A Pronouncement against Damascus
1A pronouncement concerning Damascus:
Look, Damascus is no longer a city.
It has become a ruined heap.
2The cities of Aroer are abandoned;
they will be places for flocks.
They will lie down without fear.
3The fortress disappears from Ephraim,
and a kingdom from Damascus.
The remnant of Aram will be
like the splendor of the Israelites.
This is the declaration of the Lord of Armies.
Judgment against Israel
4On that day
the splendor of Jacob will fade,
and his healthy body will become emaciated.
5It will be as if a reaper had gathered standing grain —
his arm harvesting the heads of grain —
and as if one had gleaned heads of grain
in Rephaim Valley.
6Only gleanings will be left in Israel,
as if an olive tree had been beaten —
two or three olives at the very top of the tree,
four or five on its fruitful branches.
This is the declaration of the Lord, the God of Israel.
7On that day people will look to their Maker and will turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel. 8They will not look to the altars they made with their hands or to the Asherahs and shrines they made with their fingers.
9On that day their strong cities will be
like the abandoned woods and mountaintops
that were abandoned because of the Israelites;
there will be desolation.
10For you have forgotten the God of your salvation,
and you have failed to remember
the rock of your strength;
therefore you will plant beautiful plants
and set out cuttings from exotic vines.
11On the day that you plant,
you will help them to grow,
and in the morning
you will help your seed to sprout,
but the harvest will vanish
on the day of disease and incurable pain.
Judgment against the Nations
12Ah! The roar of many peoples —
they roar like the roaring of the seas.
The raging of the nations —
they rage like the rumble of rushing water.
13The nations rage like the rumble of a huge torrent.
He rebukes them, and they flee far away,
driven before the wind like chaff on the hills
and like tumbleweeds before a gale.
14In the evening — sudden terror!
Before morning — it is gone!
This is the fate of those who plunder us
and the lot of those who ravage us.