1  The burden of the wilderness of the sea. As whirlwinds in the South sweeping on, it cometh from the wilderness, from a dreadful land.

2  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.'

2  so a fearful and a grievous vision was declared to me: he that is treacherous deals treacherously, the transgressor transgresses. The Elamites are upon me, and the ambassadors of the Persians come against me: now will I groan and comfort myself.

2  A difficult vision has been announced to me: he who is unbelieving, he acts unfaithfully, and he who is a plunderer, he devastates. Ascend, O Elam! Lay siege, O Media! I have caused all its mourning to cease.

3  Therefore are my loins filled with convulsion; pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman in travail; I am bent so that I cannot hear; I am affrighted so that I cannot see.

3  Because of this, my lower back has been filled with pain, and anguish has possessed me, like the anguish of a woman in labor. I fell down when I heard it. I was disturbed when I saw it.

4  My heart is bewildered, terror hath overwhelmed me; the twilight that I longed for hath been turned for me into trembling.

4  My heart wanders, and transgression overwhelms me; my soul is occupied with fear.

4  My heart failed, pangs made me quake; the beauty of my pleasures has been turned into terror to me.

5  They prepare the table, they light the lamps, they eat, they drink--'Rise up, ye princes, anoint the shield.'

5  Prepare the table, eat, drink: arise, ye princes, and prepare your shields.

5  Prepare the table. Contemplate, from a place of observation, those who eat and drink. Rise up, you leaders! Take up the shield!

6  For thus hath YHWH said unto me: Go, set a watchman; let him declare what he seeth!

6  For thus said the Lord to me, Go and station a watchman for thyself, and declare whatever thou shalt see.

6  For the Lord has said this to me: “Go and station a watchman. And let him announce whatever he will see.”

7  And when he seeth a troop, horsemen by pairs, a troop of asses, a troop of camels, he shall hearken diligently with much heed.

7  And I saw two mounted horsemen, and a rider on an ass, and a rider on a camel.

7  And he saw a chariot with two horsemen, and a rider on an donkey, and a rider on a camel. And he considered them diligently, with an intense gaze.

8  And he cried as a lion: 'Upon the watch-tower, O Lord, I stand continually in the daytime, and I am set in my ward all the nights.'

9  And, behold, there came a troop of men, horsemen by pairs. And he spoke and said: 'Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the graven images of her gods are broken unto the ground.'

9  and, behold, he comes riding in a chariot and pair: and he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all her images and her idols have been crushed to the ground.

9  Behold, a certain man approaches, a man riding on a two-horse chariot.” And he responded, and he said: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon! And all its graven gods have been crushed into the earth!

10  O thou my threshing, and the winnowing of my floor, that which I have heard from YHWH of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you.

10  Hear, ye that are left, and ye that are in pain, hear what things I have heard of the Lord of hosts which the God of Israel has declared to us.

11  The burden of Dumah. One calleth unto me out of Seir: 'Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?'

11  THE VISION OF IDUMEA. Call to me out of Seir; guard ye the bulwarks.

12  The watchman said: 'The morning cometh, and also the night--if ye will inquire, inquire ye; return, come.'

12  I watch in the morning and the night: if thou wouldest enquire, enquire, and dwell by me.

13  The burden upon Arabia. In the thickets in Arabia shall ye lodge, O ye caravans of Dedanites.

13  Thou mayest lodge in the forest in the evening, or in the way of Daedan.

13  The prophecy concerning Arabia. In the evening you shall lodge in the forest, in the highway of Dornim.

14  Unto him that is thirsty bring ye water! The inhabitants of the land of Tema did meet the fugitive with his bread.

14  Ye that dwell in the country of Thaeman, bring water to meet him that is thirsty;

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

15  meet the fugitives with bread, because of the multitude of the slain, and because of the multitude of them that lose their way, and because of the multitude of swords, and because of the multitude of bent bows, and because of the multitude of them that have fallen in war.

15  For they are fleeing before the face of swords, before the face of a sword hanging over them, before the face of a bent bow, before the face of a grievous battle.

