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.

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.

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 bear the consequences of their guilt because they rebelled against their God. They will be killed by an invading army, their little ones dashed to death against the ground, their pregnant women ripped open by swords.”

“ Son of man, turn and face the land of Ammon and prophesy against its people.Give the Ammonites this message from the Sovereign Lord: Hear the word of the Sovereign Lord! Because you cheered when my Temple was defiled, mocked Israel in her desolation, and laughed at Judah as she went away into exile,I will allow nomads from the eastern deserts to overrun your country. They will set up their camps among you and pitch their tents on your land. They will harvest all your fruit and drink the milk from your livestock.And I will turn the city of Rabbah into a pasture for camels, and all the land of the Ammonites into a resting place for sheep and goats. Then you will know that I am the Lord.“ This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you clapped and danced and cheered with glee at the destruction of my people,I will raise my fist of judgment against you. I will give you as plunder to many nations. I will cut you off from being a nation and destroy you completely. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

This message was given concerning the Ammonites. This is what the Lord says:“ Are there no descendants of Israel to inherit the land of Gad? Why are you, who worship Molech, living in its towns?In the days to come,” says the Lord,“ I will sound the battle cry against your city of Rabbah. It will become a desolate heap of ruins, and the neighboring towns will be burned. Then Israel will take back the land you took from her,” says the Lord.“ Cry out, O Heshbon, for the town of Ai is destroyed. Weep, O people of Rabbah! Put on your clothes of mourning. Weep and wail, hiding in the hedges, for your god Molech, with his priests and officials, will be hauled off to distant lands.You are proud of your fertile valleys, but they will soon be ruined. You trusted in your wealth, you rebellious daughter, and thought no one could ever harm you.But look! I will bring terror upon you,” says the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.“ Your neighbors will chase you from your land, and no one will help your exiles as they flee.But I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites in days to come. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

“ I have heard the taunts of the Moabites and the insults of the Ammonites, mocking my people and invading their borders.Now, as surely as I live,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel,“ Moab and Ammon will be destroyed— destroyed as completely as Sodom and Gomorrah. Their land will become a place of stinging nettles, salt pits, and eternal desolation. The remnant of my people will plunder them and take their land.”

What sorrow for you who buy up house after house and field after field, until everyone is evicted and you live alone in the land.

“ For you said,‘ The lands of Israel and Judah will be ours. We will take possession of them. What do we care that the Lord is there!’

“ And now see what the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir are doing. You would not let our ancestors invade those nations when Israel left Egypt, so they went around them and did not destroy them.

Wealth is treacherous, and the arrogant are never at rest. They open their mouths as wide as the grave, and like death, they are never satisfied. In their greed they have gathered up many nations and swallowed many peoples.“ But soon their captives will taunt them. They will mock them, saying,‘ What sorrow awaits you thieves! Now you will get what you deserve! You’ve become rich by extortion, but how much longer can this go on?’

But when Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arab heard of our plan, they scoffed contemptuously.“ What are you doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” they asked.

Gebalites, Ammonites, and Amalekites; and people from Philistia and Tyre.

After this, the armies of the Moabites, Ammonites, and some of the Meunites declared war on Jehoshaphat.

and enter the land of the Ammonites, the descendants of Lot. But do not bother them or start a war with them. I have given the land of Ammon to them as their property, and I will not give you any of their land.’”

“ This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not steal any land from Moab or Ammon.When the people of Israel arrived at Kadesh on their journey from Egypt after crossing the Red Sea,they sent messengers to the king of Edom asking for permission to pass through his land. But their request was denied. Then they asked the king of Moab for similar permission, but he wouldn’t let them pass through either. So the people of Israel stayed in Kadesh.“ Finally, they went around Edom and Moab through the wilderness. They traveled along Moab’s eastern border and camped on the other side of the Arnon River. But they never once crossed the Arnon River into Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab.“ Then Israel sent messengers to King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled from Heshbon, asking for permission to cross through his land to get to their destination.But King Sihon didn’t trust Israel to pass through his land. Instead, he mobilized his army at Jahaz and attacked them.But the Lord, the God of Israel, gave his people victory over King Sihon. So Israel took control of all the land of the Amorites, who lived in that region,from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River, and from the eastern wilderness to the Jordan.“ So you see, it was the Lord, the God of Israel, who took away the land from the Amorites and gave it to Israel. Why, then, should we give it back to you?You keep whatever your god Chemosh gives you, and we will keep whatever the Lord our God gives us.Are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he try to make a case against Israel for disputed land? Did he go to war against them?“ Israel has been living here for 300 years, inhabiting Heshbon and its surrounding settlements, all the way to Aroer and its settlements, and in all the towns along the Arnon River. Why have you made no effort to recover it before now?Therefore, I have not sinned against you. Rather, you have wronged me by attacking me. Let the Lord, who is judge, decide today which of us is right— Israel or Ammon.”But the king of Ammon paid no attention to Jephthah’s message.

