1 A prophecy about the coastal desert:
Like whirlwinds sweeping over the Negev,
it comes from the desert, from a fearsome land.
2 A dire vision has been shown to me:
the betrayer betrays, and the spoiler spoils.
‘Eilam, advance! Madai, lay siege!
I will end all groaning.
3 This is why my insides are racked with pain;
I am seized by pangs, like a woman in labor;
wrenched by what I hear,
aghast at what I see.
4 My mind reels, shuddering assails me.
The twilight I longed for terrifies me.
5 They set the table, light the lamps,
eat and drink —
“Get going, princes! Oil the shields!”
6 For this is whatAdonaisaid to me:
“Go, post a watchman to report what he sees!
7 If he sees the cavalry, horsemen in pairs,
riders on donkeys, riders on camels,
he must be on alert, on full alert!”
8 He calls out like a lion: “My lord,
I stand on the watchtower all day long,
I stay at my post all night.”
9 Then, as they appeared — the cavalry,
horsemen in pairs — he spoke these words:
“She has fallen! She has fallen — Bavel!
All the carved images of her gods
lie shattered on the ground.”
10 My people, who have been threshed,
grain trodden down on my threshing-floor:
I am telling you what I have heard
fromAdonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el.
11 A prophecy about Dumah:
Someone is calling to me from Se‘ir:
“Watchman, how much longer is it night?
Watchman, how much longer is it night?”
12 The watchman answers:
“Morning is coming, but also the night.
If you want to ask, ask! Come back again!”
13 A prophecy about Arabia:
You caravans of D’danim will camp
in the desert growth of Arabia.
14 Bring water to the thirsty, you who live in Teima,
greet the fugitives with food;
15 because they are fleeing the sword, the drawn sword,
the bent bow and the press of battle.
16 For this is whatAdonaihas told me: “Within a year [and not a day more], as if a hired worker were keeping track of the time, the glory of Kedar will come to an end.
17 Few of Kedar’s valiant archers will be left. ”Adonaithe God of Isra’el has spoken.