[1] A pronouncement concerning the desert by the sea: Like storms that pass over the Negev, it comes from the desert, from the land of terror. [2] A 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 the groaning." [3] Therefore 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. [4] My heart staggers; horror terrifies me. He has turned my last glimmer of hope into sheer terror. [5] Prepare a table, and spread out a carpet! Eat and drink! Rise up, you princes, and oil the shields! [6] For the Lord has said to me, "Go, post a lookout; let him report what he sees. [7] When he sees riders- pairs of horsemen, riders on donkeys, riders on camels- he must pay close attention." [8] Then the lookout reported, "Lord, I stand on the watchtower all day, and I stay at my post all night. [9] Look, 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." [10] My people who have been crushed on the threshing floor, I have declared to you what I have heard from the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel. [11] A pronouncement concerning Dumah: One calls to me from Seir, "Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?" [12] The watchman said, "Morning has come, and also night. If you want to ask, ask! Come back again." [13] A pronouncement concerning Arabia: In the desert brush you will camp for the night, you caravans of Dedanites. [14] Bring water for the thirsty. The inhabitants of the land of Tema meet the refugees with food. [15] For they have fled from swords, from the drawn sword, from the bow that is strung, and from the stress of battle. [16] For the Lord said this to me: "Within one year, as a hired worker counts years, all the glory of Kedar will be gone. [17] The remaining Kedarite archers will be few in number." For the LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken.
