The 1 aoracle concerning bDamascus
. "Behold
, Damascus
is about to be cremoved
from being a city
And will become
a dfallen
ruin
.
"The cities 1of aAroer
are forsaken
; They will be for bflocks
2to lie
down
in, And there
will be cno
one
to frighten
them.
"The 1 afortified city
will disappear
from Ephraim
, And 2sovereignty
from Damascus
And the remnant
of Aram
; They will be like the bglory
of the sons
of Israel
," Declares
the LORD
of hosts
.
Now in that day the aglory
of Jacob
will 1fade
, And bthe fatness
of his flesh
will become
lean
.
It will be aeven like the 1reaper gathering
the standing
grain
, As his arm
harvests
the ears
, Or it will be like one gleaning
ears
of grain
In the bvalley
of Rephaim
.
Yet agleanings will be left
in it like the 1shaking
of an olive
tree
, Two
or three
olives
on the topmost
bough
, Four
or five
on the branches
of a fruitful
tree
, Declares
the LORD
, the God
of Israel
.
In that day man
will ahave
regard
for his Maker
And his eyes
will look
to the Holy
One
of Israel
.
He will not have regard
for the aaltars
, the work
of his hands
, Nor
will he look
to that which
his bfingers
have made
, Even the 1 cAsherim
and 2incense
stands
.
In that day 1their strong
cities
will be like 2forsaken
places
in the forest
, Or like 3branches
which
they abandoned
before
the sons
of Israel
; And 4the land will be a desolation
.
For ayou have forgotten the bGod
of your salvation
And have not remembered
the crock
of your refuge
. Therefore
you plant
delightful
plants
And set
them with vine
slips
of a strange
god.
In the day that you plant
it you carefully
fence
it in, And in the amorning
you bring
your seed
to blossom
; But the harvest
will bbe a heap
In a day
of sickliness
and incurable
pain
.
Alas, the uproar
of many
peoples
aWho roar
like the roaring
of the seas
, And the rumbling
of nations
Who rush
on like the brumbling
of mighty
waters
!
The anations rumble
on like the rumbling
of many
waters
, But He will brebuke
them and they will flee
far
away
, And be chased
clike chaff
in the mountains
before
the wind
, Or like whirling
dust
before
a gale
.
At evening time
, behold
, there is terror
! Before
morning
athey are no
more
. 1Such
will be the portion
of those who plunder
us And the lot
of those who pillage
us.