1 T he burden of Damascus. Lo, Damascus is taken away from a city, And it hath been a heap -- a ruin.

The oracle concerning Damascus. “Behold, Damascus is about to be removed from being a city And will become a fallen ruin.

2 F orsaken are the cities of Aroer, For droves they are, and they have lain down, And there is none troubling.

“The cities of Aroer are forsaken; They will be for flocks to lie down in, And there will be no one to frighten them.

3 A nd ceased hath the fortress from Ephraim, And the kingdom from Damascus, And the remnant of Aram are as the honour of the sons of Israel, The affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts!

“The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim, And sovereignty from Damascus And the remnant of Aram; They will be like the glory of the sons of Israel,” Declares the Lord of hosts.

4 A nd it hath come to pass, in that day, Wax poor doth the honour of Jacob, And the fatness of his flesh doth wax lean.

Now in that day the glory of Jacob will fade, And the fatness of his flesh will become lean.

5 A nd it hath come to pass, As the gathering by the reaper of the standing corn, And his arm the ears reapeth, And it hath come to pass, As the gathering of the ears in the valley of Rephaim,

It will be even like the reaper gathering the standing grain, As his arm harvests the ears, Or it will be like one gleaning ears of grain In the valley of Rephaim.

6 A nd left in him have been gleanings, As the compassing of an olive, Two -- three berries on the top of a branch, Four -- five on the fruitful boughs, The affirmation of Jehovah, God of Israel!

Yet gleanings will be left in it like the shaking of an olive tree, Two or three olives on the topmost bough, Four or five on the branches of a fruitful tree, Declares the Lord, the God of Israel.

7 I n that day doth man look to His Maker, Yea, his eyes to the Holy One of Israel look,

In that day man will have regard for his Maker And his eyes will look to the Holy One of Israel.

8 A nd he looketh not unto the altars. The work of his own hands, And that which his own fingers made He seeth not -- the shrines and the images.

He will not have regard for the altars, the work of his hands, Nor will he look to that which his fingers have made, Even the Asherim and incense stands.

9 I n that day are the cities of his strength As the forsaken thing of the forest, And the branch that they have left, Because of the sons of Israel, It also hath been a desolation.

In that day their strong cities will be like forsaken places in the forest, Or like branches which they abandoned before the sons of Israel; And the land will be a desolation.

10 B ecause thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, And the rock of thy strength hast not remembered, Therefore thou plantest plants of pleasantness, And with a strange slip sowest it,

For you have forgotten the God of your salvation And have not remembered the rock of your refuge. Therefore you plant delightful plants And set them with vine slips of a strange god.

11 I n the day thy plant thou causest to become great, And in the morning thy seed makest to flourish, A heap the harvest in a day of overflowing, And of mortal pain.

In the day that you plant it you carefully fence it in, And in the morning you bring your seed to blossom; But the harvest will be a heap In a day of sickliness and incurable pain.

12 W o the multitude of many peoples, As the sounding of seas they sound; And the wasting of nations, As the wasting of mighty waters they are wasted.

Alas, the uproar of many peoples Who roar like the roaring of the seas, And the rumbling of nations Who rush on like the rumbling of mighty waters!

13 N ations as the wasting of many waters are wasted, And He hath pushed against it, And it hath fled afar off, And been pursued as chaff of hills before wind, And as a rolling thing before a hurricane.

The nations rumble on like the rumbling of many waters, But He will rebuke them and they will flee far away, And be chased like chaff in the mountains before the wind, Or like whirling dust before a gale.

14 A t even-time, lo, terror, before morning it is not, This the portion of our spoilers, And the lot of our plunderers!

At evening time, behold, there is terror! Before morning they are no more. Such will be the portion of those who plunder us And the lot of those who pillage us.