23. Concerning Damascus:Hamath and Arpad lose heartwhen they hear the bad news.They are trembling with fear,like the raging sea,which can’t become quiet.
24. Damascus staggers about;she tries to flee,but panic overwhelms her.She’s gripped by anguish and pain,like a woman in labor.
25. Forsaken is the renowned city,city of my delight.
26. Yes, her young men will fall in the streets,and her soldiers will be silent on that day,declares the Lord of heavenly forces.
27. I will set fire to the walls of Damascus;it will burn up the fortresses of Ben-hadad.
28. Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar defeated, the Lord proclaims:Get ready to attack Kedar;destroy the people from the east!
29. Seize their tents and their flocks,their belongings and all their goods.Take off with their camelsand shout as you go:"Panic Lurks Everywhere!"
30. Run away; take cover,you people of Hazor,declares the Lord.Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzarhas taken counsel and devised a plan against you.
31. Get ready to attack a nationthat feels safe and secure,declares the Lord, one without barred gatesthat lives by itself.
32. Their camels will become plunder;their many cattle will be pillaged.I will scatter to the winds those who are clean-shaven,and I will bring disaster on them from every side,declares the Lord.
33. Hazor will become a den for wild dogs,a wilderness forever.No one will live there;no human will dwell in it.
34. This is what the Lord told the prophet Jeremiah concerning Elam at the beginning of the rule of Judah’s King Zedekiah.
35. The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:I’m going to break the bow of Elam,the backbone of its military might.