A Judgment on Babylon

21 An oracle(A) against the desert by the sea:(B)

Like storms that pass over the Negev,
it comes from the desert, from the land of terror.
A troubling vision is declared to me:
“The treacherous one acts treacherously,(C)
and the destroyer destroys.
Advance, Elam! Lay siege, you Medes!
I will put an end to all her groaning.”

Therefore I am[a] filled with anguish.
Pain grips me, like the pain of a woman in labor.(D)
I am too perplexed to hear,
too dismayed to see.
My heart staggers;
horror terrifies me.
He has turned my last glimmer of hope[b]
into sheer terror.(E)
Prepare a table,(F) and spread out a carpet!
Eat and drink!
Rise up, you princes, and oil the shields!

For the Lord has said to me,
“Go, post a lookout;
let him report what he sees.
When he sees riders—
pairs of horsemen,
riders on donkeys,
riders on camels—
he must pay close attention.”
Then the lookout[c] reported,
“Lord, I stand on the watchtower all day,(G)
and I stay at my post all night.
Look, riders come—
horsemen in pairs.”
And he answered, saying,
“Babylon has fallen,(H) has fallen.
All the images of her gods
have been shattered on the ground.”(I)

10 My people who have been crushed
on the threshing floor,(J)
I have declared to you
what I have heard from the Lord of Hosts,
the God of Israel.

An Oracle against Dumah

11 An oracle(K) against Dumah:[d](L)

One calls to me from Seir,(M)
“Watchman, what is left of the night?
Watchman, what is left of the night?”
12 The watchman said,
“Morning has come, and also night.
If you want to ask, ask!
Come back again.”

An Oracle against Arabia

13 An oracle against Arabia:(N)

In the desert[e] brush
you will camp for the night,
you caravans of Dedanites.(O)
14 Bring water for the thirsty.
The inhabitants of the land of Tema(P)
meet[f] the refugees with food.
15 For they have fled from swords,
from the drawn sword,
from the bow that is strung,
and from the stress of battle.

16 For the Lord said this to me: “Within one year,(Q) as a hired worker counts years, all the glory of Kedar(R) will be gone. 17 The remaining Kedarite archers will be few in number.” For the Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.

An Oracle against Jerusalem

22 An oracle(S) against the Valley of Vision:(T)

What’s the matter with you?
Why have all of you gone up to the rooftops?(U)
The noisy city, the jubilant town,(V)
is filled with revelry.
Your dead did not die by the sword;
they were not killed in battle.
All your rulers have fled together,
captured without a bow.
All your fugitives were captured together;
they had fled far away.
Therefore I said,
“Look away from me! Let me weep bitterly!(W)
Do not try to comfort me
about the destruction of my dear[g] people.”
For the Lord God of Hosts
had a day of tumult, trampling, and confusion(X)
in the Valley of Vision—
people shouting[h] and crying to the mountains;
Elam took up a quiver
with chariots and horsemen,[i]
and Kir(Y) uncovered the shield.
Your best valleys were full of chariots,
and horsemen were positioned at the gates.
He removed the defenses of Judah.

On that day you looked to the weapons in the House of the Forest.(Z) You saw that there were many breaches in the walls of the city of David.(AA) You collected water from the lower pool.(AB) 10 You counted the houses of Jerusalem so that you could tear them down to fortify the wall. 11 You made a reservoir between the walls(AC) for the waters of the ancient pool,(AD) but you did not look to the One who made it, or consider the One who created it long ago.

12 On that day the Lord God of Hosts
called for weeping,(AE) for wailing, for shaven heads,
and for the wearing of sackcloth.
13 But look: joy and gladness,
butchering of cattle, slaughtering of sheep,
eating of meat, and drinking of wine—
“Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”(AF)
14 The Lord of Hosts has directly revealed to me:(AG)
“This sin of yours will never[j] be wiped out.”(AH)
The Lord God of Hosts has spoken.

