21
God Commands That Babylon Be Taken
1 The
1Aoracle concerning the
2Bwilderness of the sea.
As
Cwindstorms in the
3Negev sweep on,
It comes from the wilderness, from a terrifying land.
2 A
Aharsh vision has been shown to me;
The
Btreacherous one
still deals treacherously, and the destroyer
still destroys.
Go up,
CElam, lay siege, Media;
I have made an end of all
1the groaning she has caused.
3 For this reason my
Aloins are full of anguish;
Pains have seized me like the pains of a
Bwoman in labor.
I am so bewildered I cannot hear, so terrified I cannot see.
4 My
1mind reels,
2horror overwhelms me;
The twilight I longed for has been
Aturned for me into trembling.
5 They
Aset the table, they
1spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink;
“Rise up, captains, oil the shields,”
6 For thus the Lord says to me,
“Go, station the lookout, let him
Areport what he sees.
7 “When he sees
Ariders, horsemen in pairs,
A train of donkeys, a train of camels,
Let him pay close attention, very close attention.”
8 Then
1the lookout called,
“
AO Lord, I stand continually by day on the watchtower,
And I am stationed every night at my guard post.
9 “Now behold, here comes a troop of riders, horsemen in pairs.”
And one said, “
AFallen, fallen is Babylon;
And all the
Bimages of her gods
1are shattered on the ground.”
10 O my
Athreshed
people, and my
1afflicted of the threshing floor!
What I have heard from the Loʀᴅ of hosts,
The God of Israel, I make known to you.
Oracles about Edom and Arabia
11 The
1oracle concerning
2AEdom.
One keeps calling to me from
BSeir,
“Watchman,
3how far gone is the night?
Watchman,
3how far gone is the night?”
12 The watchman says,
“Morning comes but also night.
If you would inquire, inquire;
Come back again.”
13 The
1oracle about
AArabia.
In the thickets of Arabia you
2must spend the night,
O caravans of
BDedanites.
14 Bring water
1for the thirsty,
O inhabitants of the land of
ATema,
Meet the fugitive with bread.
15 For they have
Afled from the swords,
From the drawn sword, and from the bent bow
And from the press of battle.
16 For thus the Lord said to me, “In a
Ayear, as
1a hired man would count it, all the splendor of
BKedar will terminate;
17 and the
Aremainder of the number of bowmen, the mighty men of the sons of Kedar, will be few; for the Loʀᴅ God of Israel
Bhas spoken.”