My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in agony! Oh, the pain in my heart! My heart pounds; I cannot be silent. For you, my soul, have heard the sound of the ram’s horn— the shout of battle.Disaster after disaster is reported because the whole land is destroyed. Suddenly my tents are destroyed, my tent curtains, in a moment.How long must I see the signal flag and hear the sound of the ram’s horn?
The sound of a cry from Babylon! The sound of terrible destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!For the LORD is going to devastate Babylon; he will silence her mighty voice. Their waves roar like a huge torrent; the tumult of their voice resounds,for a destroyer is coming against her, against Babylon. Her warriors will be captured, their bows shattered, for the LORD is a God of retribution; he will certainly repay.
A troubling vision is declared to me:“ The treacherous one acts treacherously, and the destroyer destroys. Advance, Elam! Lay siege, you Medes! I will put an end to all the groaning.”Therefore I am filled with anguish. Pain grips me, like the pain of a woman in labor. I am too perplexed to hear, too dismayed to see.My heart staggers; horror terrifies me. He has turned my last glimmer of hope into sheer terror.
