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21:1 The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea. As whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on, it comes from the desert, from a terrible land. 21:2 A stern vision is told to me; the betrayer betrays, and the destroyer destroys. Go up, O Elam, lay siege, O Media; all the sighing she has caused I bring to an end. 21:3 Therefore my loins are filled with anguish; pangs have seized me, like the pangs of a woman in labor; I am bowed down so that I cannot hear, I am dismayed so that I cannot see. 21:4 My mind reels, horror has appalled me; the twilight I longed for has been turned for me into trembling. 21:5 They prepare the table, they spread the rugs, they eat, they drink. Rise up, commanders, oil the shield! 21:6 For thus the Lord said to me: "Go, post a lookout, let him announce what he sees. 21:7 When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs, riders on donkeys, riders on camels, let him listen diligently, very diligently." 21:8 Then the watcher called out: "Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord, continually by day, and at my post I am stationed throughout the night. 21:9 Look, there they come, riders, horsemen in pairs!" Then he responded, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the images of her gods lie shattered on the ground." 21:10 O my threshed and winnowed one, what I have heard from the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, I announce to you. 21:11 The oracle concerning Dumah. One is calling to me from Seir, "Sentinel, what of the night? Sentinel, what of the night?" 21:12 The sentinel says: "Morning comes, and also the night. If you will inquire, inquire; come back again." 21:13 The oracle concerning the desert plain. In the scrub of the desert plain you will lodge, O caravans of Dedanites. 21:14 Bring water to the thirsty, meet the fugitive with bread, O inhabitants of the land of Tema. 21:15 For they have fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow, and from the stress of battle. 21:16 For thus the Lord said to me: Within a year, according to the years of a hired worker, all the glory of Kedar will come to an end; 21:17 and the remaining bows of Kedar's warriors will be few; for the LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken.