1-4. A Message concerning the desert at the sea:As tempests drive through the Negev Desert,coming out of the desert, that terror-filled place,A hard vision is given me:The betrayer betrayed, the plunderer plundered.Attack, Elam!Lay siege, Media!Persians, attack!Attack, Babylon!I’ll put an end toall the moaning and groaning.Because of this news I’m doubled up in pain,writhing in pain like a woman having a baby,Baffled by what I hear,undone by what I see.Absolutely stunned,horror-stricken,I had hoped for a relaxed evening,but it has turned into a nightmare.
5. The banquet is spread,the guests reclining in luxurious ease,Eating and drinking, having a good time,and then, “To arms, princes! The fight is on!”
10. Dear Israel, you’ve been through a lot,you’ve been put through the mill.The good news I get from God-of-the-Angel-Armies,the God of Israel, I now pass on to you.