21:3 For this reason my stomach churns; 1
cramps overwhelm me
like the contractions of a woman in labor.
I am disturbed 2 by what I hear,
horrified by what I see.
21:4 My heart palpitates, 3
I shake in fear; 4
the twilight I desired
has brought me terror.
21:5 Arrange the table,
lay out 5 the carpet,
eat and drink! 6
Get up, you officers,
smear oil on the shields! 7
21:6 For this is what the sovereign master 8 has told me:
“Go, post a guard!
He must report what he sees.
21:7 When he sees chariots,
teams of horses, 9
riders on donkeys,
riders on camels,
he must be alert,
very alert.”
21:8 Then the guard 10 cries out:
“On the watchtower, O sovereign master, 11
I stand all day long;
at my post
I am stationed every night.
21:9 Look what’s coming!
A charioteer,
a team of horses.” 12
When questioned, he replies, 13
“Babylon has fallen, fallen!
All the idols of her gods lie shattered on the ground!”