Grasp the Gospel — Bible Comprehension Quizzes

Jeremiah 49 Study Notes: Judgment on Ammon, Edom and Elam

The LORD announces judgment on Ammon for trusting its wealth, and on Edom, whose pride in its mountain heights cannot save it. Damascus, Kedar and Hazor, and Elam fall under His hand as well, yet He promises to restore Ammon and Elam afterward.

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General

True or False: After announcing judgment on the Ammonites, the LORD declared that they would never be brought back from captivity (Jeremiah 49:6).

Answer: False

This is false. The message against Ammon announces war against its chief city, Rabbah, and exile for Milcom, the god the Ammonites worshiped, along with the god’s priests and leaders (49:2-3). But the message does not end there: the LORD promises that afterward He will bring the Ammonites home from captivity (49:6). He gave Moab a similar promise (48:47). Earlier in the book God had said that after uprooting the nations around Israel He would once more show them compassion, and that those who learned to swear by His name would be established among His people (12:15-16). Even in a chapter full of judgment, His mercy reaches beyond Israel, in line with the psalm’s hope that families from every nation will come back to the LORD (Psalm 22:27).

  • Jeremiah 49:2-3 (BSB)
    “Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will sound the battle cry against Rabbah of the Ammonites. It will become a heap of ruins, and its villages will be burned. Then Israel will drive out their dispossessors, says the LORD. Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai has been destroyed; cry out, O daughters of Rabbah! Put on sackcloth and mourn; run back and forth within your walls, for Milcom will go into exile together with his priests and officials.”
    The LORD announces war against Rabbah and exile for Milcom, Ammon’s god, with his priests and officials.
  • Jeremiah 49:6 (BSB)
    “Yet afterward I will restore the Ammonites from captivity,” declares the LORD.”
    After the judgment, the LORD promises to bring the Ammonites back from captivity.
  • Jeremiah 48:47 (BSB)
    “Yet in the latter days I will restore Moab from captivity,” declares the LORD. Here ends the judgment on Moab.”
    The oracle against Moab closes with the same kind of promise of restoration.
  • Jeremiah 12:15-16 (BSB)
    “But after I have uprooted them, I will once again have compassion on them and return each one to his inheritance and to his land. And if they will diligently learn the ways of My people and swear by My name, saying, ‘As surely as the LORD lives’—just as they once taught My people to swear by Baal—then they will be established among My people.”
    God had already said He would again have compassion on the neighboring nations He uprooted and establish those who learned to swear by His name.
  • Psalm 22:27 (BSB)
    “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD. All the families of the nations will bow down before Him.”
    The psalm looks for a day when families from every nation turn to the LORD and bow before Him.

Theological

True or False: The oracle against Ammon closes by declaring that the Ammonites will never return from captivity (Jeremiah 49:6).

Answer: False

This is false. The oracle decrees war on Rabbah and the exile of Milcom, Ammon’s god, along with the god’s priests and officials (49:2-3), but it concludes with the LORD’s own promise to bring the Ammonites back from exile afterward (49:6). Moab’s oracle ends the same way (48:47), and the LORD had earlier announced renewed compassion on the uprooted neighbor nations, with the prospect of their being established among His people if they learned to swear by His name (12:15-16). The same sovereign LORD who judges the nations also purposes mercy for them, anticipating the day when households from every nation bow before Him (Psalm 22:27).

  • Jeremiah 49:2-3 (BSB)
    “Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will sound the battle cry against Rabbah of the Ammonites. It will become a heap of ruins, and its villages will be burned. Then Israel will drive out their dispossessors, says the LORD. Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai has been destroyed; cry out, O daughters of Rabbah! Put on sackcloth and mourn; run back and forth within your walls, for Milcom will go into exile together with his priests and officials.”
    The LORD announces war against Rabbah and exile for Milcom, Ammon’s god, with his priests and officials.
  • Jeremiah 49:6 (BSB)
    “Yet afterward I will restore the Ammonites from captivity,” declares the LORD.”
    After the judgment, the LORD promises to bring the Ammonites back from captivity.
  • Jeremiah 48:47 (BSB)
    “Yet in the latter days I will restore Moab from captivity,” declares the LORD. Here ends the judgment on Moab.”
    The oracle against Moab closes with the same kind of promise of restoration.
  • Jeremiah 12:15-16 (BSB)
    “But after I have uprooted them, I will once again have compassion on them and return each one to his inheritance and to his land. And if they will diligently learn the ways of My people and swear by My name, saying, ‘As surely as the LORD lives’—just as they once taught My people to swear by Baal—then they will be established among My people.”
    God had already said He would again have compassion on the neighboring nations He uprooted and establish those who learned to swear by His name.
  • Psalm 22:27 (BSB)
    “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD. All the families of the nations will bow down before Him.”
    The psalm looks for a day when families from every nation turn to the LORD and bow before Him.

