New Living Translation NLT
The Complete Jewish Bible CJB
1 This 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.
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A prophecy about the coastal desert: Like whirlwinds sweeping over the Negev, it comes from the desert, from a fearsome land.
2 I 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.
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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 My 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.
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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 and my heart races. I longed for evening to come, but now I am terrified of the dark.
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My mind reels, shuddering assails me. The twilight I longed for terrifies me.
5 Look! 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!
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They set the table, light the lamps, eat and drink - "Get going, princes! Oil the shields!"
6 Meanwhile, the Lord said to me, “Put a watchman on the city wall. Let him shout out what he sees.
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For this is what Adonai said to me: "Go, post a watchman to report what he sees!
7 He should look for chariots drawn by pairs of horses, and for riders on donkeys and camels. Let the watchman be fully alert.”
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If he sees the cavalry, horsemen in pairs, riders on donkeys, riders on camels, he must be on alert, on full alert!"
8 Then the watchman called out, “Day after day I have stood on the watchtower, my lord. Night after night I have remained at my post.
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He calls out like a lion: "My lord, I stand on the watchtower all day long, I stay at my post all night."
9 Now 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!”
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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 O 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.
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My people, who have been threshed, grain trodden down on my threshing-floor: I am telling you what I have heard from ADONAI-Tzva'ot, the God of Isra'el.
11 This 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?”
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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 replies, “Morning is coming, but night will soon return. If you wish to ask again, then come back and ask.”
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The watchman answers: "Morning is coming, but also the night. If you want to ask, ask! Come back again!"
13 This message came to me concerning Arabia: O caravans from Dedan, hide in the deserts of Arabia.
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A prophecy about Arabia: You caravans of D'danim will camp in the desert growth of Arabia.
14 O people of Tema, bring water to these thirsty people, food to these weary refugees.
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Bring water to the thirsty, you who live in Teima, greet the fugitives with food;
15 They have fled from the sword, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow and the terrors of battle.
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because they are fleeing the sword, the drawn sword, the bent bow and the press of battle.
16 The Lord said to me, “Within a year, counting each day, all the glory of Kedar will come to an end.
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For this is what Adonai has 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 Only a few of its courageous archers will survive. I, the LORD, the God of Israel, have spoken!”
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Few of Kedar's valiant archers will be left. " ADONAI the God of Isra'el has spoken.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.