A Judgment on Babylon

1A pronouncementa concerning the desert by the sea:b

Like storms that pass over the Negev,

it comes from the desert, from the land of terror.

2A troubling vision is declared to me:

“The treacherous one acts treacherously,a

and the destroyer destroys.

Advance, Elam! Lay siege, you Medes!

I will put an end to all the groaning.”

3Therefore I amA filled with anguish.

Pain grips me, like the pain of a woman in labor.a

I am too perplexed to hear,

too dismayed to see.

4My heart staggers;

horror terrifies me.

He has turned my last glimmer of hopeA

into sheer terror.a

5Prepare a table,a and spread out a carpet!

Eat and drink!

Rise up, you princes, and oil the shields!

6For the Lord has said to me,

“Go, post a lookout;

let him report what he sees.

7When he sees riders —

pairs of horsemen,

riders on donkeys,

riders on camels —

he must pay close attention.”

8Then the lookoutA reported,

“Lord, I stand on the watchtower all day,a

and I stay at my post all night.

9Look, riders come —

horsemen in pairs.”

And he answered, saying,

“Babylon has fallen,a has fallen.

All the images of her gods

have been shattered on the ground.”b

10My people who have been crushed

on the threshing floor,a

I have declared to you

what I have heard from the Lord of Armies,

the God of Israel.

A Pronouncement against Dumah

11A pronouncementa concerning Dumah:a b

One calls to me from Seir,c

“Watchman, what is left of the night?

Watchman, what is left of the night? ”

12The watchman said,

“Morning has come, and also night.

If you want to ask, ask!

Come back again.”

A Pronouncement against Arabia

13A pronouncement concerning Arabia:a

In the desertA brush

you will camp for the night,

you caravans of Dedanites.b

14Bring water for the thirsty.

The inhabitants of the land of Temaa

meetA the refugees with food.

15For they have fled from swords,

from the drawn sword,

from the bow that is strung,

and from the stress of battle.

16For the Lord said this to me: “Within one year,a as a hired worker counts years, all the glory of Kedarb will be gone. 17The remaining Kedarite archers will be few in number.” For the Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.