Brenton/LXX Jeremiah 29-31 continues the nations oracles with specific words to Philistia, the sons of Ammon, Kedar, Damascus, and Moab. Each nation receives an address shaped by its own boast and its own refusal. In many English Bibles these oracles appear in Jeremiah 47-49. This guide follows the embedded Brenton/LXX source while naming the familiar references.
Source Shape Note
Brenton/LXX Jeremiah 29-31 carries oracles against Philistia, Idumea (Edom), Ammon, Kedar, Damascus, and Moab. In standard Bibles these appear as portions of Jeremiah 47-49. This guide uses the LXX sequence (nations oracles grouped early after ch. 25).
The oracles move across the neighbors of Judah and Israel: the coastal plain (Philistia: Gaza, Ascalon, the remnant of the Anakim, Tyre and Sidon), the south and east (Idumea/Edom with its strongholds in the rocks, Teman, Dedan), Ammon in Rabbath and the plains of the Anakim, Kedar in the desert east, Damascus in the north, and Moab with its cities from Heshbon to Aroer, Zoar, and the high places. The geography is not decoration. Each place names a distinct form of pride: sea-coast commerce and strongholds, rock fortresses and eagle’s nests, treasure cities, ease from youth, and trust in Chemosh.
Jeremiah 29 LXX: Philistia swept away
1. Thus saith the Lord against the Philistines; 2. Behold, waters come up from the north, and shall become a sweeping torrent, and it shall sweep away the land, and its fulness; the city, and them that dwell in it: and men shall cry and all that dwell in the land shall howl, 3. at the sound of his rushing, at the sound of his hoofs, and at the rattling of his chariots, at the noise of his wheels: the fathers turned not to their children because of the weakness of their hands, 4. in the day that is coming to destroy all the Philistines: and I will utterly destroy Tyre and Sidon, and all the rest of their allies: for the Lord will destroy the remaining inhabitants of the islands. 5. Baldness is come upon Gaza; Ascalon is cast away, and the remnant of the Enakim. 6. How long wilt thou smite, O sword of the Lord? how long will it be ere thou art quiet? return into thy sheath, rest, and be removed. 7. How shall it be quiet, whereas the Lord has given it a commission against Ascalon, and against the regions on the sea-coast, to awake against the remaining countries!
The oracle against Philistia is short and violent. Waters from the north become a sweeping torrent. The sound of hoofs, chariots, and wheels makes fathers unable to turn to their children. Tyre and Sidon and the islands are included in the destruction. Baldness on Gaza, Ascalon cast away, the remnant of the Anakim gone. The sword of the Lord is given a commission and will not be quiet until the work is done.
The hard word is the question the prophet puts into the mouth of the sword itself: “How long wilt thou smite, O sword of the Lord?” Even the instrument of judgment seems to ask for rest. The answer is that the Lord has given it a commission against Ascalon and the sea-coast. The judgment is not endless rage; it is purposeful and will cease when the commission is fulfilled. Yet for the Philistines the commission means utter destruction of their remnant.
The oracle guards against the assumption that coastal power, island alliances, or ancient warrior lineages (the Anakim) can stand when the Lord sends the torrent from the north.
