This is what the LORD says:“ Because the Ammonites have committed three crimes– make that four!– I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They ripped open Gilead’s pregnant women so they could expand their territory.

耶和华如此说：“亚扪人三番四次地犯罪，我必不免去他们的刑罚；因为他们剖开基列的孕妇，扩张自己的境界。

耶和华如此说：“亚扪人三番四次犯罪，剖开基列的孕妇，扩张自己的疆界，我必不撤销对它的惩罚。

耶和华如此说：“亚扪人三番四次犯罪，剖开基列的孕妇，扩张自己的疆界，我必不撤销对它的惩罚。

耶和华说：“亚扪人三番四次地犯罪，我必不收回对他们的惩罚，因为他们为了扩张领土，竟剖开基列孕妇的肚腹。

“耶和华这样说：‘亚扪三番四次犯罪，我必不收回惩罚他的命令；因为他为了扩张疆界，甚至剖开基列孕妇的肚腹。

耶和華如此說：亞捫人三番四次地犯罪，我必不免去他們的刑罰；因為他們剖開基列的孕婦，擴張自己的境界。

耶和華如此說：「亞捫人三番四次犯罪，剖開基列的孕婦，擴張自己的疆界，我必不撤銷對它的懲罰。

耶和華如此說：「亞捫人三番四次犯罪，剖開基列的孕婦，擴張自己的疆界，我必不撤銷對它的懲罰。

耶和華說：「亞捫人三番四次地犯罪，我必不收回對他們的懲罰，因為他們為了擴張領土，竟剖開基列孕婦的肚腹。

“耶和華這樣說：‘亞捫三番四次犯罪，我必不收回懲罰他的命令；因為他為了擴張疆界，甚至剖開基列孕婦的肚腹。

永恆主這麼說：『亞捫人三番四次地悖逆，我必不收回成命，因為他們剖開了基列的孕婦，擴張自己的境界。

耶和華曰、亞捫族干罪、至三至四、我不挽回厥罰、以其刳剔基列之孕婦、恢廓其境土也、

耶和華又曰、亞捫犯罪、至三至四、更刳剔基列之孕婦、恢廓土壤、故我必罰其罪、

主如是云、亞捫人犯罪、至三至四、更刳剔基列之孕婦、侵地以廓己疆、故我降罰以報之、必不挽回、

This is what the Lord says:“ For three sins of Ammon, even for four, I will not relent. Because he ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to extend his borders,

The Lord says,“ The people of Ammon have sinned again and again. So I will judge them. They ripped open the pregnant women in Gilead. They wanted to add land to their territory.

Thus says the Lord:“ For three transgressions of the Ammonites, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have ripped open pregnant women in Gilead, that they might enlarge their border.

This is what the Lord says:“ The people of Ammon have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go unpunished! When they attacked Gilead to extend their borders, they ripped open pregnant women with their swords.

The LORD says: I will not relent from punishing the Ammonites for three crimes, even four, because they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to enlarge their territory.

This is what the Lord says:“ For three offenses of the sons of Ammon, and for four, I will not revoke its punishment, Because they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead In order to enlarge their borders.

Thus says the Lord:“ For three transgressions of the people of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they ripped open the women with child in Gilead, That they might enlarge their territory.

Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they may enlarge their border.

The Lord says: I will not relent from punishing the Ammonites for three crimes, even four, because they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to enlarge their territory.

Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away[ the punishment] thereof; because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border:

Yahweh says:“ For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they have ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead, that they may enlarge their border.

( 14: 1) Samaria will be held guilty, because she rebelled against her God. They will fall by the sword, their infants will be dashed to the ground– their pregnant women will be ripped open.

“ Son of man, turn toward the Ammonites and prophesy against them.Say to the Ammonites,‘ Hear the word of the sovereign LORD: This is what the sovereign LORD says: You said“ Aha!” about my sanctuary when it was desecrated, about the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and about the house of Judah when they went into exile.So take note, I am about to make you slaves of the tribes of the east. They will make camps among you and pitch their tents among you. They will eat your fruit and drink your milk.I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels and Ammon a resting place for sheep. Then you will know that I am the LORD.For this is what the sovereign LORD says: Because you clapped your hands, stamped your feet, and rejoiced with intense scorn over the land of Israel,take note, I have stretched out my hand against you, and I will hand you over as plunder to the nations. I will cut you off from the peoples and make you perish from the lands. I will destroy you; then you will know that I am the LORD.’”