But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites heard that the work was going ahead and that the gaps in the wall of Jerusalem were being repaired, they were furious.They all made plans to come and fight against Jerusalem and throw us into confusion.But we prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night to protect ourselves.Then the people of Judah began to complain,“ The workers are getting tired, and there is so much rubble to be moved. We will never be able to build the wall by ourselves.”Meanwhile, our enemies were saying,“ Before they know what’s happening, we will swoop down on them and kill them and end their work.”The Jews who lived near the enemy came and told us again and again,“ They will come from all directions and attack us!”So I placed armed guards behind the lowest parts of the wall in the exposed areas. I stationed the people to stand guard by families, armed with swords, spears, and bows.Then as I looked over the situation, I called together the nobles and the rest of the people and said to them,“ Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!”When our enemies heard that we knew of their plans and that God had frustrated them, we all returned to our work on the wall.But from then on, only half my men worked while the other half stood guard with spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. The leaders stationed themselves behind the people of Judahwho were building the wall. The laborers carried on their work with one hand supporting their load and one hand holding a weapon.All the builders had a sword belted to their side. The trumpeter stayed with me to sound the alarm.Then I explained to the nobles and officials and all the people,“ The work is very spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall.When you hear the blast of the trumpet, rush to wherever it is sounding. Then our God will fight for us!”We worked early and late, from sunrise to sunset. And half the men were always on guard.I also told everyone living outside the walls to stay in Jerusalem. That way they and their servants could help with guard duty at night and work during the day.During this time, none of us— not I, nor my relatives, nor my servants, nor the guards who were with me— ever took off our clothes. We carried our weapons with us at all times, even when we went for water.

About a month later, King Nahash of Ammon led his army against the Israelite town of Jabesh gilead. But all the citizens of Jabesh asked for peace.“ Make a treaty with us, and we will be your servants,” they pleaded.“ All right,” Nahash said,“ but only on one condition. I will gouge out the right eye of every one of you as a disgrace to all Israel!”

Some time after this, King Nahash of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun became king.David said,“ I am going to show loyalty to Hanun just as his father, Nahash, was always loyal to me.” So David sent ambassadors to express sympathy to Hanun about his father’s death. But when David’s ambassadors arrived in the land of Ammon,the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun, their master,“ Do you really think these men are coming here to honor your father? No! David has sent them to spy out the city so they can come in and conquer it!”So Hanun seized David’s ambassadors and shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their robes at the buttocks, and sent them back to David in shame.When David heard what had happened, he sent messengers to tell the men,“ Stay at Jericho until your beards grow out, and then come back.” For they felt deep shame because of their appearance.When the people of Ammon realized how seriously they had angered David, they sent and hired 20,000 Aramean foot soldiers from the lands of Beth rehob and Zobah, 1,000 from the king of Maacah, and 12,000 from the land of Tob.When David heard about this, he sent Joab and all his warriors to fight them.The Ammonite troops came out and drew up their battle lines at the entrance of the city gate, while the Arameans from Zobah and Rehob and the men from Tob and Maacah positioned themselves to fight in the open fields.

This is what the Lord says:“ The people of Damascus have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go unpunished! They beat down my people in Gilead as grain is threshed with iron sledges.

“ And now, son of man, prophesy concerning the Ammonites and their mockery. Give them this message from the Sovereign Lord:“ A sword, a sword is drawn for your slaughter. It is polished to destroy, flashing like lightning!

“ No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants for ten generations may be admitted to the assembly of the Lord.These nations did not welcome you with food and water when you came out of Egypt. Instead, they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in distant Aram naharaim to curse you.

Then the Lord sent bands of Babylonian, Aramean, Moabite, and Ammonite raiders against Judah to destroy it, just as the Lord had promised through his prophets.

So the Lord burned with anger against Israel, and he turned them over to the Philistines and the Ammonites,who began to oppress them that year. For eighteen years they oppressed all the Israelites east of the Jordan River in the land of the Amorites( that is, in Gilead).The Ammonites also crossed to the west side of the Jordan and attacked Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim. The Israelites were in great distress.