General

In the LORD’s message against the Ammonites, what attitude does He condemn (Jeremiah 49:4-5)?

Answer: They prided themselves on rich valleys and felt safe in wealth

The Ammonites had moved into the territory of Gad, one of Israel’s tribes, as though Israel had no heirs left to inherit it (49:1). The LORD then speaks to Ammon as an unfaithful daughter who bragged about its fertile valleys, relied on its wealth, and assumed no one could ever attack it (49:4). Against that confidence God announced that He would bring terror on Ammon from all sides, so that its people would be scattered, and nobody would gather them back (49:5). Scripture often warns that riches only feel like a strong wall to the person who trusts them (Proverbs 18:11), and that wealth cannot buy anyone’s life from God (Psalm 49:6-7). Paul tells the rich to rest their hopes on God, not on wealth that cannot be counted on (1 Timothy 6:17). Ammon’s sense of safety rested on what it owned, and the LORD showed that nothing it owned could stand against Him.

  • Jeremiah 49:1 (BSB)
    “Concerning the Ammonites, this is what the LORD says: “Has Israel no sons? Is he without heir? Why then has Milcom taken possession of Gad? Why have his people settled in their cities?”
    The oracle against Ammon opens by asking why Ammon’s god has taken over the land of Gad.
  • Jeremiah 49:4-5 (BSB)
    “Why do you boast of your valleys—your valleys so fruitful, O faithless daughter? You trust in your riches and say, ‘Who can come against me?’ Behold, I am about to bring terror upon you, declares the Lord GOD of Hosts, from all those around you. You will each be driven headlong, with no one to regather the fugitives.”
    The LORD rebukes Ammon’s boasting and confidence in wealth and announces terror from every side.
  • Proverbs 18:11 (BSB)
    “A rich man’s wealth is his fortified city; it is like a high wall in his imagination.”
    Proverbs shows that wealth only seems like a fortress to the one who trusts it.
  • 1 Timothy 6:17 (BSB)
    “Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy.”
    Paul directs the rich to set their hope on God rather than on wealth that cannot be counted on.
  • Psalm 49:6-7 (BSB)
    “They trust in their wealth and boast in their great riches. No man can possibly redeem his brother or pay his ransom to God.”
    The psalm warns that those who rely on riches cannot use them to buy a life from God.

Theological

What does the LORD expose and condemn in Ammon according to Jeremiah 49:4-5?

Answer: They prided themselves on rich valleys and felt safe in wealth

Ammon had annexed Gad’s inheritance as if Israel had no heir (49:1), and the LORD now addresses it as a faithless daughter whose boast rested on the fertility of its valleys and the security of its treasures, confident that no enemy could reach it (49:4). The Lord GOD answers that self-assurance with terror from every quarter and a scattering beyond regathering (49:5). The sin is misplaced trust: wealth functions as an imagined fortress (Proverbs 18:11) and cannot ransom a life before God (Psalm 49:6-7), which is why the apostle charges the rich to set their hope on God rather than on uncertain riches (1 Timothy 6:17). The oracle shows the LORD’s sovereign rule over Israel’s neighbors and His judgment on the pride that rests on created things instead of on Him.

  • Jeremiah 49:1 (BSB)
    “Concerning the Ammonites, this is what the LORD says: “Has Israel no sons? Is he without heir? Why then has Milcom taken possession of Gad? Why have his people settled in their cities?”
    The oracle against Ammon opens by asking why Ammon’s god has taken over the land of Gad.
  • Jeremiah 49:4-5 (BSB)
    “Why do you boast of your valleys—your valleys so fruitful, O faithless daughter? You trust in your riches and say, ‘Who can come against me?’ Behold, I am about to bring terror upon you, declares the Lord GOD of Hosts, from all those around you. You will each be driven headlong, with no one to regather the fugitives.”
    The LORD rebukes Ammon’s boasting and confidence in wealth and announces terror from every side.
  • Proverbs 18:11 (BSB)
    “A rich man’s wealth is his fortified city; it is like a high wall in his imagination.”
    Proverbs shows that wealth only seems like a fortress to the one who trusts it.
  • 1 Timothy 6:17 (BSB)
    “Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy.”
    Paul directs the rich to set their hope on God rather than on wealth that cannot be counted on.
  • Psalm 49:6-7 (BSB)
    “They trust in their wealth and boast in their great riches. No man can possibly redeem his brother or pay his ransom to God.”
    The psalm warns that those who rely on riches cannot use them to buy a life from God.

General

How is Damascus described when the bad news reaches it (Jeremiah 49:23-24)?

