Jeremiah 49:15

The Lord says to Edom, ¹  “I will certainly make you small among nations. I will make you despised by all humankind.

"Now I will make you small among the nations, despised among men.

"For behold, I have made you small among the nations, Despised among men.

This is what the LORD says: "I will cut you down to size among the nations, Edom. You will be despised by all.

"Ah, Edom, I'm dropping you to last place among nations, the bottom of the heap, kicked around.

For see, I have made you small among the nations, looked down on by men.

For I will make you least among the nations, despised by humankind.

"For indeed, I will make you small among nations, Despised among men.

The Lord says to Edom, ¹  “I will certainly make you small among nations. I will make you despised by all humankind.

¹ tn The words “The Lord says to Edom” are not in the text. They have been supplied in the translation to mark the shift from the address of the messenger summoning the nations to prepare to do battle against Edom. The Lord is clearly the speaker (see the end of v. 16) and Edom is clearly the addressee. Such sudden shifts are common in Hebrew poetry, particularly Hebrew prophecy, but are extremely disruptive to a modern reader trying to follow the argument of a passage. TEV adds “The Lord said” and then retains third person throughout. CEV puts all of vv. 14-16 in the second person and uses indirect discourse in v. 15.