An Oracle against Shebna

15 The Lord God of Hosts said: “Go to Shebna,(AI) that steward who is in charge of the palace, and say to him: 16 What are you doing here? Who authorized you to carve out a tomb for yourself here, carving your tomb on the height and cutting a crypt for yourself out of rock?(AJ) 17 Look, you strong man! The Lord is about to shake you violently. He will take hold of you, 18 wind you up into a ball, and sling you into a wide land.[k] There you will die, and there your glorious chariots will be—a disgrace to the house of your lord. 19 I will remove you from your office; you will be ousted from your position.

20 “On that day I will call for my servant, Eliakim son of Hilkiah.(AK) 21 I will clothe him with your robe and tie your sash around him. I will put your authority into his hand, and he will be like a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the House of Judah.(AL) 22 I will place the key(AM) of the House of David on his shoulder; what he opens, no one can close; what he closes, no one can open.(AN) 23 I will drive him, like a peg, into a firm place. He will be a throne of honor for his father’s house. 24 They will hang on him the whole burden of his father’s house: the descendants and the offshoots—all the small vessels, from bowls to every kind of jar. 25 On that day”—the declaration of the Lord of Hosts—“the peg that was driven into a firm place will give way, be cut off, and fall, and the load on it will be destroyed.” Indeed, the Lord has spoken.

An Oracle against Tyre

23 An oracle(AO) against Tyre:(AP)

Wail, ships of Tarshish,(AQ)
for your haven has been destroyed.
Word has reached them from the land of Cyprus.[l](AR)
Mourn, inhabitants of the coastland,
you merchants of Sidon;(AS)
your agents have crossed the sea[m]
on many waters.
Tyre’s revenue was the grain from Shihor—
the harvest of the Nile.
She was the merchant among the nations.(AT)
Be ashamed Sidon, the stronghold of the sea,
for the sea has spoken:
“I have not been in labor or given birth.
I have not raised young men
or brought up young women.”
When the news reaches Egypt,
they will be in anguish over the news about Tyre.(AU)
Cross over to Tarshish;
wail, inhabitants of the coastland!
Is this your jubilant city,
whose origin was in ancient times,
whose feet have taken her
to settle far away?
Who planned this against Tyre,
the bestower of crowns,
whose traders are princes,
whose merchants are the honored ones of the earth?
The Lord of Hosts planned it,
to desecrate all its glorious beauty,
to disgrace all the honored ones of the earth.
10 Overflow[n] your land like the Nile, daughter of Tarshish;
there is no longer anything to restrain you.[o]
11 He stretched out His hand over the sea;(AV)
He made kingdoms tremble.
The Lord has commanded
that the Canaanite fortresses be destroyed.
12 He said,
“You will not rejoice anymore,
ravished young woman, daughter of Sidon.
Get up and cross over to Cyprus(AW)
even there you will have no rest!”
13 Look at the land of the Chaldeans—
a people who no longer exist.
Assyria destined it for desert creatures.
They set up their siege towers
and stripped its palaces.
They made it a ruin.
14 Wail, ships of Tarshish,
because your fortress is destroyed!

15 On that day Tyre will be forgotten for 70 years—the life span of one king. At the end of 70 years, what the song says about the prostitute will happen to Tyre:

16 Pick up your lyre,
stroll through the city,
prostitute forgotten by men.
Play skillfully,
sing many a song,
and you will be thought of again.

17 And at the end of the 70 years,(AX) the Lord will restore Tyre(AY) and she will go back into business, prostituting herself with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth. 18 But her profits and wages will be dedicated to the Lord. They will not be stored or saved, for her profit will go to those who live in the Lord’s presence, to provide them with ample food and sacred clothing.