Answer: Weak and gripped by panic, turning around to run

The oracle about Damascus pictures neighboring towns put to shame and troubled like a stormy sea after hearing bad news (49:23). Damascus itself grows weak and turns to run; panic seizes it, and it is overcome with pain like a woman giving birth (49:24). The LORD of Hosts, the LORD who rules over heaven’s armies, declares that its young soldiers will die in its streets and its fighters fall silent, and that He will set its walls on fire and burn the strongholds of Ben-hadad (49:26-27). Damascus’s fear was not simply fear of an army; the judgment came from the LORD Himself. Amos had announced the same fire against Ben-hadad’s strongholds (Amos 1:3-5), and Isaiah foretold the ruin of Damascus too (Isaiah 17:1).

  • Jeremiah 49:23-24 (BSB)
    “Concerning Damascus: “Hamath and Arpad are put to shame, for they have heard a bad report; they are agitated like the sea; their anxiety cannot be calmed. Damascus has become feeble; she has turned to flee. Panic has gripped her; anguish and pain have seized her like a woman in labor.”
    Bad news reaches the region, and Damascus grows weak, panics, and turns to flee.
  • Jeremiah 49:26-27 (BSB)
    “For her young men will fall in the streets, and all her warriors will be silenced in that day,” declares the LORD of Hosts. “I will set fire to the walls of Damascus; it will consume the fortresses of Ben-hadad.””
    The LORD of Hosts declares that Damascus’s warriors will fall and He will set its walls on fire.
  • Amos 1:3-5 (BSB)
    “This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Damascus, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they threshed Gilead with sledges of iron. So I will send fire upon the house of Hazael to consume the citadels of Ben-hadad. I will break down the gates of Damascus; I will cut off the ruler from the Valley of Aven and the one who wields the scepter in Beth-eden. The people of Aram will be exiled to Kir,” says the LORD.”
    Amos had also announced the LORD’s fire against Ben-hadad’s strongholds and the breaking of Damascus’s gates.
  • Isaiah 17:1 (BSB)
    “This is the burden against Damascus: “Behold, Damascus is no longer a city; it has become a heap of ruins.”
    Isaiah’s oracle against Damascus likewise foretells the city’s ruin.

Theological

What state is Damascus in when the evil report arrives (Jeremiah 49:23-24)?

Answer: Weak and gripped by panic, turning around to run

When the evil report reaches the region, the neighboring cities are shamed and churn like a restless sea (49:23), and Damascus itself is enfeebled and turns to flee, seized by panic and the pangs of childbirth (49:24). The cause behind the collapse is named plainly: the LORD of Hosts declares that her youths will perish and her fighters be stilled, and that He will kindle the fire that consumes her walls and Ben-hadad’s strongholds (49:26-27). Earlier prophets had announced the same divine verdict on Damascus (Amos 1:3-5; Isaiah 17:1). The city’s terror is the human experience of a judgment decreed by the sovereign LORD.

  • Jeremiah 49:23-24 (BSB)
    “Concerning Damascus: “Hamath and Arpad are put to shame, for they have heard a bad report; they are agitated like the sea; their anxiety cannot be calmed. Damascus has become feeble; she has turned to flee. Panic has gripped her; anguish and pain have seized her like a woman in labor.”
    Bad news reaches the region, and Damascus grows weak, panics, and turns to flee.
  • Jeremiah 49:26-27 (BSB)
    “For her young men will fall in the streets, and all her warriors will be silenced in that day,” declares the LORD of Hosts. “I will set fire to the walls of Damascus; it will consume the fortresses of Ben-hadad.””
    The LORD of Hosts declares that Damascus’s warriors will fall and He will set its walls on fire.
  • Amos 1:3-5 (BSB)
    “This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Damascus, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they threshed Gilead with sledges of iron. So I will send fire upon the house of Hazael to consume the citadels of Ben-hadad. I will break down the gates of Damascus; I will cut off the ruler from the Valley of Aven and the one who wields the scepter in Beth-eden. The people of Aram will be exiled to Kir,” says the LORD.”
    Amos had also announced the LORD’s fire against Ben-hadad’s strongholds and the breaking of Damascus’s gates.
  • Isaiah 17:1 (BSB)
    “This is the burden against Damascus: “Behold, Damascus is no longer a city; it has become a heap of ruins.”
    Isaiah’s oracle against Damascus likewise foretells the city’s ruin.

General

What argument does the LORD make about the cup of judgment Edom must drink (Jeremiah 49:12)?

Answer: If even the undeserving had to drink it, Edom could not escape

In Jeremiah the cup is a picture of God’s wrath, which He gives the nations to drink (25:15). Here the LORD reasons from the lesser case to the greater: if people who did not deserve the cup still had to drink it, Edom could not possibly escape punishment; it must drink as well (49:12). He backs this up with an oath, swearing by Himself that Bozrah in Edom will be left in ruins and cursed (49:13). God swears by Himself because no one is higher than He is (Hebrews 6:13), so His word is certain. Jeremiah’s earlier cup vision used the same argument: since disaster was beginning at the city called by the LORD’s name, the other nations would surely not go free (25:28-29).

