| NET Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Here is a message about Damascus: "Look, Damascus is no longer a city, it is a heap of ruins! | 1An oracle against Damascus: Look, Damascus is no longer a city. It has become a ruined heap. |
| 2The cities of Aroer are abandoned. They will be used for herds, which will lie down there in peace. | 2The cities of Aroer are forsaken; they will be places for flocks. They will lie down without fear. |
| 3Fortified cities will disappear from Ephraim, and Damascus will lose its kingdom. The survivors in Syria will end up like the splendor of the Israelites," says the LORD who commands armies. | 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 Hosts. |
| 4"At that time Jacob's splendor will be greatly diminished, and he will become skin and bones. | 4On that day the splendor of Jacob will fade, and his healthy body will become emaciated. |
| 5It will be as when one gathers the grain harvest, and his hand gleans the ear of grain. It will be like one gathering 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. |
| 6There will be some left behind, like when an olive tree is beaten--two or three ripe olives remain toward the very top, four or five on its fruitful branches," says the LORD God of Israel. | 6Only gleanings will be left in Israel, as if an olive tree had been beaten-- two or three berries 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. |
| 7At that time men will trust in their creator; they will depend 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. |
| 8They will no longer trust in the altars their hands made, or depend on the Asherah poles and incense altars their fingers made. | 8They will not look to the altars they made with their hands or to the Asherahs and incense altars they made with their fingers. |
| 9At that time their fortified cities will be like the abandoned summits of the Amorites, which they abandoned because of the Israelites; 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 ignore the God who rescues you; you pay no attention to your strong protector. So this is what happens: You cultivate beautiful plants and plant exotic vines. | 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. |
| 11The day you begin cultivating, you do what you can to make it grow; the morning you begin planting, you do what you can to make it sprout. Yet the harvest will disappear in the day of disease 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. |
| 12The many nations massing together are as good as dead, those who make a commotion as loud as the roaring of the sea's waves. The people making such an uproar are as good as dead, those who make an uproar as loud as the roaring of powerful waves. | 12Ah! The roar of many peoples-- they roar like the roaring of the seas. The raging of the nations-- they rage like the raging of mighty waters. |
| 13Though these people make an uproar as loud as the roaring of powerful waves, when he shouts at them, they will flee to a distant land, driven before the wind like dead weeds on the hills, or like dead thistles before a strong gale. | 13The nations rage like the raging of many waters. He rebukes them, and they flee far away, driven before the wind like chaff on the hills and like tumbleweeds before a gale. |
| 14In the evening there is sudden terror; by morning they vanish. This is the fate of those who try to plunder us, the destiny of those who try to loot 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. |
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