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

16  For thus said the Lord to me, Yet a year, as the year of an hireling, and the glory of the sons of Kedar shall fail

16  For the Lord said this to me: “After one more year, just like one year for a hired hand, all the glory of Kedar will be taken away.

17  and the residue of the number of the archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall be diminished; for YHWH, the God of Israel, hath spoken it.'

17  and the remnant of the strong bows of the sons of Kedar shall be small: for the Lord God of Israel has spoken it.

17  And the remainder of the multitude of strong archers from the sons of Kedar will be few, for the Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken it.”

22:1  The burden concerning the Valley of Vision. What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops,

1  THE WORD OF THE VALLEY OF SION. What has happened to thee, that now ye are all gone up to the housetops which help you not?

1  The burden of the valley of vision. What does it mean to you, then, that each of you have even climbed to the rooftops?

22:2  Thou that art full of uproar, a tumultuous city, a joyous town? Thy slain are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle.

2  The city is filled with shouting men: thy slain are not slain with swords, nor are thy dead those who have died in battle.

2  Filled with clamor, a busy city, an exultant city: your dead have not been slain by the sword, nor did they die in battle.

22:3  All thy rulers are fled together, without the bow they are bound; all that are found of thee are bound together, they are fled afar off.

3  All thy princes have fled, and thy captives are tightly bound, and the mighty men in thee have fled far away.

3  All your leaders have fled together, and they have been bound by hardship. All who were found were chained together. They have fled far away.

22:4  Therefore said I: 'Look away from me, I will weep bitterly; strain not to comfort me, for the destruction of the daughter of my people.'

4  Therefore I said, Let me alone, I will weep bitterly; labour not to comfort me for the breach of the daughter of my people.

4  For this reason, I said: “Depart from me. I will weep bitterly. Make no attempt to console me, over the devastation of the daughter of my people.”

22:5  For it is a day of trouble, and of trampling, and of perplexity, from YHWH, the GOD of hosts, in the Valley of Vision; Kir shouting, and Shoa at the mount.

5  For it is a day of trouble, and of destruction, and of treading down, and there is perplexity sent from the Lord of hosts: they wander in the valley of Sion; they wander from the least to the greatest on the mountains.

22:6  And Elam bore the quiver, with troops of men, even horsemen; and Kir uncovered the shield.

6  And the Elamites took their quivers, and there were men mounted on horses, and there was a gathering for battle.

6  And Elam took up the quiver and the chariot of the horseman; and he stripped the wall of the shield.

22:7  And it came to pass, when thy choicest valleys were full of chariots, and the horsemen set themselves in array at the gate,

7  And it shall be that thy choice valleys shall be filled with chariots, and horsemen shall block up thy gates.

7  And your elect valleys will be filled with chariots, and the horsemen will position themselves at the gates.

22:8  And the covering of Judah was laid bare, that thou didst look in that day to the armour in the house of the forest.

8  And they shall uncover the gates of Juda, and they shall look in that day on the choice houses of the city.

8  And the defenses of Judah shall be laid bare, and you shall see on that day the armour of the house of the forest.

22:9  And ye saw the breaches of the city of David, that they were many; and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool.

9  And they shall uncover the secret places of the houses of the citadel of David: and they saw that they were many, and that one had turned the water of the old pool into the city;

22:10  And ye numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and ye broke down the houses to fortify the wall;

10  and that they had pulled down the houses of Jerusalem, to fortify the wall of the city.

10  And you have numbered the houses of Jerusalem. And you have destroyed the houses in order to fortify the wall.

22:11  ye made also a basin between the two walls for the water of the old pool--but ye looked not unto Him that had done this, neither had ye respect unto Him that fashioned it long ago.

11  And ye procured to yourselves water between the two walls within the ancient pool: but ye looked not to him that made it from the beginning, and regarded not him that created it.

11  And you have made a pit between two walls for the waters of the ancient fish-pool. But you have not gazed upward to him who made it, and you have not considered, even from a distance, its Maker.