The Earth Judged

24 Look, the Lord is stripping the earth bare
and making it desolate.
He will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants:
people and priest alike,
servant and master,
female servant and mistress,
buyer and seller,
lender and borrower,
creditor and debtor.
The earth will be stripped completely bare
and will be totally plundered,
for the Lord has spoken this message.(AZ)

The earth mourns and withers;
the world wastes away and withers;
the exalted people of the earth waste away.
The earth is polluted by its inhabitants,(BA)
for they have transgressed teachings,
overstepped decrees,
and broken the everlasting covenant.(BB)
Therefore a curse has consumed the earth,(BC)
and its inhabitants have become guilty;
the earth’s inhabitants have been burned,
and only a few survive.
The new wine mourns;(BD)
the vine withers.
All the carousers now groan.
The joyful tambourines(BE) have ceased.
The noise of the jubilant has stopped.
The joyful lyre has ceased.
They no longer sing and drink wine;
beer is bitter to those who drink it.
10 The city of chaos is shattered;(BF)
every house is closed to entry.(BG)
11 In the streets they cry[p] for wine.
All joy grows dark;
earth’s rejoicing goes into exile.
12 Only desolation remains in the city;
its gate has collapsed in ruins.
13 For this is how it will be on earth
among the nations:
like a harvested olive tree,
like a gleaning after a grape harvest.(BH)

14 They raise their voices, they sing out;
they proclaim in the west
the majesty of the Lord.
15 Therefore, in the east honor the Lord!
In the islands of the west
honor the name of Yahweh,
the God of Israel.
16 From the ends of the earth we hear songs:
The Splendor of the Righteous One.(BI)

But I said, “I waste away! I waste away![q]
Woe is me.”
The treacherous act treacherously;
the treacherous deal very treacherously.(BJ)

17 Panic, pit, and trap await you(BK)
who dwell on the earth.(BL)
18 Whoever flees at the sound of panic
will fall into a pit,
and whoever escapes from the pit
will be caught in a trap.
For the windows are opened from heaven,(BM)
and the foundations of the earth are shaken.(BN)
19 The earth is completely devastated;
the earth is split open;
the earth is violently shaken.
20 The earth staggers like a drunkard(BO)
and sways like a hut.
Earth’s rebellion weighs it down,
and it falls, never to rise again.

21 On that day(BP) the Lord will punish
the host of heaven above
and kings of the earth below.
22 They will be gathered together
like prisoners in a pit.(BQ)
They will be confined to a dungeon;(BR)
after many days they will be punished.
23 The moon will be put to shame
and the sun disgraced,
because the Lord of Hosts will reign as king
on Mount Zion in Jerusalem,
and He will display His glory
in the presence of His elders.(BS)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 21:3 Lit Therefore my loins are
  2. Isaiah 21:4 Lit my twilight
  3. Isaiah 21:8 DSS, Syr; MT reads Then a lion
  4. Isaiah 21:11 Some Hb mss, LXX read Edom
  5. Isaiah 21:13 LXX, Syr, Tg, Vg read desert at evening
  6. Isaiah 21:14 LXX, Syr, Tg, Vg read meet as a command
  7. Isaiah 22:4 Lit of the daughter of my
  8. Isaiah 22:5 Or Vision—a tearing down of a wall, or Vision—Kir raged; Hb obscure
  9. Isaiah 22:6 Lit chariots of man
  10. Isaiah 22:14 Lit will not until you die
  11. Isaiah 22:18 Hb obscure
  12. Isaiah 23:1 Hb Kittim
  13. Isaiah 23:2 DSS; MT reads Sidon, whom the seafarers have filled
  14. Isaiah 23:10 DSS, LXX read Work
  15. Isaiah 23:10 Or longer any harbor
  16. Isaiah 24:11 Lit streets she cries
  17. Isaiah 24:16 Hb obscure

A Prophecy Against Babylon

21 A prophecy(A) against the Desert(B) by the Sea:

Like whirlwinds(C) sweeping through the southland,(D)
    an invader comes from the desert,
    from a land of terror.

A dire(E) vision has been shown to me:
    The traitor betrays,(F) the looter takes loot.
Elam,(G) attack! Media,(H) lay siege!
    I will bring to an end all the groaning she caused.

At this my body is racked with pain,(I)
    pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor;(J)
I am staggered by what I hear,
    I am bewildered(K) by what I see.
My heart(L) falters,
    fear makes me tremble;(M)
the twilight I longed for
    has become a horror(N) to me.

