1. This is a message about the Desert by the Sea:Disaster is coming from the desertlike wind blowing in the south.It is coming from a terrible country.
2. I have seen a terrible vision.I see traitors turning against youand people taking your wealth.Elam, attack the people!Media, surround the city and attack it!I will bring an end to the pain the city causes.
3. I saw those terrible things, and now I am in pain;my pains are like the pains of giving birth.What I hear makes me very afraid;what I see causes me to shake with fear.
4. I am worried,and I am shaking with fear.My pleasant eveninghas become a night of fear.
5. They set the table;they spread the rugs;they eat and drink.Leaders, stand up.Prepare the shields for battle!
6. The Lord said to me,“Go, place a lookout for the cityand have him report what he sees.
7. If he sees chariots and teams of horses,donkeys, or camels,he should pay very close attention.”
8. Then the lookout called out,“My master, each day I stand in the watchtower watching;every night I have been on guard.
9. Look, I see a man coming in a chariotwith a team of horses.”The man gives back the answer,“Babylon has fallen. It has fallen!All the statues of her godslie broken on the ground.”
10. My people are crushed like grain on the threshing floor.My people, I tell you what I have heardfrom the Lord All-Powerful,from the God of Israel.