The LORD spoke about the Ammonites.“ Do you think there are not any people of the nation of Israel remaining? Do you think there are not any of them remaining to reinherit their land? Is that why you people who worship the god Milcom have taken possession of the territory of Gad and live in his cities?Because you did that, I, the LORD, affirm that a time is coming when I will make Rabbah, the capital city of Ammon, hear the sound of the battle cry. It will become a mound covered with ruins. Its villages will be burned to the ground. Then Israel will take back its land from those who took their land from them. I, the Lord, affirm it!Wail, you people in Heshbon, because Ai in Ammon is destroyed. Cry out in anguish, you people in the villages surrounding Rabbah. Put on sackcloth and cry out in mourning. Run about covered with gashes. For your god Milcom will go into exile along with his priests and officials.Why do you brag about your great power? Your power is ebbing away, you rebellious people of Ammon, who trust in your riches and say,‘ Who would dare to attack us?’I will bring terror on you from every side,” says the Lord GOD who rules over all.“ You will be scattered in every direction. No one will gather the fugitives back together.Yet in days to come I will reverse Ammon’s ill fortune.” says the LORD.

“ I have heard Moab’s taunts and the Ammonites’ insults. They taunted my people and verbally harassed those living in Judah.Therefore, as surely as I live,” says the LORD who commands armies, the God of Israel,“ be certain that Moab will become like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah. They will be overrun by weeds, filled with salt pits, and permanently desolate. Those of my people who are left will plunder their belongings; those who are left in Judah will take possession of their land.”

Those who accumulate houses are as good as dead, those who also accumulate landed property until there is no land left, and you are the only landowners remaining within the land.

“‘ You said,“ These two nations, these two lands will be mine, and we will possess them,”– although the LORD was there–

Now the Ammonites, Moabites, and men from Mount Seir are coming! When Israel came from the land of Egypt, you did not allow them to invade these lands. They bypassed them and did not destroy them.

Indeed, wine will betray the proud, restless man! His appetite is as big as Sheol’s; like death, he is never satisfied. He gathers all the nations; he seizes all peoples.“ But all these nations will someday taunt him and ridicule him with proverbial sayings:‘ The one who accumulates what does not belong to him is as good as dead( How long will this go on?)– he who gets rich by extortion!’

But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard all this, they derided us and expressed contempt toward us. They said,“ What is this you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”

Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek, Philistia and the inhabitants of Tyre.

Later the Moabites and Ammonites, along with some of the Meunites, attacked Jehoshaphat.

But when you come close to the Ammonites, do not harass or provoke them because I am not giving you any of the Ammonites’ land as your possession; I have already given it to Lot’s descendants as their possession.

and said to him,“ This is what Jephthah says,‘ Israel did not steal the land of Moab and the land of the Ammonites.When they left Egypt, Israel traveled through the desert as far as the Red Sea and then came to Kadesh.Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying,“ Please allow us to pass through your land.” But the king of Edom rejected the request. Israel sent the same request to the king of Moab, but he was unwilling to cooperate. So Israel stayed at Kadesh.Then Israel went through the desert and bypassed the land of Edom and the land of Moab. They traveled east of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon River; they did not go through Moabite territory( the Arnon was Moab’s border).Israel sent messengers to King Sihon, the Amorite king who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him,“ Please allow us to pass through your land to our land.”But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. He assembled his whole army, camped in Jahaz, and fought with Israel.The LORD God of Israel handed Sihon and his whole army over to Israel and they defeated them. Israel took all the land of the Amorites who lived in that land.They took all the Amorite territory from the Arnon River on the south to the Jabbok River on the north, from the desert in the east to the Jordan in the west.Since the LORD God of Israel has driven out the Amorites before his people Israel, do you think you can just take it from them?You have the right to take what Chemosh your god gives you, but we will take the land of all whom the LORD our God has driven out before us.Are you really better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he dare to quarrel with Israel? Did he dare to fight with them?Israel has been living in Heshbon and its nearby towns, in Aroer and its nearby towns, and in all the cities along the Arnon for three hundred years! Why did you not reclaim them during that time?I have not done you wrong, but you are doing wrong by attacking me. May the LORD, the Judge, judge this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites!’”But the Ammonite king disregarded the message sent by Jephthah.