Jeremiah 30 LXX: Idumea, Ammon, Kedar, Damascus
1. Concerning Idumea, thus saith the Lord; There is no longer wisdom in Thæman, counsel has perished from the wise ones, their wisdom is gone, 2. their place has been deceived. Dig deep for a dwelling, ye that inhabit Dædam, for he has wrought grievously: I brought trouble upon him in the time at which I visited him. 3. For grape-gatherers are come, who shall not leave thee a remnant; as thieves by night, they shall lay their hand upon thy possessions. 4. For I have stripped Esau, I have uncovered their secret places; they shall have no power to hide themselves, they have perished each by the hand of his brother, my neighbour, and it is impossible 5. for thy fatherless one to be left to live, but I shall live, and the widows trust in me. 6. For thus saith the Lord; They who were not appointed to drink the cup have drunk it; and thou shalt by no means be cleared: 7. for by myself I have sworn, saith the Lord, that thou shalt be in the midst of her an impassable land, and a reproach, and a curse; and all her cities shall be desert for ever. 8. I have heard a report from the Lord, and he has sent messengers to the nations, saying, Assemble yourselves, and come against her; rise ye up to war. 9. I have made thee small among the nations, utterly contemptible among men. 10. Thine insolence has risen up against thee, the fierceness of thine heart has burst the holes of the rocks, it has seized upon the strength of a lofty hill; for as an eagle he set his nest on high: thence will I bring thee down. 11. And Idumea shall be a desert: every one that passes by shall hiss at it. 12. As Sodom was overthrown and Gomorrha and they that sojourned in her, saith the Lord Almighty, no man shall dwell there, nor shall any son of man inhabit there. 13. Behold, he shall come up as a lion out of the midst of Jordan to the place of Ætham: for I will speedily drive them from it, and do ye set the young men against her: for who is like me? and who will withstand me? and who is this shepherd, who shall confront me? 14. Therefore hear ye the counsel of the Lord, which he has framed against Idumea; and his device, which he has devised against the inhabitants of Thæman: surely the least of the sheep shall be swept off; surely their dwelling shall be made desolate for them. 15. For at the sound of their fall the earth was scared, and the cry of the sea was not heard. 16. Behold, he shall look upon her as an eagle, and spread forth his wings over her strongholds; and the heart of the mighty men of Idumea shall be in that day as the heart of a woman in her pangs. 17. Concerning the sons of Ammon thus saith the Lord, Are there no sons in Israel? or have they no one to succeed them? wherefore has Melchol inherited Galaad, and why shall their people dwell in their cities? 18. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will cause to be heard in Rabbath a tumult of wars; and they shall become a waste and ruined place, and her altars shall be burned with fire; then shall Israel succeed to his dominion. 19. Howl, O Esebon, for Gai has perished; cry, ye daughters of Rabbath, gird yourselves with sackclothes, and lament; for Melchol shall go into banishment, his priests and his princes together. 20. Why do ye exult in the plains of the Enakim, thou haughty daughter, that trustest in thy treasures, that sayest, Who shall come in to me? 21. Behold, I will bring terror upon thee, saith the Lord, from all the country round about thee; and ye shall be scattered every one right before him, and there is none to gather you. 23. Concerning Kedar the Queen of the Palace, whom Nabuchodonosor King of Babylon smote, thus saith the Lord; Arise ye, and go up to Kedar, and fill the sons of Kedem. 24. They shall take their tents and their sheep, they shall take for themselves their garments, and all their baggage and their camels; and summon ye destruction against them from every side. 25. Flee ye, dig very deep for a dwelling-place, ye that dwell in the palace; for the king of Babylon has framed a counsel, and devised a device against you. 26. Rise up, and go up against a nation settled and dwelling at ease, who have no doors, nor bolts, nor bars, who dwell alone. 27. And their camels shall be a spoil, and the multitude of their cattle shall be destroyed: and I will scatter them as chaff with every wind, having their hair cut about their foreheads, I will bring on their overthrow from all sides, saith the Lord. 28. And the palace shall be a resting-place for ostriches, and desolate for ever: no man shall abide there, and no son of man shall dwell there. 29. Concerning Damascus. Emath is brought to shame, and Arphath: for they have heard an evil report: they are amazed, they are angry, they shall be utterly unable to rest. 30. Damascus is utterly weakened, she is put to flight; trembling has seized upon her. 31. How has she not left my city, they have loved the village? 32. Therefore shall the young men fall in thy streets, and all thy warriors shall fall, saith the Lord. 33. And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall devour the streets of the son of Ader.
