23. This is what the Lord said about Damascus: “The people in the cities of Hamath and Arpad are worried and troubled because they have heard bad news. Anxiety rolls over them like a sea, and they cannot rest.
24. The people of Damascus are weak and have fled in terror. They are in pain and misery like a woman in labour.
25. The famous city that used to be happy is completely deserted.
26. On that day her young men will be killed in the city streets, and all her soldiers destroyed.
27. I will set the walls of Damascus on fire and will burn down King Benhadad's palaces. I, the Lord Almighty, have spoken.”
28. This is what the Lord said about the tribe of Kedar and the districts controlled by Hazor, which were conquered by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia: “Attack the people of Kedar and destroy that tribe of eastern people!
29. Seize their tents and their flocks, their tent curtains and everything in their tents. Take their camels and tell the people, ‘Terror is all round you!’
30. “People of Hazor, I, the Lord, warn you to run far away and hide. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia has plotted against you, and this is what he says,
31. ‘Come on! We'll attack those people that feel safe and secure! Their city has no gates or locks and is completely unprotected.’
32. “Take their camels and all their livestock! I will scatter in every direction those people who cut their hair short, and I will bring disaster on them from every side.
33. Hazor will be made a desert for ever, a place where only jackals live. No one will ever live there again. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
34. Soon after Zedekiah became king of Judah, the Lord Almighty spoke to me about the country of Elam.