Jacob had intercourse with Rachel also, and he loved her more than Leah. Then he worked for Laban another seven years.

When the LORD saw that Leah was loved less than Rachel, he made it possible for her to have children, but Rachel remained childless.

"Suppose a man has two wives and they both bear him sons, but the first son is not the child of his favorite wife.

When the man decides how he is going to divide his property among his children, he is not to show partiality to the son of his favorite wife by giving him the share that belongs to the first-born son.

"Those who come to me cannot be my disciples unless they love me more than they love father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and themselves as well.

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.

Your pride has deceived you. No one fears you as much as you think they do. You live on the rocky cliffs, high on top of the mountain; but even though you live as high up as an eagle, the LORD will bring you down. The LORD has spoken."

The same thing will happen to Edom that happened to Sodom and Gomorrah, when they and the nearby towns were destroyed. No one will ever live there again. I, the LORD, have spoken.

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.

My people Israel will take revenge on Edom for me, and they will make Edom feel my furious anger. Edom will know what it means to be the object of my revenge." The Sovereign LORD has spoken.

"Prophesy, then, and announce what I, the Sovereign LORD, am saying. When the neighboring nations captured and plundered the mountains of Israel, everyone made fun of Israel.

So now listen to what I, the Sovereign LORD, say to you mountains and hills, to you brooks and valleys, to you places that were left in ruins, and to you deserted cities which were plundered and mocked by all the surrounding nations.

I, the Sovereign LORD, solemnly promise that the surrounding nations will be humiliated.

I am on your side, and I will make sure that your land is plowed again and crops are planted on it.

But from now on it will no longer eat people and rob you of your children. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken.

The land will no longer have to listen to the nations making fun of it or see the peoples sneer at it. The land will no longer rob the nation of its children. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken."

"Egypt will become a desert, and Edom a ruined waste, because they attacked the land of Judah and killed its innocent people.

"Because you robbed and killed your relatives, the descendants of Jacob, you will be destroyed and dishonored forever.

The people of Jacob and of Joseph will be like fire; they will destroy the people of Esau as fire burns stubble. No descendant of Esau will survive. I, the LORD, have spoken.

"People from southern Judah will occupy Edom; those from the western foothills will capture Philistia. Israelites will possess the territory of Ephraim and Samaria; the people of Benjamin will take Gilead.

The victorious men of Jerusalem will attack Edom and rule over it. And the LORD himself will be king."

It will be a place where desert animals live and where owls build their nests. Ostriches will live there, and wild goats will prance through the ruins.

The towers and palaces will echo with the cries of hyenas and jackals. Babylon's time has come! Her days are almost over."

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

Wild animals will roam there, and demons will call to each other. The night monster will come there looking for a place to rest.

the burning sand will become a lake, and dry land will be filled with springs. Where jackals used to live, marsh grass and reeds will grow.

The LORD says, "I will make Jerusalem a pile of ruins, a place where jackals live; the cities of Judah will become a desert, a place where no one lives."

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.