They set the tables,
    they spread the rugs,
    they eat, they drink!(O)
Get up, you officers,
    oil the shields!(P)

This is what the Lord says to me:

“Go, post a lookout(Q)
    and have him report what he sees.
When he sees chariots(R)
    with teams of horses,
riders on donkeys
    or riders on camels,(S)
let him be alert,
    fully alert.”

And the lookout[a](T) shouted,

“Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower;
    every night I stay at my post.
Look, here comes a man in a chariot(U)
    with a team of horses.
And he gives back the answer:
    ‘Babylon(V) has fallen,(W) has fallen!
All the images of its gods(X)
    lie shattered(Y) on the ground!’”

10 My people who are crushed on the threshing floor,(Z)
    I tell you what I have heard
from the Lord Almighty,
    from the God of Israel.

A Prophecy Against Edom

11 A prophecy against Dumah[b]:(AA)

Someone calls to me from Seir,(AB)
    “Watchman, what is left of the night?
    Watchman, what is left of the night?”
12 The watchman replies,
    “Morning is coming, but also the night.
If you would ask, then ask;
    and come back yet again.”

A Prophecy Against Arabia

13 A prophecy(AC) against Arabia:(AD)

You caravans of Dedanites,(AE)
    who camp in the thickets of Arabia,
14     bring water for the thirsty;
you who live in Tema,(AF)
    bring food for the fugitives.
15 They flee(AG) from the sword,(AH)
    from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow
    and from the heat of battle.

16 This is what the Lord says to me: “Within one year, as a servant bound by contract(AI) would count it, all the splendor(AJ) of Kedar(AK) will come to an end. 17 The survivors of the archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be few.(AL)” The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.(AM)

A Prophecy About Jerusalem

22 A prophecy(AN) against the Valley(AO) of Vision:(AP)

What troubles you now,
    that you have all gone up on the roofs,(AQ)
you town so full of commotion,
    you city of tumult(AR) and revelry?(AS)
Your slain(AT) were not killed by the sword,(AU)
    nor did they die in battle.
All your leaders have fled(AV) together;
    they have been captured(AW) without using the bow.
All you who were caught were taken prisoner together,
    having fled while the enemy was still far away.
Therefore I said, “Turn away from me;
    let me weep(AX) bitterly.
Do not try to console me
    over the destruction of my people.”(AY)

The Lord, the Lord Almighty, has a day(AZ)
    of tumult and trampling(BA) and terror(BB)
    in the Valley of Vision,(BC)
a day of battering down walls(BD)
    and of crying out to the mountains.
Elam(BE) takes up the quiver,(BF)
    with her charioteers and horses;
    Kir(BG) uncovers the shield.
Your choicest valleys(BH) are full of chariots,
    and horsemen are posted at the city gates.(BI)

The Lord stripped away the defenses of Judah,
    and you looked in that day(BJ)
    to the weapons(BK) in the Palace of the Forest.(BL)
You saw that the walls of the City of David
    were broken through(BM) in many places;
you stored up water
    in the Lower Pool.(BN)
10 You counted the buildings in Jerusalem
    and tore down houses(BO) to strengthen the wall.(BP)
11 You built a reservoir between the two walls(BQ)
    for the water of the Old Pool,(BR)
but you did not look to the One who made it,
    or have regard(BS) for the One who planned(BT) it long ago.

12 The Lord, the Lord Almighty,
    called you on that day(BU)
to weep(BV) and to wail,
    to tear out your hair(BW) and put on sackcloth.(BX)
13 But see, there is joy and revelry,(BY)
    slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep,
    eating of meat and drinking of wine!(BZ)
“Let us eat and drink,” you say,
    “for tomorrow we die!”(CA)

14 The Lord Almighty has revealed this in my hearing:(CB) “Till your dying day this sin will not be atoned(CC) for,” says the Lord, the Lord Almighty.

