18. Edom will be destroyed like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrahand the towns around them,” says the Lord.“No one will live there!No man will stay in Edom.
19. “A lion will come from the thick bushes near the Jordan River.And it will go into the rich pastures where people feed their flocks.I am like that lion! I will suddenly chase Edom from their land.Who is the one I have chosen to do this?There is no one like me.There is no one who can challenge me.None of their leaders can stand up against me.”
20. So listen to what the Lord has planned to do against Edom.Listen to what he has decided to do to the people in Teman.The Lord will surely drag away the young ones of Edom.Edom’s pastures will surely be destroyed because of them.
21. At the sound of Edom’s fall, the earth will shake.Their cry will be heard all the way to the Gulf of Aqaba.
22. The Lord is like an eagle swooping down.He is like an eagle spreading its wings over the city of Bozrah.At that time Edom’s soldiers will become very frightened.They will be crying from fear like a woman having a baby.
23. This message is about the city of Damascus:“The towns of Hamath and Arpad are put to shame.They are afraid because they have heard bad news.They are discouraged.They are troubled like the tossing sea.
24. The city of Damascus has become weak.The people want to run away.The people are ready to panic.The people feel pain and sufferinglike a woman having a baby.
25. Damascus was a city of my joy.Why have the people not left that famous city yet?
26. Surely the young men will die in the public squares of that city.All of her soldiers will be killed at that time,” says the Lord of heaven’s armies.
27. “I will set fire to the walls of Damascus.The fire will completely burn the strong cities of Ben-Hadad.”