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.

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,

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:

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.

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.

The people of Samaria must pay for their sins. They have refused to obey me. They will be killed by swords. Their little children will be smashed on the ground. Their pregnant women will be ripped wide open.”

“ Son of man, turn your attention to the Ammonites. Prophesy against them.Tell them,‘ Listen to the message of the Lord and King. He says,“ You laughed when my temple was made‘ unclean.’ You also laughed when the land of Israel was completely destroyed. You mocked the people of Judah when they were taken away as prisoners.So I am going to hand you over to the people of the east. They will set up their tents in your land. They will camp among you. They will eat your fruit. They will drink your milk.I will turn the city of Rabbah into grasslands for camels. Ammon will become a resting place for sheep. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”The Lord and King says,“ You clapped your hands. You stamped your feet. Deep down inside, you hated the land of Israel. You were glad because of what happened to it.So I will reach out my powerful hand against you. I will give you and everything you have to the nations. I will bring you to an end among the nations. I will destroy you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”

Here is what the Lord says about the people of Ammon. He says,“ Doesn’t Israel have any sons? Doesn’t Israel have anyone to take over the family property? Then why has the god named Molek taken over Gad? Why do those who worship him live in its towns?But a new day is coming,” announces the Lord.“ At that time I will sound the battle cry. I will sound it against Rabbah in the land of Ammon. It will become a pile of broken- down buildings. The villages around it will be set on fire. Then Israel will drive out those who drove her out,” says the Lord.“ Heshbon, weep for Ai! It is destroyed! Cry out, you who live in Rabbah! Put on the clothes of sadness and mourn. Run here and there inside the walls. Your god named Molek will be carried away. So will its priests and officials.Why do you brag about your valleys? You brag that they produce so many crops. Ammon, you are an unfaithful country. You trust in your riches. You say,‘ Who will attack me?’I will bring terror on you. It will come from all those around you,” announces the Lord. He is the Lord who rules over all.“ Every one of you will be driven away. No one will bring back those who escape.“ But after that, I will bless the people of Ammon with great success again,” announces the Lord.

The Lord says,“ I have heard Moab make fun of my people. The Ammonites also laughed at them. They told them that bad things would happen to their land.So Moab will become like Sodom,” announces the Lord who rules over all.“ Ammon will be like Gomorrah. Weeds and salt pits will cover those countries. They will be dry and empty deserts forever. Those who are still left alive among my people will take all their valuable things. So they will receive those lands as their own. And that is just as sure as I am alive.” The Lord is the God of Israel.

How terrible it will be for you who get too many houses! How terrible for you who get too many fields! Finally there won’t be any space left in the land. Then you will live all alone.

“‘ “You said,‘ The nations of Israel and Judah will belong to us. We will take them over.’ You said that, even though I was there. I am the Lord.

“ But here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir. You wouldn’t allow Israel to march in and attack their territory when the Israelites came from Egypt. So Israel turned away from them. They didn’t destroy them.

“ Wine makes the Babylonians do foolish things. They are proud. They never rest. Like the grave, they are always hungry for more. Like death, they are never satisfied. They gather all the nations to themselves. They take all those people away as prisoners.“ Won’t those people laugh at the Babylonians? Won’t they make fun of them? They will say to them,“‘ How terrible it will be for you who pile up stolen goods! You get rich by cheating others. How long will this go on?’

But Sanballat, the Horonite, heard about it. So did Tobiah, the official from Ammon. Geshem, the Arab, heard about it too. All of them laughed at us. They made fun of us.“ What do you think you are doing?” they asked.“ Are you turning against the king?”

They also include the people of Byblos, Ammon, Amalek, Philistia and Tyre.

After that, the Moabites, Ammonites and some Meunites went to war against Jehoshaphat.

When you come to the Ammonites, do not attack them. Do not make them angry. If you do, they will go to war against you. I will not give you any of their land as your own. I have given it to the people in the family line of Lot. I have given it to them as their own.”

They said,“ Here is what Jephthah says to you. Israel didn’t take the land of Moab. They didn’t take the land of Ammon.When Israel came up out of Egypt, they went through the desert to the Red Sea. From there they went on to Kadesh.Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom. They said,‘ Please let us go through your country.’ But the king of Edom wouldn’t listen to them. They sent the same message to the king of Moab. But he refused too. So Israel stayed at Kadesh.“ Next, they traveled through the desert. They traveled along the borders of the lands of Edom and Moab. They passed along the east side of the country of Moab. They camped on the other side of the Arnon River. They didn’t enter the territory of Moab. The Arnon River was Moab’s border.“ Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon. He was the king of the Amorites. He ruled in Heshbon. They said to him,‘ Let us pass through your country to our own land.’But Sihon didn’t trust Israel to pass through his territory. Instead, he gathered all his troops together. They camped at Jahaz. And they fought against Israel.“ Then the Lord, the God of Israel, handed Sihon and his whole army over to Israel. Israel won the battle over them. Amorites were living in the country at that time. And Israel took over all their land.Israel captured all the land between the Arnon River and the Jabbok River. It reached from the desert all the way to the Jordan River.“ The Lord, the God of Israel, has driven the Amorites out to make room for his people. So what right do you have to take it over?You will take what your god Chemosh gives you, won’t you? In the same way, we will take over what the Lord our God has given us.Are you any better than Balak, the son of Zippor? Balak was the king of Moab. Did he ever argue with Israel? Did he ever fight against them?For 300 years Israel has been living in Heshbon and Aroer. They have been living in the settlements around those cities. They have also been living in all the towns along the Arnon River. Why didn’t you take those places back during that time?I haven’t done anything wrong to you. But you are doing something wrong to me. You have gone to war against me. The Lord is the Judge. So let him decide our case today. Let him settle matters between the Israelites and the Ammonites.”But the king of Ammon didn’t pay any attention to the message Jephthah sent him.