15 This is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says:

“Go, say to this steward,
    to Shebna(CD) the palace(CE) administrator:(CF)
16 What are you doing here and who gave you permission
    to cut out a grave(CG) for yourself(CH) here,
hewing your grave on the height
    and chiseling your resting place in the rock?

17 “Beware, the Lord is about to take firm hold of you
    and hurl(CI) you away, you mighty man.
18 He will roll you up tightly like a ball
    and throw(CJ) you into a large country.
There you will die
    and there the chariots(CK) you were so proud of
    will become a disgrace to your master’s house.
19 I will depose you from your office,
    and you will be ousted(CL) from your position.(CM)

20 “In that day(CN) I will summon my servant,(CO) Eliakim(CP) son of Hilkiah. 21 I will clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash(CQ) around him and hand your authority(CR) over to him. He will be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the people of Judah. 22 I will place on his shoulder(CS) the key(CT) to the house of David;(CU) what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.(CV) 23 I will drive him like a peg(CW) into a firm place;(CX) he will become a seat[c] of honor(CY) for the house of his father. 24 All the glory of his family will hang on him: its offspring and offshoots—all its lesser vessels, from the bowls to all the jars.

25 “In that day,(CZ)” declares the Lord Almighty, “the peg(DA) driven into the firm place will give way; it will be sheared off and will fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut down.” The Lord has spoken.(DB)

A Prophecy Against Tyre

23 A prophecy against Tyre:(DC)

Wail,(DD) you ships(DE) of Tarshish!(DF)
    For Tyre is destroyed(DG)
    and left without house or harbor.
From the land of Cyprus
    word has come to them.

Be silent,(DH) you people of the island
    and you merchants(DI) of Sidon,(DJ)
    whom the seafarers have enriched.
On the great waters
    came the grain of the Shihor;(DK)
the harvest of the Nile[d](DL) was the revenue of Tyre,(DM)
    and she became the marketplace of the nations.

Be ashamed, Sidon,(DN) and you fortress of the sea,
    for the sea has spoken:
“I have neither been in labor nor given birth;(DO)
    I have neither reared sons nor brought up daughters.”
When word comes to Egypt,
    they will be in anguish(DP) at the report from Tyre.(DQ)

Cross over to Tarshish;(DR)
    wail, you people of the island.
Is this your city of revelry,(DS)
    the old, old city,
whose feet have taken her
    to settle in far-off lands?
Who planned this against Tyre,
    the bestower of crowns,
whose merchants(DT) are princes,
    whose traders(DU) are renowned in the earth?
The Lord Almighty planned(DV) it,
    to bring down(DW) her pride in all her splendor
    and to humble(DX) all who are renowned(DY) on the earth.

10 Till[e] your land as they do along the Nile,
    Daughter Tarshish,
    for you no longer have a harbor.
11 The Lord has stretched out his hand(DZ) over the sea
    and made its kingdoms tremble.(EA)
He has given an order concerning Phoenicia
    that her fortresses be destroyed.(EB)
12 He said, “No more of your reveling,(EC)
    Virgin Daughter(ED) Sidon, now crushed!

“Up, cross over to Cyprus;(EE)
    even there you will find no rest.”
13 Look at the land of the Babylonians,[f](EF)
    this people that is now of no account!
The Assyrians(EG) have made it
    a place for desert creatures;(EH)
they raised up their siege towers,(EI)
    they stripped its fortresses bare
    and turned it into a ruin.(EJ)

14 Wail, you ships(EK) of Tarshish;(EL)
    your fortress is destroyed!(EM)

15 At that time Tyre(EN) will be forgotten for seventy years,(EO) the span of a king’s life. But at the end of these seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute:

16 “Take up a harp, walk through the city,
    you forgotten prostitute;(EP)
play the harp well, sing many a song,
    so that you will be remembered.”