  • Jeremiah 49:12-13 (BSB)
    “For this is what the LORD says: “If those who do not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, can you possibly remain unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for you must drink it too. For by Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, that Bozrah will become a desolation, a disgrace, a ruin, and a curse, and all her cities will be in ruins forever.””
    The LORD reasons that Edom must drink the cup too, and swears by Himself that Bozrah will become a ruin.
  • Jeremiah 25:15 (BSB)
    “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from My hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink from it.”
    The LORD hands Jeremiah a cup filled with His wrath for all the nations to drink.
  • Jeremiah 25:28-29 (BSB)
    “If they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink it, you are to tell them that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘You most certainly must drink it! For behold, I am beginning to bring disaster on the city that bears My Name, so how could you possibly go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am calling down a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, declares the LORD of Hosts.’”
    The same argument appears in the cup vision: since disaster begins at the city called by God’s name, the nations cannot escape.
  • Hebrews 6:13 (BSB)
    “When God made His promise to Abraham, since He had no one greater to swear by, He swore by Himself,”
    Hebrews explains that God swears by Himself because there is no one greater to swear by.

Theological

How does the LORD argue in Jeremiah 49:12 that Edom cannot avoid the cup?

Answer: If even the undeserving had to drink it, Edom could not escape

The cup holds the wine of the LORD’s wrath, which Jeremiah was commissioned to give the nations (25:15). The argument in 49:12 runs from the lesser to the greater: if those who did not deserve the cup were compelled to drink it, Edom could not remain unpunished. The LORD seals the verdict with an oath by Himself that Bozrah will be laid waste and cursed (49:13), the strongest possible guarantee, since He has no one greater by whom to swear (Hebrews 6:13). The reasoning matches the cup vision, where judgment beginning at the city called by God’s name made the nations’ punishment certain (25:28-29). Divine justice is impartial: no nation stands outside God’s judgment, and His sworn word cannot fail.

  • Jeremiah 49:12-13 (BSB)
    “For this is what the LORD says: “If those who do not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, can you possibly remain unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for you must drink it too. For by Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, that Bozrah will become a desolation, a disgrace, a ruin, and a curse, and all her cities will be in ruins forever.””
    The LORD reasons that Edom must drink the cup too, and swears by Himself that Bozrah will become a ruin.
  • Jeremiah 25:15 (BSB)
    “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from My hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink from it.”
    The LORD hands Jeremiah a cup filled with His wrath for all the nations to drink.
  • Jeremiah 25:28-29 (BSB)
    “If they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink it, you are to tell them that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘You most certainly must drink it! For behold, I am beginning to bring disaster on the city that bears My Name, so how could you possibly go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am calling down a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, declares the LORD of Hosts.’”
    The same argument appears in the cup vision: since disaster begins at the city called by God’s name, the nations cannot escape.
  • Hebrews 6:13 (BSB)
    “When God made His promise to Abraham, since He had no one greater to swear by, He swore by Himself,”
    Hebrews explains that God swears by Himself because there is no one greater to swear by.

General

True or False: Even while announcing Edom’s destruction, the LORD told Edom to leave its fatherless children to Him, because He would keep them alive, and said its widows should rely on Him (Jeremiah 49:11).

Answer: True

This is true. The LORD says He will strip Edom completely, uncovering its hiding places so that it cannot hide, and its descendants, relatives and neighbors will perish (49:10). Then He speaks about the most helpless: Edom’s orphans could be left to Him, for He would preserve their lives, and its widows were to trust in Him (49:11). Elsewhere Scripture describes God as a father to children without fathers and the protector of widows (Psalm 68:5), as the one who sustains orphans and widows (Psalm 146:9), and as the one who does justice for them (Deuteronomy 10:18). In the same oracle that announces Edom’s ruin, the LORD speaks this word of care for its orphans and widows.

  • Jeremiah 49:10 (BSB)
    “But I will strip Esau bare; I will uncover his hiding places, and he will be unable to conceal himself. His descendants will be destroyed along with his relatives and neighbors, and he will be no more.”
    The LORD says He will lay Edom completely bare so that it has nowhere to hide.
  • Jeremiah 49:11 (BSB)
    “Abandon your orphans; I will preserve their lives. Let your widows trust in Me.””
    In the middle of Edom’s judgment, the LORD speaks of keeping its orphans alive and invites its widows to trust Him.
  • Psalm 68:5 (BSB)
    “A father of the fatherless and a defender of widows is God in His holy habitation.”
    The psalm praises God as the one who fathers orphans and stands up for women whose husbands have died.
  • Psalm 146:9 (BSB)
    “The LORD protects foreigners; He sustains the fatherless and the widow, but the ways of the wicked He frustrates.”
    The LORD is praised for sustaining orphans and widows while frustrating the wicked.
  • Deuteronomy 10:18 (BSB)
    “He executes justice for the fatherless and widow, and He loves the foreigner, giving him food and clothing.”
    The law says the LORD secures justice for orphans and widows.