22:12  And in that day did YHWH, the GOD of hosts, call to weeping, and to lamentation, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth;

12  And the Lord, the Lord of hosts, called in that day for weeping, and lamentation, and baldness, and for girding with sackcloth

22:13  And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen and killing sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine--'Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall die!'

13  but they engaged in joy and gladness, slaying calves, and killing sheep, so as to eat flesh, and drink wine; saying, Let us eat and drink; for to-morrow we die.

13  But behold: gladness and rejoicing, the killing of calves and the slaughter of rams, the eating of meat and the drinking of wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we will die.”

22:14  And YHWH of hosts revealed Himself in mine ears: Surely this iniquity shall not be expiated by you till ye die, saith YHWH, the GOD of hosts.

14  And these things are revealed in the ears of the Lord of hosts: for this sin shall not be forgiven you, until ye die.

14  And it was revealed in my ears by the LORD of hosts, saying, Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till you die, says the LORD God of hosts.

22:15  Thus saith YHWH, the GOD of hosts: Go, get thee unto this steward, even unto Shebna, who is over the house

15  Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts: Go forth and enter to him who lives in the tabernacle, to Shebna, who is in charge of the temple, and you shall say to him

22:16  What hast thou here, and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out here a sepulchre, thou that hewest thee out a sepulchre on high, and gravest a habitation for thyself in the rock?

16  “What are you here, or who are you claiming to be here? For you have hewn a sepulcher for yourself here. You have diligently hewn a memorial in a rock, as a tabernacle to yourself.

22:17  Behold, YHWH will hurl thee up and down with a man's throw; yea, He will wind thee round and round;

17  Behold now, the Lord of hosts casts forth and will utterly destroy such a man, and will take away thy robe and thy glorious crown,

17  Behold, O man, the LORD will surely cast you away, and will surely forsake you.

22:18  He will violently roll and toss thee like a ball into a large country; there shalt thou die, and there shall be the chariots of thy glory, thou shame of the lord's house.

18  He will crown you with a crown of tribulation. He will toss you like a ball into a broad and spacious land. There you will die, and there the chariot of your glory will be, for it is a shame to the house of your Lord.”

18  And he shall afflict you like the affliction of a company of soldiers besieged in a fortress from which there is no escape; there shall you die, and there the chariots of your glory shall be the shame of your master's house.

22:19  And I will thrust thee from thy post, and from thy station shalt thou be pulled down.

19  And thou shalt be removed from thy stewardship, and from thy place.

19  And I will expel you from your station, and I will depose you from your ministry.

22:20  And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah;

20  And this shall be in that day: I will call my servant Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah.

22:21  And I will clothe him with thy robe, and bind 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.

21  and I will put on him thy robe, and I will grant him thy crown with power, and I will give thy stewardship into his hands: and he shall be as a father to them that dwell in Jerusalem, and to them that dwell in Juda.

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

22  And I will give him the glory of David; and he shall rule, and there shall be none to speak against him: and I will give him the key of the house of David upon his shoulder; and he shall open, and there shall be none to shut; and he shall shut, and there shall be none to open.

22  And I will place the key of the house of David upon his shoulder. And when he opens, no one will close. And when he closes, no one will open.

22:23  And I will fasten him as a peg in a sure place; and he shall be for a throne of honour to his father's house.

22:24  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.

24  And every one that is glorious in the house of his father shall trust in him, from the least to the greatest; and they shall depend upon him in that day.

24  And they will suspend over him all the glory of his father’s house: various kinds of vessels and every little article, from the vessels of bowls even to every instrument of music.

22:25  In that day, saith YHWH of hosts, shall the peg that was fastened in a sure place give way; and it shall be hewn down, and fall, and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off; for the YHWH hath spoken it.

25  Thus saith the Lord of hosts, The man that is fastened in the sure place shall be removed and be taken away, and shall fall; and the glory that is upon him shall be utterly destroyed: for the Lord has spoken it.

25  In that day, says the Lord of hosts, the peg which was fastened in a trustworthy place shall be taken away. And he will be broken, and he will fall, and he will perish, along with all that had depended upon him, because the Lord has spoken it.