17 At the end of seventy years,(EQ) the Lord will deal with Tyre. She will return to her lucrative prostitution(ER) and will ply her trade with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth.(ES) 18 Yet her profit and her earnings will be set apart for the Lord;(ET) they will not be stored up or hoarded. Her profits will go to those who live before the Lord,(EU) for abundant food and fine clothes.(EV)

The Lord’s Devastation of the Earth

24 See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth(EW)
    and devastate(EX) it;
he will ruin its face
    and scatter(EY) its inhabitants—
it will be the same
    for priest as for people,(EZ)
    for the master as for his servant,
    for the mistress as for her servant,
    for seller as for buyer,(FA)
    for borrower as for lender,
    for debtor as for creditor.(FB)
The earth will be completely laid waste(FC)
    and totally plundered.(FD)
The Lord has spoken(FE) this word.

The earth dries up(FF) and withers,(FG)
    the world languishes and withers,
    the heavens(FH) languish with the earth.(FI)
The earth is defiled(FJ) by its people;
    they have disobeyed(FK) the laws,
violated the statutes
    and broken the everlasting covenant.(FL)
Therefore a curse(FM) consumes the earth;
    its people must bear their guilt.
Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up,(FN)
    and very few are left.
The new wine dries up(FO) and the vine withers;(FP)
    all the merrymakers groan.(FQ)
The joyful timbrels(FR) are stilled,
    the noise(FS) of the revelers(FT) has stopped,
    the joyful harp(FU) is silent.(FV)
No longer do they drink wine(FW) with a song;
    the beer is bitter(FX) to its drinkers.
10 The ruined city(FY) lies desolate;(FZ)
    the entrance to every house is barred.
11 In the streets they cry out(GA) for wine;(GB)
    all joy turns to gloom,(GC)
    all joyful sounds are banished from the earth.
12 The city is left in ruins,(GD)
    its gate(GE) is battered to pieces.
13 So will it be on the earth
    and among the nations,
as when an olive tree is beaten,(GF)
    or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest.(GG)

14 They raise their voices, they shout for joy;(GH)
    from the west(GI) they acclaim the Lord’s majesty.
15 Therefore in the east(GJ) give glory(GK) to the Lord;
    exalt(GL) the name(GM) of the Lord, the God of Israel,
    in the islands(GN) of the sea.
16 From the ends of the earth(GO) we hear singing:(GP)
    “Glory(GQ) to the Righteous One.”(GR)

But I said, “I waste away, I waste away!(GS)
    Woe(GT) to me!
The treacherous(GU) betray!
    With treachery the treacherous betray!(GV)
17 Terror(GW) and pit and snare(GX) await you,
    people of the earth.(GY)
18 Whoever flees(GZ) at the sound of terror
    will fall into a pit;(HA)
whoever climbs out of the pit
    will be caught in a snare.(HB)

The floodgates of the heavens(HC) are opened,
    the foundations of the earth shake.(HD)
19 The earth is broken up,(HE)
    the earth is split asunder,(HF)
    the earth is violently shaken.
20 The earth reels like a drunkard,(HG)
    it sways like a hut(HH) in the wind;
so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion(HI)
    that it falls(HJ)—never to rise again.(HK)

21 In that day(HL) the Lord will punish(HM)
    the powers(HN) in the heavens above
    and the kings(HO) on the earth below.
22 They will be herded together
    like prisoners(HP) bound in a dungeon;(HQ)
they will be shut up in prison
    and be punished[g] after many days.(HR)
23 The moon will be dismayed,
    the sun(HS) ashamed;
for the Lord Almighty will reign(HT)
    on Mount Zion(HU) and in Jerusalem,
    and before its elders—with great glory.(HV)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 21:8 Dead Sea Scrolls and Syriac; Masoretic Text A lion
  2. Isaiah 21:11 Dumah, a wordplay on Edom, means silence or stillness.
  3. Isaiah 22:23 Or throne
  4. Isaiah 23:3 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls Sidon, / who cross over the sea; / your envoys are on the great waters. / The grain of the Shihor, / the harvest of the Nile,
  5. Isaiah 23:10 Dead Sea Scrolls and some Septuagint manuscripts; Masoretic Text Go through
  6. Isaiah 23:13 Or Chaldeans
  7. Isaiah 24:22 Or released

21 The burden of the desert of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south pass through; so it cometh from the desert, from a terrible land.