Each neighbor is addressed according to its distinctive sin. Edom (Esau) trusted in the strength of a lofty hill and an eagle’s nest; the Lord brings him down and makes him a desert where the least of the sheep is swept off. Ammon exulted in the plains and trusted in treasures; her altars burn and her god Melchol goes into banishment. Kedar dwelt at ease with no doors or bars; their tents, sheep, garments, camels, and palace become spoil and a resting place for ostriches. Damascus, once a city, is put to flight; her young men and warriors fall, and fire devours the streets.
The repeated image is the cup that those “who were not appointed to drink” have drunk, and the Lord swears they shall by no means be cleared. The nations who were not the primary covenant people still answer to the Lord who made the earth by His great power and high arm. The one who gave the earth to Nebuchadnezzar can take it away.
The oracle against Edom is especially sharp because Edom is “my neighbour” and “Esau.” The stripping and uncovering of secret places, the hand of the brother, the fatherless and widows left without help, the hissing of every passer-by — these are the wages of insolence and the fierceness of heart that burst the holes of the rocks.
Jeremiah 31 LXX: Moab at ease from a child
1. Thus has the Lord said concerning Moab, Woe to Nabau! for it has perished: Cariathaim is taken: Amath and Agath are put to shame. 2. There is no longer any healing for Moab, nor glorying in Esebon: he has devised evils against her: we have cut her off from being a nation, and she shall be completely still: after thee shall go a sword; 3. for there is a voice of men crying out of Oronaim, destruction and great ruin. 4. Moab is ruined, proclaim it to Zogora: 5. for Aloth is filled with weeping: one shall go up weeping by the way of Oronaim; ye have heard a cry of destruction. 6. Flee ye, and save your lives, and ye shall be as a wild ass in the desert. 7. Since thou hast trusted in thy strong-hold, therefore thou shalt be taken: and Chamos shall go forth into captivity, and his priests, and his princes together. 8. And destruction shall come upon every city, it shall by no means escape; the valley also shall perish, and the plain country shall be completely destroyed, as the Lord has said. 9. Set marks upon Moab, for she shall be touched with a plague-spot, and all her cities shall become desolate; whence shall there be an inhabitant for her? 10. Cursed is the man that does the works of the Lord carelessly, keeping back his sword from blood. 11. Moab has been at ease from a child, and trusted in his glory; he has not poured out his liquor from vessel to vessel, and has not gone into banishment, therefore his taste remained in him, and his smell departed not. 12. Therefore, behold, his days come, saith the Lord, when I shall send upon him bad leaders, and they shall lead him astray, and they shall utterly break in pieces his possessions, and shall cut his horns asunder. 13. And Moab shall be ashamed of Chamos, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bæthel their hope, having trusted in them. 14. How will ye say, We are strong, and men strong for war? 15. Moab is ruined, even his city, and his choice young men have gone down to slaughter. 16. The day of Moab is near at hand, and his iniquity moves swiftly to vengeance. 17. Shake the head at him, all ye that are round about him; all of you utter his name; say ye, How is the glorious staff broken to pieces, the rod of magnificence! 18. Come down from thy glory, and sit down in a damp place: Dæbon shall be broken, because Moab is destroyed: there has gone up against thee one to ravage thy strong-hold. 19. Stand by the way, and look, thou that dwellest in Arer; and ask him that is fleeing, and him that escapes, and say, What has happened? 20. Moab is put to shame, because he is broken: howl and cry; proclaim in Arnon, that Moab has perished. 21. And judgment is coming against the land of Misor, upon Chelon, and Rephas, and Mophas, 22. and upon Dæbon, and upon Nabau, and upon the house of Dæthlathaim, 23. and upon Cariathaim, and upon the house of Gæmol, and upon the house of Maon, 24. and upon Carioth, and upon Bosor, and upon all the cities of Moab, far and near. 25. The horn of Moab is broken, and his arm is crushed. 