21:1 Here is a message about the Desert by the Sea:¹
Like strong winds blowing in the south,²
one invades from the desert,
from a land that is feared.
21:2 I have received a distressing message.³
“The deceiver deceives,
the destroyer destroys.
Attack, you Elamites!
Besiege, you Medes!
I will put an end to all the groaning.”⁴
21:3 For this reason my stomach churns,⁵
cramps overwhelm me,
like the contractions of a woman in labor.
I am disturbed⁶ by what I hear,
horrified by what I see.
21:4 My heart palpitates,⁷
I shake in fear;⁸
the twilight I desired
has brought me terror.
21:5 Arrange the table,
lay out⁹ the carpet,
eat and drink!¹⁰
Arise you officers,
smear oil the shields!¹¹
21:6 For this is what the sovereign master has told me:
“Go, post a guard!
He must report what he sees.
21:7 When he sees chariots,
teams of horses,¹²
riders on donkeys,
riders on camels,
he must be alert,
very alert.”
21:8 Then the guard¹³ cries out:
“On the watchtower, O sovereign master,
I stand all day long;
at my post
I am stationed every night.
21:9 Look what’s coming!
A charioteer,
a team of horses.”¹⁴
When questioned, he replies,¹⁵
“Babylon has fallen, fallen,
all the idols of her gods lie shattered on the ground.”
21:10 O my downtrodden people, crushed like stalks on the threshing floor,¹⁶
what I have heard
from the LORD who leads armies,
the God of Israel,
I have reported to you.

21:11 Here is a message about Dumah:¹⁷
Someone calls to me from Seir,¹⁸
“Watchman, what is left of the night?
Watchman, what is left of the night?”¹⁹
21:12 The watchman replies,
“Morning is coming, but then night.²⁰
If you want to ask, ask;
come again.”²¹

21:13 Here is a message about Arabia:
In the thicket of Arabia you spend the night,
you Dedanite caravans.
21:14 Bring out some water for the thirsty.
You who live in the land of Tema,
bring some food for the fugitive.
21:15 For they flee from the swords,
from the drawn sword;
and from the battle ready bow,
and the severity of the battle.

21:16 For this is what the sovereign master has told me: “Within exactly one year²² all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end. 21:17 Just a handful of archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be left.”²³ Indeed²⁴ the LORD God of Israel has spoken.