Theological

True or False: In the oracle against Edom, the LORD says He will preserve the lives of Edom’s orphans and calls its widows to trust in Him (Jeremiah 49:11).

Answer: True

This is true. Immediately after decreeing that Esau will be stripped bare and his descendants, relatives and neighbors destroyed (49:10), the LORD speaks a word for the defenseless: the orphans may be left to Him, for He will keep them alive, and the widows are summoned to trust in Him (49:11). This agrees with God’s self-revelation as father to orphans and protector of widows (Psalm 68:5), who sustains them (Psalm 146:9) and secures justice for them (Deuteronomy 10:18). The oracle sets the LORD’s judgment on Edom and His word of care for its orphans and widows side by side.

  • Jeremiah 49:10 (BSB)
    “But I will strip Esau bare; I will uncover his hiding places, and he will be unable to conceal himself. His descendants will be destroyed along with his relatives and neighbors, and he will be no more.”
    The LORD says He will lay Edom completely bare so that it has nowhere to hide.
  • Jeremiah 49:11 (BSB)
    “Abandon your orphans; I will preserve their lives. Let your widows trust in Me.””
    In the middle of Edom’s judgment, the LORD speaks of keeping its orphans alive and invites its widows to trust Him.
  • Psalm 68:5 (BSB)
    “A father of the fatherless and a defender of widows is God in His holy habitation.”
    The psalm praises God as the one who fathers orphans and stands up for women whose husbands have died.
  • Psalm 146:9 (BSB)
    “The LORD protects foreigners; He sustains the fatherless and the widow, but the ways of the wicked He frustrates.”
    The LORD is praised for sustaining orphans and widows while frustrating the wicked.
  • Deuteronomy 10:18 (BSB)
    “He executes justice for the fatherless and widow, and He loves the foreigner, giving him food and clothing.”
    The law says the LORD secures justice for orphans and widows.

General

According to Jeremiah 49:16, what had deceived Edom’s people as they lived high among the rocks?

Answer: The fear they caused and the pride within their hearts

The LORD says He will make Edom small among the nations and looked down on by others (49:15). Edom lived among rocky cliffs and on mountain heights, and its people thought their position made them safe. But the terror they caused others and the pride in their own hearts had fooled them (49:16). However high they built their home, as an eagle sets its nest up high, God would bring them down. The prophet Obadiah uses closely parallel words about Edom’s pride and its fall (Obadiah 1:3-4). Scripture teaches as a rule that pride comes before ruin (Proverbs 16:18), and that God sets Himself against the proud while He shows favor to the lowly (James 4:6). Edom’s sense of safety was a lie it told itself.

  • Jeremiah 49:15-16 (BSB)
    ““For behold, I will make you small among nations, despised among men. The terror you cause and the pride of your heart have deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks, O occupiers of the mountain summit. Though you elevate your nest like the eagle, even from there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD.”
    The LORD will make Edom small and scorned; its own arrogance has misled it, and He will topple it from its heights.
  • Obadiah 1:3-4 (BSB)
    “The pride of your heart has deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks whose habitation is the heights, who say in your heart, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’ Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, even from there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD.”
    Obadiah’s prophecy against Edom closely parallels this verse in its picture of pride, the rocky heights, the eagle’s nest, and the fall.
  • Proverbs 16:18 (BSB)
    “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”
    Proverbs states the general rule that pride leads to ruin.
  • James 4:6 (BSB)
    “But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.””
    James shows that God sets Himself against the arrogant and shows favor to the lowly.

Theological

What does the LORD say had deceived Edom in its rocky heights (Jeremiah 49:16)?

Answer: The fear they caused and the pride within their hearts

The LORD announces that He will make Edom least among the nations and despised (49:15). Secure in its cliffs and mountain strongholds, Edom was self-deceived by the terror it inspired and by the pride of its heart (49:16). No elevation, however eagle-like, puts a nation beyond the reach of the God who brings down the exalted. Obadiah’s oracle against Edom closely parallels this verse (Obadiah 1:3-4). The principle is fixed in Scripture: pride precedes destruction (Proverbs 16:18), and God resists the proud while showing favor to the lowly (James 4:6). Edom’s self-confidence was the very sin that marked it for judgment.

