1. An oracle about the wilderness near the sea.Like whirlwinds sweeping through the arid southern plain,it comes from the desert, from a fearsome land.
2. A harsh vision was proclaimed to me:The betrayer betrays, and the destroyer destroys.Go up, Elam! Lay siege, Media!Put an end to all her groaning.
3. Therefore, I’m shaken to my core in anguish.Pains have seized me like the pains of a woman in labor.I’m too bent over to hear,too dismayed to see.
4. My heart pounds; convulsions overpower me.He has turned my evening of pleasure into dread—
5. setting the table, spreading the cloth, eating, drinking."Arise, captains!Polish the shields."
6. The Lord said this to me:"Go, post a lookout to report what he sees.
7. When he sees chariots, pairs of horsemen,donkey riders, camel riders,he should listen carefully,carefully, very carefully."
8. Then the seer called out:"Upon a watchtower, Lord,I’m standing all day;and upon my observation postI’m stationed throughout the night.