1 T he special word about Damascus: “See, Damascus will no longer be a city. It will be destroyed and laid waste.

The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.

2 T he cities of Aroer are left empty. They will be for the flocks to lie down in, and no one will make them afraid.

The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.

3 T he strong city will be gone from Ephraim. Damascus will no longer rule. And those of Syria who are left alive will be like the shining-greatness of the sons of Israel,” says the Lord of All.

The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the Lord of hosts.

4 I n that day Jacob will lose his shining-greatness. And he will lose the fat of his flesh.

And in that day it shall come to pass, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean.

5 I t will be like one who gathers the standing grain, taking the ears of grain with his arm or like one who gathers the ears of grain in the valley of Rephaim.

And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; and it shall be as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim.

6 Y et some good will be left in it, as when an olive tree is shaken. There will still be two or three olives on the highest branch, and four or five on the branches of a tree that gives much fruit, says the Lord God of Israel.

Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof, saith the Lord God of Israel.

7 I n that day man will turn to his Maker. His eyes will look to the Holy One of Israel.

At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel.

8 H e will not look to the altars, the work of his hands. He will not look to what his fingers have made, or to the false goddess Asherah and the altars of special perfume.

And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall respect that which his fingers have made, either the groves, or the images.

9 I n that day their strong cities will be like places left empty among the trees, or like high branches which they left behind because of the sons of Israel. The land will be laid waste.

In that day shall his strong cities be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left because of the children of Israel: and there shall be desolation.

10 F or you have forgotten the God Who saves you. You have not remembered the rock where you are safe. So you plant beautiful plants, and put them with the vine-cuttings of a strange god.

Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and shalt set it with strange slips:

11 I n the day that you plant it you fence it in, and in the morning your seed is growing. But its fruit will waste away in a day of sickness and pain which cannot be healed. Other Nations Are Like Grain Worth Nothing

in the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.

12 L isten to the cry of sorrow of many people. They sound like the noise of the seas and the noise of nations! They sound like the rushing of powerful waters.

Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!

13 T he nations move on like the noise of many waters. But God will speak sharp words to them and they will run far away. They will be blown away like the part of grain that is of no worth by the wind in the mountains. They will be like dust blown around in a storm.

The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.

14 A t evening time there is much fear! Before morning, they are gone. This will be what will come to those who take what belongs to us. It will be what happens to those who rob us.

And behold at eveningtide trouble; and before the morning he is not. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us.