  • Jeremiah 49:15-16 (BSB)
    ““For behold, I will make you small among nations, despised among men. The terror you cause and the pride of your heart have deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks, O occupiers of the mountain summit. Though you elevate your nest like the eagle, even from there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD.”
    The LORD will make Edom small and scorned; its own arrogance has misled it, and He will topple it from its heights.
  • Obadiah 1:3-4 (BSB)
    “The pride of your heart has deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks whose habitation is the heights, who say in your heart, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’ Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, even from there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD.”
    Obadiah’s prophecy against Edom closely parallels this verse in its picture of pride, the rocky heights, the eagle’s nest, and the fall.
  • Proverbs 16:18 (BSB)
    “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”
    Proverbs states the general rule that pride leads to ruin.
  • James 4:6 (BSB)
    “But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.””
    James shows that God sets Himself against the arrogant and shows favor to the lowly.

General

At the end of the oracle about Elam, after shattering its strength, what does the LORD promise to do (Jeremiah 49:39)?

Answer: Bring Elam back from its captivity

The message about Elam came early in Zedekiah’s reign as king of Judah (49:34). The LORD says He will break Elam’s bow, the strength it depended on, scatter its people to every wind, and pursue them with war (49:35-37). He will set up His own throne there and destroy Elam’s king and leaders (49:38), showing that He rules even over this distant nation. Yet the oracle ends with a promise that in days to come He would bring Elam back from captivity (49:39). God sits as King over the nations, enthroned in holiness (Psalm 47:8), and dominion belongs to Him (Psalm 22:28). Both Elam’s judgment and its restoration come from the same King, as with Moab (48:47).

  • Jeremiah 49:35-37 (BSB)
    “This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Behold, I will shatter Elam’s bow, the mainstay of their might. I will bring the four winds against Elam from the four corners of the heavens, and I will scatter them to all these winds. There will not be a nation to which Elam’s exiles will not go. So I will shatter Elam before their foes, before those who seek their lives. I will bring disaster upon them, even My fierce anger,” declares the LORD. “I will send out the sword after them until I finish them off.”
    The LORD will break Elam’s strength, scatter its people to every wind, and send the sword after them.
  • Jeremiah 49:38-39 (BSB)
    “I will set My throne in Elam, and destroy its king and officials,” declares the LORD. “Yet in the last days, I will restore Elam from captivity,” declares the LORD.”
    The LORD sets His throne in Elam and removes its rulers, yet promises to restore Elam afterward.
  • Psalm 47:8 (BSB)
    “God reigns over the nations; God is seated on His holy throne.”
    The psalm pictures God enthroned in holiness as King of every people.
  • Psalm 22:28 (BSB)
    “For dominion belongs to the LORD and He rules over the nations.”
    The psalm declares that the LORD is the ruler of all peoples.
  • Jeremiah 48:47 (BSB)
    “Yet in the latter days I will restore Moab from captivity,” declares the LORD. Here ends the judgment on Moab.”
    Moab receives a similar promise of restoration after judgment.

Theological

What does the LORD finally pledge to Elam after breaking its bow and setting His throne there (Jeremiah 49:39)?

Answer: Bring Elam back from its captivity

Dated to the start of Zedekiah’s reign (49:34), the oracle declares that the LORD will break Elam’s bow, the strength it relied on, scatter its people to the four winds, and pursue them with the sword (49:35-37). Setting His throne there and destroying Elam’s king and leaders (49:38) displays His authority over a distant nation. Yet the final word is restoration from captivity in days to come (49:39). God sits enthroned over the nations (Psalm 47:8) and dominion is His (Psalm 22:28); the same sovereign King who brings down also restores, as with Moab (48:47).

  • Jeremiah 49:35-37 (BSB)
    “This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Behold, I will shatter Elam’s bow, the mainstay of their might. I will bring the four winds against Elam from the four corners of the heavens, and I will scatter them to all these winds. There will not be a nation to which Elam’s exiles will not go. So I will shatter Elam before their foes, before those who seek their lives. I will bring disaster upon them, even My fierce anger,” declares the LORD. “I will send out the sword after them until I finish them off.”
    The LORD will break Elam’s strength, scatter its people to every wind, and send the sword after them.
  • Jeremiah 49:38-39 (BSB)
    “I will set My throne in Elam, and destroy its king and officials,” declares the LORD. “Yet in the last days, I will restore Elam from captivity,” declares the LORD.”
    The LORD sets His throne in Elam and removes its rulers, yet promises to restore Elam afterward.
  • Psalm 47:8 (BSB)
    “God reigns over the nations; God is seated on His holy throne.”
    The psalm pictures God enthroned in holiness as King of every people.
  • Psalm 22:28 (BSB)
    “For dominion belongs to the LORD and He rules over the nations.”
    The psalm declares that the LORD is the ruler of all peoples.
  • Jeremiah 48:47 (BSB)
    “Yet in the latter days I will restore Moab from captivity,” declares the LORD. Here ends the judgment on Moab.”
    Moab receives a similar promise of restoration after judgment.

General

What point do the LORD’s questions in 49:19 make about His plans against Edom?