A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease.

Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it.

My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me.

Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield.

For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth.

And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels; and he hearkened diligently with much heed:

And he cried, A lion: My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights:

And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground.

10 O my threshing, and the corn of my floor: that which I have heard of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you.

11 The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?

12 The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will enquire, enquire ye: return, come.

13 The burden upon Arabia. In the forest in Arabia shall ye lodge, O ye travelling companies of Dedanim.

14 The inhabitants of the land of Tema brought water to him that was thirsty, they prevented with their bread him that fled.

15 For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, and from the bent bow, and from the grievousness of war.

16 For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Within a year, according to the years of an hireling, and all the glory of Kedar shall fail:

17 And the residue of the number of archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall be diminished: for the Lord God of Israel hath spoken it.

22 The burden of the valley of vision. What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops?

Thou that art full of stirs, a tumultuous city, joyous city: thy slain men are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle.

All thy rulers are fled together, they are bound by the archers: all that are found in thee are bound together, which have fled from far.

Therefore said I, Look away from me; I will weep bitterly, labour not to comfort me, because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people.

For it is a day of trouble, and of treading down, and of perplexity by the Lord God of hosts in the valley of vision, breaking down the walls, and of crying to the mountains.

And Elam bare the quiver with chariots of men and horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield.

And it shall come to pass, that thy choicest valleys shall be full of chariots, and the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate.

And he discovered the covering of Judah, and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest.

Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool.

10 And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall.

11 Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago.

12 And in that day did the Lord God of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:

13 And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die.

14 And it was revealed in mine ears by the Lord of hosts, Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die, saith the Lord God of hosts.

15 Thus saith the Lord God of hosts, Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto Shebna, which is over the house, and say,

16 What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, as he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, and that graveth an habitation for himself in a rock?

17 Behold, the Lord will carry thee away with a mighty captivity, and will surely cover thee.

18 He will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country: there shalt thou die, and there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy lord's house.

19 And I will drive thee from thy station, and from thy state shall he pull thee down.

20 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah:

21 And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.

22 And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.

23 And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house.

24 And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons.

25 In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the sure place be removed, and be cut down, and fall; and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off: for the Lord hath spoken it.

23 The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them.

Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle; thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished.

And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue; and she is a mart of nations.

Be thou ashamed, O Zidon: for the sea hath spoken, even the strength of the sea, saying, I travail not, nor bring forth children, neither do I nourish up young men, nor bring up virgins.

As at the report concerning Egypt, so shall they be sorely pained at the report of Tyre.

Pass ye over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the isle.

Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days? her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn.

Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth?

The Lord of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth.

10 Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of Tarshish: there is no more strength.

11 He stretched out his hand over the sea, he shook the kingdoms: the Lord hath given a commandment against the merchant city, to destroy the strong holds thereof.

12 And he said, Thou shalt no more rejoice, O thou oppressed virgin, daughter of Zidon: arise, pass over to Chittim; there also shalt thou have no rest.

13 Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up the towers thereof, they raised up the palaces thereof; and he brought it to ruin.

14 Howl, ye ships of Tarshish: for your strength is laid waste.

15 And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot.

16 Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.

17 And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the Lord will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.

18 And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the Lord: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the Lord, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing.

24 Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.

And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him.

The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath spoken this word.

The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.

The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.

Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.

The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merryhearted do sigh.

The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth.

They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it.

10 The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in.

11 There is a crying for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone.

12 In the city is left desolation, and the gate is smitten with destruction.

13 When thus it shall be in the midst of the land among the people, there shall be as the shaking of an olive tree, and as the gleaning grapes when the vintage is done.

14 They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the Lord, they shall cry aloud from the sea.

15 Wherefore glorify ye the Lord in the fires, even the name of the Lord God of Israel in the isles of the sea.

16 From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous. But I said, My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me! the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously.

17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.

18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.

19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.

20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.

21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.

22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.

23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.