“Because of the violence you
did
to your close relatives in
Israel,
you will be filled with shame
and destroyed forever.
When they were invaded,
you stood aloof, refusing to
help them.
Foreign invaders carried off their wealth
and cast lots to divide up
Jerusalem,
but you acted like one of
Israel’s enemies.
“You should not have
gloated
when they exiled your relatives
to distant lands.
You should not have rejoiced
when the people of Judah
suffered such misfortune.
You should not have spoken arrogantly
in that terrible time of
trouble.
You should not have plundered the land of Israel
when they were suffering such
calamity.
You should not have gloated over their destruction
when they were suffering such
calamity.
You should not have seized their wealth
when they were suffering such
calamity.
You should not have stood at the crossroads,
killing those who tried to
escape.
You should not have captured the survivors
and handed them over in their
terrible time of trouble.
Edom Destroyed, Israel Restored
“The day is near when I, the Lord,
will judge all godless nations!
As you have done to Israel,
so it will be done to you.
All your evil deeds
will fall back on your own
heads.
Just as you swallowed up my people
on my holy mountain,
so you and the surrounding nations
will swallow the punishment I
pour out on you.
Yes, all you nations will drink and stagger
and disappear from history.
“But Jerusalem will become
a refuge for those who escape;
it will be a holy place.
And the people of Israel will come back
to reclaim their inheritance.
The people of Israel will be a raging fire,
and Edom a field of dry stubble.
The descendants of Joseph will be a flame
roaring across the field,
devouring everything.
There will be no survivors in Edom.
I, the Lord,
have spoken!
“Then my people living in the
Negev
will occupy the mountains of
Edom.
Those living in the foothills of Judah
will possess the Philistine
plains
and take over the fields of
Ephraim and Samaria.
And the people of Benjamin
will occupy the land of Gilead.
The exiles of Israel will return to their land
and occupy the Phoenician coast
as far north as Zarephath.
The captives from Jerusalem exiled in the north
will return home and resettle
the towns of the Negev.
Those who have been rescued will go up to Mount Zion in Jerusalem
to rule over the mountains of
Edom.
And the Lord
himself will be king!”