Answer: No one is His equal, and no ruler is able to stand against Him

The LORD pictures an attacker rising like a lion out of the Jordan’s thick brush, and says He will drive Edom out of its land in a moment (49:19). Then He asks who is like Him, who can call Him to account, and what shepherd, meaning a ruler, could stand against Him. The expected answer is no one. That is why everyone is told to hear the plans and strategies the LORD has made against Edom (49:20): what God has purposed will surely happen. Isaiah teaches the same truth, that no one compares with God and His purpose will stand (Isaiah 46:9-10), and Nebuchadnezzar himself confessed that no one can hold back God’s hand (Daniel 4:35). The LORD asks the very same questions about Babylon in the next chapter (50:44).

  • Jeremiah 49:19-20 (BSB)
    “Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan to the watered pasture. For in an instant I will chase Edom from her land. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? For who is like Me, and who can challenge Me? What shepherd can stand against Me?” Therefore hear the plans that the LORD has drawn up against Edom and the strategies He has devised against the people of Teman: Surely the little ones of the flock will be dragged away; certainly their pasture will be made desolate because of them.”
    The LORD asks who could rival or resist Him, then calls on all to hear what He has planned against Edom.
  • Isaiah 46:9-10 (BSB)
    “Remember what happened long ago, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me. I declare the end from the beginning, and from ancient times what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’”
    God declares that no one compares with Him and that whatever He intends will be done.
  • Daniel 4:35 (BSB)
    “All the peoples of the earth are counted as nothing, and He does as He pleases with the army of heaven and the peoples of the earth. There is no one who can restrain His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’””
    Nebuchadnezzar confesses that no one can hold back God’s hand or question what He does.
  • Jeremiah 50:44 (BSB)
    “Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan to the watered pasture. For in an instant I will chase Babylon from her land. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? For who is like Me, and who can challenge Me? What shepherd can stand against Me?””
    The LORD asks the same questions about Babylon in the next oracle.

Theological

What do the LORD’s rhetorical questions in 49:19 assert about His purposes against Edom?

Answer: No one is His equal, and no ruler is able to stand against Him

Having pictured a lion rising from the Jordan thickets and Edom driven from its land in an instant (49:19), the LORD asks who is like Him, who can summon Him to account, and what shepherd, that is, what ruler, can stand before Him. The questions assert His incomparability and the irresistibility of His decree, which is why the plans and strategies He has formed against Edom are announced as settled (49:20). Isaiah grounds the same certainty in God’s uniqueness and His purpose that will stand (Isaiah 46:9-10), and the humbled Nebuchadnezzar confessed that none can hold back His hand (Daniel 4:35). The identical questions are repeated over Babylon in 50:44: the LORD governs the rise and fall of every nation.

  • Jeremiah 49:19-20 (BSB)
    “Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan to the watered pasture. For in an instant I will chase Edom from her land. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? For who is like Me, and who can challenge Me? What shepherd can stand against Me?” Therefore hear the plans that the LORD has drawn up against Edom and the strategies He has devised against the people of Teman: Surely the little ones of the flock will be dragged away; certainly their pasture will be made desolate because of them.”
    The LORD asks who could rival or resist Him, then calls on all to hear what He has planned against Edom.
  • Isaiah 46:9-10 (BSB)
    “Remember what happened long ago, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me. I declare the end from the beginning, and from ancient times what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’”
    God declares that no one compares with Him and that whatever He intends will be done.
  • Daniel 4:35 (BSB)
    “All the peoples of the earth are counted as nothing, and He does as He pleases with the army of heaven and the peoples of the earth. There is no one who can restrain His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’””
    Nebuchadnezzar confesses that no one can hold back God’s hand or question what He does.
  • Jeremiah 50:44 (BSB)
    “Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan to the watered pasture. For in an instant I will chase Babylon from her land. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? For who is like Me, and who can challenge Me? What shepherd can stand against Me?””
    The LORD asks the same questions about Babylon in the next oracle.

General

In the message about Kedar and Hazor, how are Nebuchadnezzar’s plans related to the LORD’s word (Jeremiah 49:28-31)?

Answer: The LORD Himself calls for the attack Nebuchadnezzar planned

Kedar and Hazor’s kingdoms were peoples of the east who lived in tents with flocks and camels (49:28-29). They lived comfortably and felt secure, with no city gates or bolts to protect them (49:31). The LORD says that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had made plans against them (49:30), yet it is the LORD who commands the attackers to rise up and go (49:28, 49:31), and He says He will scatter the people and bring disaster on them from every side (49:32). A human king made his own plans, and the LORD ruled over those plans for His own purposes. Elsewhere the LORD calls Nebuchadnezzar His servant and says He has placed these lands under him (27:6; 25:9). Isaiah shows the same pattern with Assyria, which God used as the rod of His anger even though Assyria only meant to destroy (Isaiah 10:5-7).