( 4: 1) When Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the people of Ashdod heard that the restoration of the walls of Jerusalem had moved ahead and that the breaches had begun to be closed, they were very angry.All of them conspired together to move with armed forces against Jerusalem and to create a disturbance in it.So we prayed to our God and stationed a guard to protect against them both day and night.Then those in Judah said,“ The strength of the laborers has failed! The debris is so great that we are unable to rebuild the wall.”Our adversaries also boasted,“ Before they are aware or anticipate anything, we will come in among them and kill them, and we will bring this work to a halt!”So it happened that the Jews who were living near them came and warned us repeatedly about all the schemes they were plotting against us.So I stationed people at the lower places behind the wall in the exposed places. I stationed the people by families, with their swords, spears, and bows.When I had made an inspection, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people,“ Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the great and awesome Lord, and fight on behalf of your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your families!”It so happened that when our adversaries heard that we were aware of these matters, God frustrated their intentions. Then all of us returned to the wall, each to his own work.From that day forward, half of my men were doing the work and half of them were taking up spears, shields, bows, and body armor. Now the officers were behind all the people of Judahwho were rebuilding the wall. Those who were carrying loads did so by keeping one hand on the work and the other on their weapon.The builders to a man had their swords strapped to their sides while they were building. But the trumpeter remained with me.I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people,“ The work is demanding and extensive, and we are spread out on the wall, far removed from one another.Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, gather there with us. Our God will fight for us!”So we worked on, with half holding spears, from dawn till dusk.At that time I instructed the people,“ Let every man and his coworker spend the night in Jerusalem and let them be guards for us by night and workers by day.We did not change clothes– not I, nor my relatives, nor my workers, nor the watchmen who were with me. Each had his weapon, even when getting a drink of water.

Nahash the Ammonite marched against Jabesh Gilead. All the men of Jabesh Gilead said to Nahash,“ Make a treaty with us and we will serve you.”But Nahash the Ammonite said to them,“ The only way I will make a treaty with you is if you let me gouge out the right eye of every one of you and in so doing humiliate all Israel!”

Later the king of the Ammonites died and his son Hanun succeeded him.David said,“ I will express my loyalty to Hanun son of Nahash just as his father was loyal to me.” So David sent his servants with a message expressing sympathy over his father’s death. When David’s servants entered the land of the Ammonites,the Ammonite officials said to their lord Hanun,“ Do you really think David is trying to honor your father by sending these messengers to express his sympathy? No, David has sent his servants to you to get information about the city and spy on it so they can overthrow it!”So Hanun seized David’s servants and shaved off half of each one’s beard. He cut the lower part of their robes off so that their buttocks were exposed, and then sent them away.Messengers told David what had happened, so he summoned them, for the men were thoroughly humiliated. The king said,“ Stay in Jericho until your beards have grown again; then you may come back.”When the Ammonites realized that David was disgusted with them, they sent and hired 20,000 foot soldiers from Aram Beth Rehob and Aram Zobah, in addition to 1,000 men from the king of Maacah and 12,000 men from Ish-tob.When David heard the news, he sent Joab and the entire army to meet them.The Ammonites marched out and were deployed for battle at the entrance of the city gate, while the men from Aram Zobah, Rehob, Ish-tob, and Maacah were by themselves in the field.

This is what the LORD says:“ Because Damascus has committed three crimes– make that four!– I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They ripped through Gilead like threshing sledges with iron teeth.

“ As for you, son of man, prophesy and say,‘ This is what the sovereign LORD says concerning the Ammonites and their coming humiliation; say:“‘ A sword, a sword drawn for slaughter, polished to consume, to flash like lightning–

An Ammonite or Moabite may not enter the assembly of the LORD; to the tenth generation none of their descendants shall ever do so,for they did not meet you with food and water on the way as you came from Egypt, and furthermore, they hired Balaam son of Beor of Pethor in Aram Naharaim to curse you.

The LORD sent against him Babylonian, Syrian, Moabite, and Ammonite raiding bands; he sent them to destroy Judah, as he had warned he would do through his servants the prophets.

The LORD was furious with Israel and turned them over to the Philistines and Ammonites.They ruthlessly oppressed the Israelites that eighteenth year– that is, all the Israelites living east of the Jordan in Amorite country in Gilead.The Ammonites crossed the Jordan to fight with Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim. Israel suffered greatly.