As ^(C)windstorms in the ^[b]Negev come in turns,
It comes from the wilderness, from a terrifying land.
² A ^(D)harsh vision has been shown to me;
The ^(E)treacherous one still deals treacherously, and the destroyer still destroys.
Go up, ^(F)Elam, lay siege, Media;
I have put an end to all ^[c]the groaning she has caused.
³ For this reason my ^(G)loins are full of anguish;
Pains have seized me like the pains of a ^(H)woman in labor.
I am so bewildered I cannot hear, so terrified I cannot see.
⁴ My ^[d]mind reels, ^[e]horror overwhelms me;
The twilight I longed for has been ^(I)turned into trembling for me.
⁵ They ^(J)set the table, they ^[f]spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink;
“Rise up, captains, oil the shields!”

“Go, station the lookout, have him ^(K)report what he sees.
⁷ When he sees ^[g]a ^(L)column of chariots, horsemen in pairs,
A train of donkeys, a train of camels,
He is to pay close attention, very close attention.”

“^(M)Lord, I stand continually by day on the watchtower,
And I am stationed every night at my guard post.
⁹ Now behold, here comes a troop of riders, horsemen in pairs.”
And one said, “^(N)Fallen, fallen is Babylon;
And all the ^(O)images of her gods ^[i]are shattered on the ground.”
¹⁰ My ^(P)downtrodden people, and my ^[j]afflicted of the threshing floor!
What I have heard from the Lord of armies,
The God of Israel, I make known to you.

One keeps calling to me from ^(R)Seir,
“Watchman, ^[l]how far gone is the night?
Watchman, ^[m]how far gone is the night?”
¹² The watchman says,
“Morning comes but also night.
If you would inquire, inquire;
Come back again.”

In the thickets of Arabia you ^[n]must spend the night,
You caravans of ^(T)Dedanites.
¹⁴ Bring water ^[o]for the thirsty,
You inhabitants of the land of ^(U)Tema;
Meet the fugitive with bread.
¹⁵ For they have ^(V)fled from the swords,
From the drawn sword, and from the bent bow,
And from the press of battle.