1. This is the word against Damascus: ‘Look! Damascus will be lifted away From among the rest of the cities…It will soon meet its downfall.
2. Then, throughout the ages, it’ll serve as a bed…A resting place and safe haven for flocks.
3. No more will it be a fortified city A place of Ephraim’s refuge; For, the kingdom in Damascus will be gone, And the Syrians will no longer dwell there. ‘But, it will be better for those in that city Than for Israel’s sons and their glory,’ Said Jehovah of Armies.
4. ‘For the glory of Jacob will end in that day…His bountiful glory will be shaken.
5. It’ll be as it is in a harvest Where someone reaps grain in a valley of rocks.
6. For, stubble will be all that’s left…Just two or three olive pits On the tops of very tall trees That only have four or five branches.’ This is what The God of Israel said:
7. ‘In that day, all the people will have to rely On the One by whom they were made…To the Holy One of Israel, their eyes should then turn.
8. They shouldn’t rely on their shrines Or on the things that they’ve made with their hands. In that day, they’ll not look to their trees, Or to the disgusting things that they’ve made.
9. ‘For their cities will all be abandoned, As were the cities of the Amorites and Hivites Before the faces of Israel’s sons. Desolate places, they will become.
10. For they have forsaken their Savior…Yes, they have forgotten their God! ‘So, when they are planting, they’ll do so unsurely, For they’ll be unsure of their seeds.
11. And about the right day to do planting, They will then be misled. So, although they may sow in the morning, Their seeds will rot before the harvest. ‘Then fathers will be forced to choose Which of their sons they will feed, By casting lots on their behalf.
12. ‘And woe to you, the rest of the nations; For, you will also be shaken…You’ll be disturbed like the sea in a storm.
13. And by raging floods, you’ll be carried away. For I’ll scold them all and then they will flee…Yes, I’ll chase them a very long way, And they’ll be like dust on the mountains That is blown about by the winds, Or like clouds of dust raised by wheels.
14. ‘In the evening, there will be much mourning, And by dawn, they’ll no longer exist.’ This is what will happen to those who’ve brought ruin… It’s the inheritance of those who inherited us.