Isaiah 21:3-9

21:3 For this reason my stomach churns;

cramps overwhelm me

like the contractions of a woman in labor.

I am disturbed by what I hear,

horrified by what I see.

21:4 My heart palpitates,

I shake in fear;

the twilight I desired

has brought me terror.

21:5 Arrange the table,

lay out the carpet,

eat and drink!

Get up, you officers,

smear oil on the shields!

21:6 For this is what the sovereign master has told me:

“Go, post a guard!

He must report what he sees.

21:7 When he sees chariots,

teams of horses,

riders on donkeys,

riders on camels,

he must be alert,

very alert.”

21:8 Then the guard cries out:

“On the watchtower, O sovereign master,

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.”

When questioned, he replies,

“Babylon has fallen, fallen!

All the idols of her gods lie shattered on the ground!”