neh. 3:8). It can also be interpreted: Why was it not forsaken by this evil, that the evil should not come upon it? <b>the city of my joy</b> So shall her king mourn over her.</html>

<html><b>Therefore</b> This is an expression of an oath. <b>shall be destroyed</b> Heb. ידמו, [lit. shall be silent,] shall be destroyed, but it does not deviate from being an expression of silence, for in every ruined city, no voice is heard.</html>

<html><b>Concerning Kedar</b> They were desert dwellers, with neither wall nor city.</html>

<html><b>terror</b> Heb. מגור (amassment in French). Another explanation: an expression of fear.</html>

<html><b>has taken counsel against you</b> And what was that counsel? “Rise and go up to a peaceful nation.”</html>

<html><b>they dwell alone</b> Confidently alone. They need not gather and dwell among people, for they fear not that an enemy will come upon them.</html>

<html><b>cast to the ends</b> Separated from one end to the other end of the directions.</html>

<html><b>the bow of Elam</b> The might of Elam (other editions: the strength of Elam). <b>the chief of their might</b> The best of their might.</html>

<html><b>And I will place My throne</b> My siege (מָצוֹר).</html>