1. Here is a message the Lord gave me about Babylonia. It is known as the Desert by the Two Rivers. An attack is coming through the desert. It is coming from a land of terror. It's sweeping along like a windstorm blowing across the Negev Desert.
2. I have seen a vision about something terrible that will happen. People are turning against Babylon. Robbers are taking its goods. Elamites, attack the city! Medes, surround it! The Lord will put an end to all of the suffering Babylon has caused.
3. The vision fills my body with pain. Pains take hold of me. They are like the pains of a woman having a baby. I am shaken by what I hear. I'm terrified by what I see.
4. My heart grows weak. Fear makes me tremble. I longed for evening to come. But it brought me horror instead of rest.
5. In my vision the Babylonians set the tables. They spread the rugs out. They eat. They drink. Get up, you officers! Rub your shields with oil!
6. The Lord said to me, "Go. Put a guard on duty on Jerusalem's walls. Have him report what he sees.
7. Tell him to watch for chariots that are pulled by teams of horses. Tell him to watch for men riding on donkeys or camels. Make sure he stays awake. Make sure he stays wide awake."