Isaiah 21:2-9

NSB(i) 2 I have seen a vision of cruel events, a vision of betrayal and destruction. Army of Elam, attack! Army of Media, lay siege to the cities! God will put an end to the suffering that Babylon has caused. 3 What I saw and heard in the vision has filled me with terror and pain. My hips are full of pain and convulsions like that of a woman in labor. 4 My innermost being reels, horror overwhelms me. The twilight I longed for has been turned for me into trembling. 5 They set the table, they spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink; Rise up, captains, oil the shields, 6 For this is what Jehovah says to me: »Go, station the lookout, and let him report what he sees. 7 »When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs, a train of donkeys, a train of camels, Let him pay close attention, very close attention.« 8 The watchman called out from the tower: »Sir, I stand on the watchtower every day. Every night, I stand guard at my post. 9 »Look! Here come chariots and horsemen in pairs. Then he said: ‘Babylon has fallen! She has fallen! All the idols they worship lie shattered on the ground.’«