What Does Jeremiah 49:35-39 Mean?

Q.  Do you know what God was talking about in Jeremiah 49:35-39?  Is that a prophecy or something that happened already?

A.  Jeremiah 49:35-39 is a warning God had Jeremiah send to Elam, saying He was going to scatter them to the four winds but would later restore them.

According to Genesis 10:22 Elam was the oldest son of Shem.  His descendants settled in the land east of the Tigris River. God had Nebuchadnezzar conquer Elam around the same time that all other Middle Eastern nations came under Babylonian rule (Jeremiah 25).  Later Elam rose to prominence again under the name of Persia. Together with the Medes, Persia overthrew Babylon. (Daniel’s visions of Daniel 8 and Daniel 10 took place in Susa, the most prominent city of what had been Elam, and his tomb is there today.)  They were subsequently conquered again, this time by Alexander the Great, but a portion of the kingdom survived to become known as Parthia.  The wise men who came to visit the Lord at His birth were Parthian priests.  Parthia unsuccessfully battled with Rome for control of the Middle East.  Today Elam/Persia/Parthia is known as Iran.