| New King James Version | New International Version |
| 1The burden against the Wilderness of the Sea. As whirlwinds in the South pass through, So it comes from the desert, from a terrible land. | 1A prophecy against the Desert by the Sea: Like whirlwinds sweeping through the southland, an invader comes from the desert, from a land of terror. |
| 2A distressing vision is declared to me; The treacherous dealer deals treacherously, And the plunderer plunders. Go up, O Elam! Besiege, O Media! All its sighing I have made to cease. | 2A dire vision has been shown to me: The traitor betrays, the looter takes loot. Elam, attack! Media, lay siege! I will bring to an end all the groaning she caused. |
| 3Therefore my loins are filled with pain; Pangs have taken hold of me, like the pangs of a woman in labor. I was distressed when I heard it; I was dismayed when I saw it. | 3At this my body is racked with pain, pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor; I am staggered by what I hear, I am bewildered by what I see. |
| 4My heart wavered, fearfulness frightened me; The night for which I longed He turned into fear for me. | 4My heart falters, fear makes me tremble; the twilight I longed for has become a horror to me. |
| 5Prepare the table, Set a watchman in the tower, Eat and drink. Arise, you princes, Anoint the shield! | 5They set the tables, they spread the rugs, they eat, they drink! Get up, you officers, oil the shields! |
| 6For thus has the Lord said to me: “Go, set a watchman, Let him declare what he sees.” | 6This is what the Lord says to me: "Go, post a lookout and have him report what he sees. |
| 7And he saw a chariot with a pair of horsemen, A chariot of donkeys, and a chariot of camels, And he listened earnestly with great care. | 7When he sees chariots with teams of horses, riders on donkeys or riders on camels, let him be alert, fully alert." |
| 8Then he cried, “A lion, my Lord! I stand continually on the watchtower in the daytime; I have sat at my post every night. | 8And the lookout shouted, "Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower; every night I stay at my post. |
| 9And look, here comes a chariot of men with a pair of horsemen!” Then he answered and said, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen! And all the carved images of her gods He has broken to the ground.” | 9Look, here comes a man in a chariot with a team of horses. And he gives back the answer: 'Babylon has fallen, has fallen! All the images of its gods lie shattered on the ground!'" |
| 10Oh, my threshing and the grain of my floor! That which I have heard from the LORD of hosts, The God of Israel, I have declared to you. | 10My people who are crushed on the threshing floor, I tell you what I have heard from the LORD Almighty, from the God of Israel. |
| 11The burden against Dumah. He calls to me out of Seir, “Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?” | 11A prophecy against Dumah: Someone calls to me from Seir, "Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?" |
| 12The watchman said, “The morning comes, and also the night. If you will inquire, inquire; Return! Come back!” | 12The watchman replies, "Morning is coming, but also the night. If you would ask, then ask; and come back yet again." |
| 13The burden against Arabia. In the forest in Arabia you will lodge, O you traveling companies of Dedanites. | 13A prophecy against Arabia: You caravans of Dedanites, who camp in the thickets of Arabia, |
| 14O inhabitants of the land of Tema, Bring water to him who is thirsty; With their bread they met him who fled. | 14bring water for the thirsty; you who live in Tema, bring food for the fugitives. |
| 15For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, From the bent bow, and from the distress of war. | 15They flee from the sword, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow and from the heat of battle. |
| 16For thus the LORD has said to me: “Within a year, according to the year of a hired man, all the glory of Kedar will fail; | 16This is what the Lord says to me: "Within one year, as a servant bound by contract would count it, all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end. |
| 17and the remainder of the number of archers, the mighty men of the people of Kedar, will be diminished; for the LORD God of Israel has spoken it.” | 17The survivors of the archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be few." The LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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