26. Make ye him drunk; for he has magnified himself against the Lord: and Moab shall clap with his hand, and shall be also himself a laughing-stock. 27. For surely Israel was to thee a laughing-stock, and was found among thy thefts, because thou didst fight against him. 28. The inhabitants of Moab have left the cities, and dwelt in rocks; they have become as doves nestling in rocks, at the mouth of a cave. 29. And I have heard of the pride of Moab, he has greatly heightened his pride and his haughtiness, and his heart has been lifted up. 30. But I know his works: is it not enough for him? has he not done thus? 31. Therefore howl ye for Moab on all sides; cry out against the shorn men in a gloomy place. I will weep for thee, 32. O vine of Aserema, as with the weeping of Jazer: thy branches are gone over the sea, they reached the cities of Jazer: destruction has come upon thy fruits, and upon thy grape-gatherers. 33. Joy and gladness have been utterly swept off the land of Moab: and though there was wine in thy presses, in the morning they trod it not, neither in the evening did they raise the cry of joy. 34. From the cry of Esebon even to Ætam their cities uttered their voice, from Zogor to Oronaim, and their tidings as a heifer of three years old, for the water also of Nebrin shall be dried up. 35. And I will destroy Moab, saith the Lord, as he comes up to the altar, and burns incense to his gods. 36. Therefore the heart of Moab shall sound as pipes, my heart shall sound as a pipe for the shorn men; forasmuch as what every man has gained has perished from him. 37. They shall all have their heads shaved in every place, and every beard shall be shaved; and all hands shall beat the breasts, and on all loins shall be sackcloth. 38. And on all the housetops of Moab, and in his streets shall be mourning: for I have broken him, saith the Lord, as a vessel, which is useless. 39. How has he changed! how has Moab turned his back! Moab is put to shame, and become a laughing-stock, and an object of anger to all that are round about him. 40. For thus said the Lord; 41. Carioth is taken, and the strong-holds have been taken together. 42. And Moab shall perish from being a multitude, because he has magnified himself against the Lord. 43. A snare, and fear, and the pit, are upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab. 44. He that flees from the terror shall fall into the pit, and he that comes up out of the pit shall even be taken in the snare: for I will bring these things upon Moab in the year of their visitation.
Moab’s distinctive sin is named plainly: “Moab has been at ease from a child, and trusted in his glory; he has not poured out his liquor from vessel to vessel, and has not gone into banishment, therefore his taste remained in him, and his smell departed not.” He was never unsettled, never poured out, never forced to change. His taste and smell stayed the same because nothing disturbed him. The Lord sends bad leaders who lead him astray, breaks his horn, cuts his possessions in pieces, and makes him a laughing-stock.
The Lord weeps for him: “I will weep for thee, O vine of Aserema, as with the weeping of Jazer.” The heart of Moab sounds as pipes, and the Lord’s heart sounds as a pipe for the shorn men. Yet the judgment is total: every city touched with a plague-spot, every beard shaved, sackcloth on every loin, mourning on every housetop. “Moab shall perish from being a multitude, because he has magnified himself against the Lord.”
The curse on the man who does the Lord’s work carelessly, keeping back his sword from blood, stands as a hard-text guardrail. The one who shrinks from the commission receives the curse. The one who trusts in his own unbroken ease receives the breaking.
The Church’s Voice in Worship ⛪
No specific Coptic Orthodox lectionary reading for Jeremiah 29-31 is attested in the sources consulted. The oracles against the varied neighbors speak of the Lord’s sovereignty over all peoples and the particular judgment that falls on each form of pride and false security (rock fortresses for Edom, unbroken ease for Moab, sea-coast power for Philistia). These themes appear in the Church’s reading of the Prophets and in the call to repentance that precedes every feast.
