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

The burden against Damascus. “Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city, And it will be a ruinous heap.

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 Which lie down, and no one will make them afraid.

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 fortress also will cease from Ephraim, The kingdom from Damascus, And the remnant of Syria; They will be as the glory of the children of Israel,” Says 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.

“In that day it shall come to pass That the glory of Jacob will wane, And the fatness of his flesh grow 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 shall be as when the harvester gathers the grain, And reaps the heads with his arm; It shall be as he who gathers heads 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 gleaning grapes will be left in it, Like the shaking of an olive tree, Two or three olives at the top of the uppermost bough, Four or five in its most fruitful branches,” Says the Lord 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 a man will look to his Maker, And his eyes will have respect for 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 look to the altars, The work of his hands; He will not respect what his fingers have made, Nor the wooden images nor the incense altars.

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 his strong cities will be as a forsaken bough And an uppermost branch, Which they left because of the children of Israel; And there will be 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,

Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, And have not been mindful of the Rock of your stronghold, Therefore you will plant pleasant plants And set out foreign seedlings;

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 you will make your plant to grow, And in the morning you will make your seed to flourish; But the harvest will be a heap of ruins In the day of grief and desperate sorrow.

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.

Woe to the multitude of many people Who make a noise like the roar of the seas, And to the rushing of nations That make a rushing like the rushing 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 will rush like the rushing of many waters; But God will rebuke them and they will flee far away, And be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, Like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.

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

Then behold, at eventide, trouble! And before the morning, he is no more. This is the portion of those who plunder us, And the lot of those who rob us.