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A Message about Babylon

21 This message came to me concerning Babylon—the desert by the sea[a]:

Disaster is roaring down on you from the desert,
    like a whirlwind sweeping in from the Negev.
I see a terrifying vision:
    I see the betrayer betraying,
    the destroyer destroying.
Go ahead, you Elamites and Medes,
    attack and lay siege.
I will make an end
    to all the groaning Babylon caused.
My stomach aches and burns with pain.
    Sharp pangs of anguish are upon me,
    like those of a woman in labor.
I grow faint when I hear what God is planning;
    I am too afraid to look.

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Footnotes

  1. 21:1 Hebrew concerning the desert by the sea.

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.

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