| Holman Christian Standard Bible | International Standard Version |
| 1An oracle against Damascus: Look, Damascus is no longer a city. It has become a ruined heap. | 1A message about Damascus: "Look! Damascus will cease to be a city. Instead, it will become a pile of ruins. |
| 2The cities of Aroer are forsaken; they will be places for flocks. They will lie down without fear. | 2The cities of Oraru will be deserted— they will be devoted to herds that will lay at rest, and terrorism will be no more. |
| 3The fortress disappears from Ephraim, and a kingdom from Damascus. The remnant of Aram will be like the splendor of the Israelites. This is the declaration of the LORD of Hosts. | 3The fortress will disappear from Ephraim, and royal authority from Damascus; the survivors from Aram will be like the glory of the Israelis," declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies. |
| 4On that day the splendor of Jacob will fade, and his healthy body will become emaciated. | 4"At that time, Jacob's glory will have become weakened, and his strong flesh will turn gaunt; |
| 5It will be as if a reaper had gathered standing grain-- his arm harvesting the heads of grain-- and as if one had gleaned heads of grain in the Valley of Rephaim. | 5it will be as if harvesters gather standing grain, reaping the ears by hand, or it will be as if grain is harvested in the valley of Rephaim. |
| 6Only gleanings will be left in Israel, as if an olive tree had been beaten-- two or three berries at the very top of the tree, four or five on its fruitful branches. This is the declaration of the LORD, the God of Israel. | 6Nevertheless, gleanings will remain in Israel, as when an olive tree is beaten— two or three ripe olives left in the topmost branches, four or five left among the branches of a fruit-filled tree," declares the LORD God of Israel. |
| 7On that day people will look to their Maker and will turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel. | 7At that time, men will look upon their Maker, and their eyes will honor the Holy One of Israel. |
| 8They will not look to the altars they made with their hands or to the Asherahs and incense altars they made with their fingers. | 8They will not look upon the altars, the products that their own fingers have made, and they will have no regard for Asherah poles or incense altars. |
| 9On that day their strong cities will be like the abandoned woods and mountaintops that were abandoned because of the Israelites; there will be desolation. | 9"At that time, their fortified cities that they abandoned because of the Israelis will be like desolate places of the forests and hilltops— there will be desolation. |
| 10For you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and you have failed to remember the rock of your strength; therefore you will plant beautiful plants and set out cuttings from exotic vines. | 10For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and have not remembered the Rock that is your strength. Therefore even though you plant delightful plants, sowing them with imported vine-seedlings, |
| 11On the day that you plant, you will help them to grow, and in the morning you will help your seed to sprout, but the harvest will vanish on the day of disease and incurable pain. | 11at the time that you plant them, carefully making them grow, the very morning you make your seed to sprout, your harvest will be ruined in a time of grief and unbearable pain." |
| 12Ah! The roar of many peoples-- they roar like the roaring of the seas. The raging of the nations-- they rage like the raging of mighty waters. | 12"How terrible it will be for many peoples, who rage like the roaring sea! Oh, how the uproar of nations is like the sound of rushing, mighty water— How they roar! |
| 13The nations rage like the raging of many waters. He rebukes them, and they flee far away, driven before the wind like chaff on the hills and like tumbleweeds before a gale. | 13The nations roar like the rushing of many waters, but the LORD will rebuke them, and they will run far away, chased like chaff blown down from the mountains or like thick dust that rolls along, blown along by a wind storm. |
| 14In the evening--sudden terror! Before morning--it is gone! This is the fate of those who plunder us and the lot of those who ravage us. | 14When the evening arrives, watch out—sudden terror! By morning they will be there no longer! So it will be for those who plunder us and what will happen to those who rob us." |
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