Spiritual Fruit 🍇
The fruit is the refusal to remain “at ease from a child” in the taste and smell of unexamined life. Moab “has been at ease from a child, and trusted in his glory; he has not poured out his liquor from vessel to vessel, and has not gone into banishment, therefore his taste remained in him, and his smell departed not.” The Lord sends bad leaders, breaks his horn, cuts his possessions, makes him a laughing-stock. “Cursed is the man that does the works of the Lord carelessly, keeping back his sword from blood.” Philistia is swept by torrent from the north; baldness on Gaza, Ascalon cast away. Edom’s eagle’s nest on the lofty hill is brought down; Ammon’s treasures and god Melchol go into banishment; Kedar’s palace with no doors or bars becomes spoil for ostriches.
In parish life this calls us to examine where we have settled into a taste that has never been disturbed by the Lord’s word or by the unsettlement of repentance. Each boast—sea-coast commerce, rock fortresses, unbroken ease, desert security, city strength—receives its own address and its own breaking. The cup that those “who were not appointed to drink” have drunk stands as warning: “thou shalt by no means be cleared.”
Ascetically, the text invites the reader to ask whether his comfort has become condemnation, whether he has magnified himself against the Lord like Moab. Ecclesially, the Lord who weeps for Moab (“I will weep for thee, O vine of Aserema”) still breaks the horn of the one who magnifies himself. The same Lord who scatters the proud gathers those who flee to Him. The Church is poured out in baptism, in the cup, in the life of repentance; those who refuse to be poured out remain in their own smell.
Teaching Notes
People and nations at a glance
- The Philistines, whose land is swept by waters from the north; baldness comes on Gaza, Ascalon is cast away.
- Edom / Esau / Idumea, stripped, uncovered, made a reproach and a curse, brought down from the lofty hill like an eagle.
- The sons of Ammon, who inherited Gilead and exulted in the plains; their altars will burn and Melchol will go into banishment.
- Kedar, the settled nation dwelling at ease with no doors or bars; their camels and cattle become spoil.
- Damascus, weakened, put to flight, her young men and warriors fallen.
- Moab, at ease from a child, trusting in his glory, magnified against the Lord; his horn is broken, his cities desolate, his taste remains unchanged because he was never poured from vessel to vessel.
- The Lord, who sends the sword, the lion from the thicket, the bad leaders, and the fire; who weeps for Moab yet will not hold back the judgment.
Jeremiah 29 LXX: Philistia swept away
- Ask: Why does the oracle include Tyre, Sidon, and the islands with the Philistines?
- Emphasize: No alliance of coast or commerce stands when the torrent from the north is sent.
- Watch for: Treating the judgment as only ancient history or as modern geopolitical commentary.
- Connect: The Lord of the sea and the islands is the same Lord who stills the storm in the Gospels.
- Show: Use a map of the Levant coast to locate the cities named.
Jeremiah 30 LXX: Idumea, Ammon, Kedar, Damascus
- Ask: What does the image of the eagle’s nest on the lofty hill reveal about Edom’s confidence?
- Emphasize: Insolence and the fierceness of heart that trusts in natural defenses are brought down.
- Watch for: Assuming that “my neighbour” status or ancient kinship protects from judgment.
- Connect: Christ is the one who brings down the proud and exalts the humble.
- Show: Note the contrast between Edom’s “secret places” and the Lord’s uncovering.
Jeremiah 31 LXX: Moab at ease from a child
- Ask: Why is “at ease from a child” and “has not poured out his liquor from vessel to vessel” the heart of Moab’s condemnation?
- Emphasize: Comfort that never changes, glory that is never tested, a taste that remains the same — these become the reason for ruin.
- Watch for: Equating unbroken ease with divine favor or spiritual health.
- Connect: The Church is poured out in baptism, in the cup, in the life of repentance; those who refuse to be poured out remain in their own smell.
- Show: The image of the vessel that is never poured is a direct warning against spiritual stagnation.
Sources
Embedded Scripture is from Brenton’s English Septuagint (LXX).