Judgment · Edom in the clefts of the rock

Jeremiah 49:7-22

Jeremiah · ~595 BC · Status: Fulfilled · Confidence: 65%
“Concerning Edom, thus saith the LORD of hosts; Is wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished? Flee ye, turn back, dwell deep, O inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time that I will visit him.”
King James Version · the opening — all 16 verses are below
More of Jeremiah 49 on this siteJeremiah 49:1-6 · Jeremiah 49:23-27 · Jeremiah 49:28-33 · Jeremiah 49:34-39

Jeremiah's oracle against Edom in its rock fortress — pride humbled, the land made a perpetual desolation like Sodom.

Read the whole passage — all 16 verses (KJV)

49:7Concerning Edom, thus saith the LORD of hosts; Is wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished?

49:8Flee ye, turn back, dwell deep, O inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time that I will visit him.

49:9If grapegatherers come to thee, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? if thieves by night, they will destroy till they have enough.

49:10But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is spoiled, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he is not.

49:11Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me.

49:12For thus saith the LORD; Behold, they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunken; and art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink of it.

49:13For I have sworn by myself, saith the LORD, that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes.

49:14I have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent unto the heathen, saying, Gather ye together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle.

49:15For, lo, I will make thee small among the heathen, and despised among men.

49:16Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the LORD.

49:17Also Edom shall be a desolation: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof.

49:18As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the LORD, no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it.

49:19Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan against the habitation of the strong: but I will suddenly make him run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me?

49:20Therefore hear the counsel of the LORD, that he hath taken against Edom; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitations desolate with them.

49:21The earth is moved at the noise of their fall, at the cry the noise thereof was heard in the Red sea.

49:22Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread his wings over Bozrah: and at that day shall the heart of the mighty men of Edom be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.

Fulfillment References

Obadiah 1:1-21 Ezekiel 35:1-15 Malachi 1:2-4 Isaiah 34:5-15

How Traditions Read This Prophecy

Apostolic (Oneness) PentecostalThe pride that says 'who shall bring me down' is humbled by the one God who exalts the lowly and abases the proud.
JewishJudgment on Edom (Esau), Israel's ancestral rival, for violence against Jacob; in later tradition 'Edom' becomes a cipher for hostile world power.
CatholicThe humbling of the proud nation in its mountain stronghold — a lesson on the fall of those who trust their own security.
ProtestantA fulfilled prophecy: Edom was overrun and its people eventually vanished from history as a distinct nation.
OrthodoxDivine judgment on pride and fraternal violence, fulfilled in Edom's disappearance.
DispensationalFulfilled history; Edom's permanent desolation contrasts with Israel's preservation.
AcademicScholars note the close parallels with Obadiah, the Nabatean displacement of Edom, and the eventual loss of Edomite identity (absorbed after the Roman period) as broadly fulfilling the desolation oracles.
Open the full interactive entry →
Audio narration (listen to this prophecy read aloud), cross-references, Hebrew/Greek, Dead Sea Scrolls notes, a prophetic timeline, network maps, study tools and multi-tradition analysis in the interactive explorer.
Bible Prophecy Explorer · based on J. Barton Payne’s Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy catalogue · an openly Apostolic (Oneness) Pentecostal study resource — all traditions presented fairly. Pastor: C. Myles Young, D.Min. · Bishop: Nathaniel J. Wilson, Ed.D.