| English Standard Version | Christian Standard Bible |
| 1An oracle concerning Damascus. Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city and will become a heap of ruins. | 1A pronouncement concerning Damascus: Look, Damascus is no longer a city. It has become a ruined heap. |
| 2The cities of Aroer are deserted; they will be for flocks, which will lie down, and none will make them afraid. | 2The cities of Aroer are abandoned; they will be places for flocks. They will lie down without fear. |
| 3The fortress will disappear from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus; and the remnant of Syria will be like the glory of the children of Israel, declares the LORD of hosts. | 3The fortress disappears from Ephraim, and a kingdom from Damascus. The remnant of Aram will be like the splendor of the Israelites. This is the declaration of the LORD of Armies. |
| 4And in that day the glory of Jacob will be brought low, and the fat of his flesh will grow lean. | 4On that day the splendor of Jacob will fade, and his healthy body will become emaciated. |
| 5And it shall be as when the reaper gathers standing grain and his arm harvests the ears, and as when one gleans the ears of grain in the Valley of Rephaim. | 5It will be as if a reaper had gathered standing grain--his arm harvesting the heads of grain--and as if one had gleaned heads of grain in the Valley of Rephaim. |
| 6Gleanings will be left in it, as when an olive tree is beaten— two or three berries in the top of the highest bough, four or five on the branches of a fruit tree, declares the LORD God of Israel. | 6Only gleanings will be left in Israel, as if an olive tree had been beaten--two or three olives at the very top of the tree, four or five on its fruitful branches. This is the declaration of the LORD, the God of Israel. |
| 7In that day man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will look on the Holy One of Israel. | 7On that day people will look to their Maker and will turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel. |
| 8He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, and he will not look on what his own fingers have made, either the Asherim or the altars of incense. | 8They will not look to the altars they made with their hands or to the Asherahs and shrines they made with their fingers. |
| 9In that day their strong cities will be like the deserted places of the wooded heights and the hilltops, which they deserted because of the children of Israel, and there will be desolation. | 9On that day their strong cities will be like the abandoned woods and mountaintops that were abandoned because of the Israelites; there will be desolation. |
| 10For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and have not remembered the Rock of your refuge; therefore, though you plant pleasant plants and sow the vine-branch of a stranger, | 10For you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and you have failed to remember the rock of your strength; therefore you will plant beautiful plants and set out cuttings from exotic vines. |
| 11though you make them grow on the day that you plant them, and make them blossom in the morning that you sow, yet the harvest will flee away in a day of grief and incurable pain. | 11On the day that you plant, you will help them to grow, and in the morning you will help your seed to sprout, but the harvest will vanish on the day of disease and incurable pain. |
| 12Ah, the thunder of many peoples; they thunder like the thundering of the sea! Ah, the roar of nations; they roar like the roaring of mighty waters! | 12Ah! The roar of many peoples--they roar like the roaring of the seas. The raging of the nations--they rage like the rumble of rushing water. |
| 13The nations roar like the roaring of many waters, but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far away, chased like chaff on the mountains before the wind and whirling dust before the storm. | 13The nations rage like the rumble of a huge torrent. He rebukes them, and they flee far away, driven before the wind like chaff on the hills and like tumbleweeds before a gale. |
| 14At evening time, behold, terror! Before morning, they are no more! This is the portion of those who loot us, and the lot of those who plunder us. | 14In the evening--sudden terror! Before morning--it is gone! This is the fate of those who plunder us and the lot of those who ravage us. |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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