A pronouncement concerning the desert by the sea:
Like storms that pass over the Negev,
it comes from the desert, from the land of terror.
A troubling vision is declared to me:
“The treacherous one acts treacherously,
and the destroyer destroys.
Advance, Elam! Lay siege, you Medes!
I will put an end to all the groaning.”
Prepare a table, and spread out a carpet!
Eat and drink!
Rise up, you princes, and oil the shields!
“When he sees riders —
pairs of horsemen,
riders on donkeys,
riders on camels —
he must pay close attention.”
“Look, riders come —
horsemen in pairs.”
And he answered, saying,
“Babylon has fallen, has fallen.
All the images of her gods
have been shattered on the ground.”
My people who have been crushed
on the threshing floor,
I have declared to you
what I have heard from the LORD of Armies,
the God of Israel.
The watchman said,
“Morning has come, and also night.
If you want to ask, ask!
Come back again.”
For they have fled from swords,
from the drawn sword,
from the bow that is strung,
and from the stress of battle.
For the Lord said this to me: “Within one year, as a hired worker counts years, all the glory of Kedar will be gone.
Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017, 2020 by Holman Bible Publishers.
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