| New King James Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1The burden against the Wilderness of the Sea. As whirlwinds in the South pass through, So it comes from the desert, from a terrible land. | 1An oracle against the desert by the sea: Like storms that pass over the Negev, it comes from the desert, from the land of terror. |
| 2A distressing vision is declared to me; The treacherous dealer deals treacherously, And the plunderer plunders. Go up, O Elam! Besiege, O Media! All its sighing I have made to cease. | 2A troubling vision is declared to me:" The treacherous one acts treacherously, and the destroyer destroys. Advance, Elam! Lay siege, you Medes! I will put an end to all her groaning." |
| 3Therefore my loins are filled with pain; Pangs have taken hold of me, like the pangs of a woman in labor. I was distressed when I heard it; I was dismayed when I saw it. | 3Therefore I am filled with anguish. Pain grips me, like the pain of a woman in labor. I am too perplexed to hear, too dismayed to see. |
| 4My heart wavered, fearfulness frightened me; The night for which I longed He turned into fear for me. | 4My heart staggers; horror terrifies me. He has turned my last glimmer of hope into sheer terror. |
| 5Prepare the table, Set a watchman in the tower, Eat and drink. Arise, you princes, Anoint the shield! | 5Prepare a table, and spread out a carpet! Eat and drink! Rise up, you princes, and oil the shields! |
| 6For thus has the Lord said to me: “Go, set a watchman, Let him declare what he sees.” | 6For the Lord has said to me," Go, post a lookout; let him report what he sees. |
| 7And he saw a chariot with a pair of horsemen, A chariot of donkeys, and a chariot of camels, And he listened earnestly with great care. | 7When he sees riders-- pairs of horsemen, riders on donkeys, riders on camels-- he must pay close attention." |
| 8Then he cried, “A lion, my Lord! I stand continually on the watchtower in the daytime; I have sat at my post every night. | 8Then the lookout reported," Lord, I stand on the watchtower all day, and I stay at my post all night. |
| 9And look, here comes a chariot of men with a pair of horsemen!” Then he answered and said, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen! And all the carved images of her gods He has broken to the ground.” | 9Look, riders come-- horsemen in pairs." And he answered, saying," Babylon has fallen, has fallen. All the images of her gods have been shattered on the ground." |
| 10Oh, my threshing and the grain of my floor! That which I have heard from the LORD of hosts, The God of Israel, I have declared to you. | 10My people who have been crushed on the threshing floor, I have declared to you what I have heard from the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel. |
| 11The burden against Dumah. He calls to me out of Seir, “Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?” | 11An oracle against Dumah: One calls to me from Seir," Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?" |
| 12The watchman said, “The morning comes, and also the night. If you will inquire, inquire; Return! Come back!” | 12The watchman said," Morning has come, and also night. If you want to ask, ask! Come back again." |
| 13The burden against Arabia. In the forest in Arabia you will lodge, O you traveling companies of Dedanites. | 13An oracle against Arabia: In the desert brush you will camp for the night, you caravans of Dedanites. |
| 14O inhabitants of the land of Tema, Bring water to him who is thirsty; With their bread they met him who fled. | 14Bring water for the thirsty. The inhabitants of the land of Tema meet the refugees with food. |
| 15For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, From the bent bow, and from the distress of war. | 15For they have fled from swords, from the drawn sword, from the bow that is strung, and from the stress of battle. |
| 16For thus the LORD has said to me: “Within a year, according to the year of a hired man, all the glory of Kedar will fail; | 16For the Lord said this to me: "Within one year, as a hired worker counts years, all the glory of Kedar will be gone. |
| 17and the remainder of the number of archers, the mighty men of the people of Kedar, will be diminished; for the LORD God of Israel has spoken it.” | 17The remaining Kedarite archers will be few in number." For the LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken. |
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