| New King James Version | New Living Translation |
| 1The burden against the Wilderness of the Sea. As whirlwinds in the South pass through, So it comes from the desert, from a terrible land. | 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 distressing vision is declared to me; The treacherous dealer deals treacherously, And the plunderer plunders. Go up, O Elam! Besiege, O Media! All its sighing I have made to cease. | 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 loins are filled with pain; Pangs have taken hold of me, like the pangs of a woman in labor. I was distressed when I heard it; I was dismayed when I saw it. | 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 wavered, fearfulness frightened me; The night for which I longed He turned into fear for me. | 4My mind reels and my heart races. I longed for evening to come, but now I am terrified of the dark. |
| 5Prepare the table, Set a watchman in the tower, Eat and drink. Arise, you princes, Anoint the shield! | 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 thus has the Lord said to me: “Go, set a watchman, Let him declare what he sees.” | 6Meanwhile, the Lord said to me, “Put a watchman on the city wall. Let him shout out what he sees. |
| 7And he saw a chariot with a pair of horsemen, A chariot of donkeys, and a chariot of camels, And he listened earnestly with great care. | 7He should look for chariots drawn by pairs of horses, and for riders on donkeys and camels. Let the watchman be fully alert.” |
| 8Then he cried, “A lion, my Lord! I stand continually on the watchtower in the daytime; I have sat at my post every night. | 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. |
| 9And look, here comes a chariot of men with a pair of horsemen!” Then he answered and said, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen! And all the carved images of her gods He has broken to 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!” |
| 10Oh, my threshing and the grain of my floor! That which I have heard from the LORD of hosts, The God of Israel, I have declared to you. | 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 |
| 11The burden against Dumah. He calls to me out of Seir, “Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what 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 said, “The morning comes, and also the night. If you will inquire, inquire; Return! Come back!” | 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 |
| 13The burden against Arabia. In the forest in Arabia you will lodge, O you traveling companies of Dedanites. | 13This message came to me concerning Arabia: O caravans from Dedan, hide in the deserts of Arabia. |
| 14O inhabitants of the land of Tema, Bring water to him who is thirsty; With their bread they met him who fled. | 14O people of Tema, bring water to these thirsty people, food to these weary refugees. |
| 15For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, From the bent bow, and from the distress of war. | 15They have fled from the sword, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow and the terrors of battle. |
| 16For thus the LORD has said to me: “Within a year, according to the year of a hired man, all the glory of Kedar will fail; | 16The Lord said to me, “Within a year, counting each day, all the glory of Kedar will come to an end. |
| 17and the remainder of the number of archers, the mighty men of the people of Kedar, will be diminished; for the LORD God of Israel has spoken it.” | 17Only a few of its courageous archers will survive. I, the LORD, the God of Israel, have spoken!” |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
|
