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

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

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