  • Jeremiah 49:28-29 (BSB)
    “Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated, this is what the LORD says: “Rise up, advance against Kedar, and destroy the people of the east! They will take their tents and flocks, their tent curtains and all their goods. They will take their camels for themselves. They will shout to them: ‘Terror is on every side!’”
    The LORD commands the attack on Kedar, whose tents, flocks and camels will be taken.
  • Jeremiah 49:30-32 (BSB)
    “Run! Escape quickly! Lie low, O residents of Hazor,” declares the LORD, “for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has drawn up a plan against you; he has devised a strategy against you. Rise up, advance against a nation at ease, one that dwells securely,” declares the LORD. “They have no gates or bars; they live alone. Their camels will become plunder, and their large herds will be spoil. I will scatter to the wind in every direction those who shave their temples; I will bring calamity on them from all sides,” declares the LORD.”
    Nebuchadnezzar has made a plan against Hazor, yet the LORD calls the attackers and says He will scatter the people.
  • Jeremiah 27:6 (BSB)
    “So now I have placed all these lands under the authority of My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. I have even made the beasts of the field subject to him.”
    The LORD gives the nations into the power of Nebuchadnezzar, whom He calls His servant.
  • Jeremiah 25:9 (BSB)
    “behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the LORD, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents, and against all the surrounding nations. So I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of horror and contempt, an everlasting desolation.”
    God says He will send for Nebuchadnezzar and bring him against Judah and the nations around it.
  • Isaiah 10:5-7 (BSB)
    “Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger; the staff in their hands is My wrath. I will send him against a godless nation; I will dispatch him against a people destined for My rage, to take spoils and seize plunder, and to trample them down like clay in the streets. But this is not his intention; this is not his plan. For it is in his heart to destroy and cut off many nations.”
    Isaiah shows the same pattern with Assyria: God sends it as the rod of His anger, though Assyria intends only to destroy.

Theological

How does the Kedar and Hazor oracle relate Nebuchadnezzar’s strategy to the LORD’s command (Jeremiah 49:28-31)?

Answer: The LORD Himself calls for the attack Nebuchadnezzar planned

The oracle concerns Kedar and Hazor’s kingdoms, tent-dwelling peoples rich in flocks and camels (49:28-29), complacent and unwalled (49:31). Nebuchadnezzar is said to have formed his own plan and strategy against them (49:30), yet the summons to attack is issued by the LORD (49:28, 49:31), and the LORD claims the scattering and the calamity as His own work (49:32). The king’s real intentions and God’s sovereign decree operate together, with no contradiction: the LORD calls Nebuchadnezzar His servant and gives the nations into his hand (27:6; 25:9). Isaiah describes Assyria the same way, as the rod of God’s anger whose own heart aimed only at conquest (Isaiah 10:5-7). God ordains the outcome, while the conqueror’s plans remain truly his own.

  • Jeremiah 49:28-29 (BSB)
    “Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated, this is what the LORD says: “Rise up, advance against Kedar, and destroy the people of the east! They will take their tents and flocks, their tent curtains and all their goods. They will take their camels for themselves. They will shout to them: ‘Terror is on every side!’”
    The LORD commands the attack on Kedar, whose tents, flocks and camels will be taken.
  • Jeremiah 49:30-32 (BSB)
    “Run! Escape quickly! Lie low, O residents of Hazor,” declares the LORD, “for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has drawn up a plan against you; he has devised a strategy against you. Rise up, advance against a nation at ease, one that dwells securely,” declares the LORD. “They have no gates or bars; they live alone. Their camels will become plunder, and their large herds will be spoil. I will scatter to the wind in every direction those who shave their temples; I will bring calamity on them from all sides,” declares the LORD.”
    Nebuchadnezzar has made a plan against Hazor, yet the LORD calls the attackers and says He will scatter the people.
  • Jeremiah 27:6 (BSB)
    “So now I have placed all these lands under the authority of My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. I have even made the beasts of the field subject to him.”
    The LORD gives the nations into the power of Nebuchadnezzar, whom He calls His servant.
  • Jeremiah 25:9 (BSB)
    “behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the LORD, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents, and against all the surrounding nations. So I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of horror and contempt, an everlasting desolation.”
    God says He will send for Nebuchadnezzar and bring him against Judah and the nations around it.
  • Isaiah 10:5-7 (BSB)
    “Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger; the staff in their hands is My wrath. I will send him against a godless nation; I will dispatch him against a people destined for My rage, to take spoils and seize plunder, and to trample them down like clay in the streets. But this is not his intention; this is not his plan. For it is in his heart to destroy and cut off many nations.”
    Isaiah shows the same pattern with Assyria: God sends it as the rod of His anger, though Assyria intends only to destroy.