I myself have sworn that the city of Bozrah will become a horrifying sight and a desert; people will make fun of it and use its name as a curse. All the nearby villages will be in ruins forever. I, the LORD, have spoken."

The rivers of Edom will turn into tar, and the soil will turn into sulfur. The whole country will burn like tar.

Owls and ravens will take over the land. The LORD will make it a barren waste again, as it was before the creation.

Thorns and thistles will grow up in all the palaces and walled towns, and jackals and owls will live in them.

Owls will build their nests, lay eggs, hatch their young, and care for them there. Vultures will gather there, one after another.

Now I announce that I will punish Edom and kill every person and animal there. I will make it a wasteland, from the city of Teman to the city of Dedan, and the people will be killed in battle.

I will make the hill country of Edom a wasteland and kill everyone who travels through it.

just as you rejoiced at the devastation of Israel, my own possession. The mountains of Seir, yes, all the land of Edom, will be desolate. Then everyone will know that I am the LORD."

They have made this land a thing of horror, to be despised forever. All who pass by will be shocked at what they see; they will shake their heads in amazement.

Because of my anger no one will live in Babylon; it will be left in ruins, and all who pass by will be shocked and amazed.

That country will become a pile of ruins where wild animals live. It will be a horrible sight; no one will live there, and all who see it will be terrified.

This Temple will become a pile of ruins, and everyone who passes by will be shocked and amazed. 'Why did the LORD do this to this land and this Temple?' they will ask.

then I will remove you from the land that I gave you, and I will abandon this Temple that I have consecrated as the place where I am to be worshiped. People everywhere will ridicule it and treat it with contempt.

"The Temple is now greatly honored, but then everyone who passes by it will be amazed and will ask, 'Why did the LORD do this to this land and this Temple?'

People passing by the city look at you in scorn. They shake their heads and laugh at Jerusalem's ruins: "Is this that lovely city? Is this the pride of the world?"

All your enemies mock you and glare at you with hate. They curl their lips and sneer, "We have destroyed it! This is the day we have waited for!"

This will happen because you have followed the evil practices of King Omri and of his son, King Ahab. You have continued their policies, and so I will bring you to ruin, and everyone will despise you. People everywhere will treat you with contempt."

That is what will happen to the city that is so proud of its own power and thinks it is safe. Its people think that their city is the greatest in the world. What a desolate place it will become, a place where wild animals will rest! Everyone who passes by will shrink back in horror.