| New King James Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1The burden against Damascus. “Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city, And it will be a ruinous heap. | 1An oracle against Damascus: Look, Damascus is no longer a city. It has become a ruined heap. |
| 2The cities of Aroer are forsaken; They will be for flocks Which lie down, and no one will make them afraid. | 2The cities of Aroer are forsaken; they will be places for flocks. They will lie down without fear. |
| 3The fortress also will cease from Ephraim, The kingdom from Damascus, And the remnant of Syria; They will be as the glory of the children of Israel,” Says the LORD of hosts. | 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“In that day it shall come to pass That the glory of Jacob will wane, And the fatness of his flesh grow lean. | 4On that day the splendor of Jacob will fade, and his healthy body will become emaciated. |
| 5It shall be as when the harvester gathers the grain, And reaps the heads with his arm; It shall be as he who gathers heads 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. |
| 6Yet gleaning grapes will be left in it, Like the shaking of an olive tree, Two or three olives at the top of the uppermost bough, Four or five in its most 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. |
| 7In that day a man will look to his Maker, And his eyes will have respect for 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. |
| 8He will not look to the altars, The work of his hands; He will not respect what his fingers have made, Nor the wooden images nor the incense altars. | 8They will not look to the altars they made with their hands or to the Asherahs and incense altars they made with their fingers. |
| 9In that day his strong cities will be as a forsaken bough And an uppermost branch, Which they left because of the children of Israel; And 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. |
| 10Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, And have not been mindful of the Rock of your stronghold, Therefore you will plant pleasant plants And set out foreign seedlings; | 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. |
| 11In the day you will make your plant to grow, And in the morning you will make your seed to flourish; But the harvest will be a heap of ruins In the day of grief and desperate sorrow. | 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. |
| 12Woe to the multitude of many people Who make a noise like the roar of the seas, And to the rushing of nations That make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters! | 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. |
| 13The nations will rush like the rushing of many waters; But God will rebuke them and they will flee far away, And be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, Like a rolling thing before the whirlwind. | 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. |
| 14Then behold, at eventide, trouble! And before the morning, he is no more. This is the portion of those who plunder us, And the lot of those who rob 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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