| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1This is the burden against the Desert by the Sea: Like whirlwinds sweeping through the Negev, an invader comes from the desert, from a land of terror. | 1This message came to me concerning Babylon—the desert by the sea : Disaster is roaring down on you from the desert, like a whirlwind sweeping in from the Negev. |
| 2A dire vision is declared to me: “The traitor still betrays, and the destroyer still destroys. Go up, O Elam! Lay siege, O Media! I will put an end to all her groaning.” | 2I see a terrifying vision: I see the betrayer betraying, the destroyer destroying. Go ahead, you Elamites and Medes, attack and lay siege. I will make an end to all the groaning Babylon caused. |
| 3Therefore my body is filled with anguish. Pain grips me, like the pains of a woman in labor. I am bewildered to hear, I am dismayed to see. | 3My stomach aches and burns with pain. Sharp pangs of anguish are upon me, like those of a woman in labor. I grow faint when I hear what God is planning; I am too afraid to look. |
| 4My heart falters; fear makes me tremble. The twilight of my desire has turned to horror. | 4My mind reels and my heart races. I longed for evening to come, but now I am terrified of the dark. |
| 5They prepare a table, they lay out a carpet, they eat, they drink! Rise up, O princes, oil the shields! | 5Look! They are preparing a great feast. They are spreading rugs for people to sit on. Everyone is eating and drinking. But quick! Grab your shields and prepare for battle. You are being attacked! |
| 6For this is what the Lord says to me: “Go, post a lookout and have him report what he sees. | 6Meanwhile, the Lord said to me, “Put a watchman on the city wall. Let him shout out what he sees. |
| 7When he sees chariots with teams of horsemen, riders on donkeys, riders on camels, he must be alert, fully alert.” | 7He should look for chariots drawn by pairs of horses, and for riders on donkeys and camels. Let the watchman be fully alert.” |
| 8Then the lookout shouted: “Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower; night after night I stay at my post. | 8Then the watchman called out, “Day after day I have stood on the watchtower, my lord. Night after night I have remained at my post. |
| 9Look, here come the riders, horsemen in pairs.” And one answered, saying: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon! All the images of her gods lie shattered on the ground!” | 9Now at last—look! Here comes a man in a chariot with a pair of horses!” Then the watchman said, “Babylon is fallen, fallen! All the idols of Babylon lie broken on the ground!” |
| 10O my people, crushed on the threshing floor, I tell you what I have heard from the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel. | 10O my people, threshed and winnowed, I have told you everything the LORD of Heaven’s Armies has said, everything the God of Israel has told me. A Message about Edom |
| 11This is the burden against Dumah: One calls to me from Seir, “Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?” | 11This message came to me concerning Edom : Someone from Edom keeps calling to me, “Watchman, how much longer until morning? When will the night be over?” |
| 12The watchman replies, “Morning has come, but also the night. If you would inquire, then inquire. Come back yet again.” | 12The watchman replies, “Morning is coming, but night will soon return. If you wish to ask again, then come back and ask.” A Message about Arabia |
| 13This is the burden against Arabia: In the thickets of Arabia you must lodge, O caravans of Dedanites. | 13This message came to me concerning Arabia: O caravans from Dedan, hide in the deserts of Arabia. |
| 14Bring water for the thirsty, O dwellers of Tema; meet the refugees with food. | 14O people of Tema, bring water to these thirsty people, food to these weary refugees. |
| 15For they flee from the sword—the sword that is drawn—from the bow that is bent, and from the stress of battle. | 15They have fled from the sword, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow and the terrors of battle. |
| 16For this is what the Lord says to me: “Within one year, as a hired worker would count it, all the glory of Kedar will be gone. | 16The Lord said to me, “Within a year, counting each day, all the glory of Kedar will come to an end. |
| 17The remaining archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be few.” For the LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken. | 17Only a few of its courageous archers will survive. I, the LORD, the God of Israel, have spoken!” |
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