But Sanballat and Tobiah heard that Jerusalem’s walls continued to be repaired. The Arabs, the Ammonites and the people of Ashdod heard about it too. They heard that the gaps in the wall were being filled in. So they were very angry.All of them made evil plans to come and fight against Jerusalem. They wanted to stir up trouble against it.But we prayed to our God. We put guards on duty day and night to watch out for danger.During that time, the people in Judah spoke up. They said,“ The workers are getting weaker and weaker all the time. Broken stones are piled up everywhere. They are in our way. So we can’t rebuild the wall.”And our enemies said,“ We will be right there among them. We’ll kill them. We’ll put an end to their work. We’ll do it before they even know it or see us.”Then the Jews who lived near our enemies came to us. They told us ten times,“ No matter where you are, they’ll attack us.”So I stationed some people behind the lowest parts of the wall. That’s where our enemies could easily attack us. I stationed the people family by family. They had their swords, spears and bows with them.I looked things over. Then I stood up and spoke to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people. I said,“ Don’t be afraid of your enemies. Remember the Lord. He is great and powerful. So fight for your families. Fight for your sons and daughters. Fight for your wives and homes.”Our enemies heard that we knew what they were trying to do. They heard that God had blocked their evil plans. So all of us returned to the wall. Each of us did our own work.From that day on, half of my men did the work. The other half were given spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers stationed themselves behind all the people of Judah.The people continued to build the wall. The people who carried supplies did their work with one hand. They held a weapon in the other hand.Each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who blew the trumpet stayed with me.Then I spoke to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people. I said,“ This is a big job. It covers a lot of territory. We’re separated too far from one another along the wall.When you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us at that location. Our God will fight for us!”So we continued the work. Half of the men held spears. We worked from the first light of sunrise until the stars came out at night.At that time I also spoke to the people. I told them,“ Have every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night. Then they can guard us at night. And they can work during the day.”My relatives and I didn’t take off our clothes. My men and the guards didn’t take theirs off either. Each man kept his weapon with him, even when he went to get water.

Nahash was the king of Ammon. He and his army went up to Jabesh Gilead. They surrounded it and got ready to attack it. All the men of Jabesh spoke to Nahash. They said,“ Make a peace treaty with us. Then we’ll be under your control.”Nahash, the king of Ammon, replied,“ I will make a peace treaty with you. But I’ll do it only on one condition. You must let me put out the right eye of every one of you. I want to bring shame on the whole nation of Israel.”

The king of Ammon died. His son Hanun became the next king after him.David thought,“ I’m going to be kind to Hanun. His father Nahash was kind to me.” So David sent messengers to Hanun. He wanted them to tell Hanun how sad he was that Hanun’s father had died. David’s messengers went to the land of Ammon.The Ammonite commanders spoke to their master Hanun. They said,“ David has sent messengers to tell you he is sad. They say he wants to honor your father. But the real reason they’ve come is to look the city over. They want to destroy it.”So Hanun grabbed David’s messengers. He shaved off half of each man’s beard. He cut their clothes off just below the waist and left them half naked. Then he sent them away.David was told about it. So he sent messengers to his men because they were filled with shame. King David said to them,“ Stay at Jericho until your beards grow out again. Then come back here.”The Ammonites realized that what they had done had made David very angry with them. So they hired 20,000 Aramean soldiers who were on foot. The soldiers came from Beth Rehob and Zobah. The Ammonites also hired the king of Maakah and 1,000 men. And they hired 12,000 men from Tob.David heard about it. So he sent Joab out with the entire army of Israel’s fighting men.The Ammonites marched out. They took up their battle positions at the entrance of their city gate. The Arameans of Zobah and Rehob gathered their troops together in the open country. So did the men of Tob and Maakah.

The Lord says,“ The people of Damascus have sinned again and again. So I will judge them. They used threshing sleds with iron teeth to crush Gilead’s people.

“ Son of man, prophesy. Say,‘ The Lord and King speaks about the Ammonites. He also talks about the way they laugh because of Jerusalem’s fall. He says,“‘ “A sword! A sword! Nebuchadnezzar’s sword is ready to kill you. It is shined to destroy you. It flashes like lightning.

The people of Ammon and Moab can’t join in worship with the Lord’ s people. That also applies to their children after them for all time to come.The Ammonites and Moabites didn’t come to meet you with food and water on your way out of Egypt. They even hired Balaam from Pethor in Aram Naharaim to put a curse on you. Balaam was the son of Beor.

The Lord sent robbers against Jehoiakim from Babylon, Aram, Moab and Ammon. He sent them to destroy Judah. That’s what the Lord had said would happen. He had spoken that message through his servants the prophets.

So the Lord became very angry with them. He handed them over to the Philistines and the Ammonites.That year they broke Israel’s power completely. They treated the Israelites badly for 18 years. The people who did this lived east of the Jordan River. They lived in Gilead. That was the land of the Amorites.The Ammonites also went across the Jordan. They crossed over to fight against the tribes of Judah, Benjamin and Ephraim. Israel was suffering terribly.