Damascus Will Be Punished
1 This is a message about Damascus:
Damascus is doomed!
It will end up in ruins.
2 The villages around Aroer
will be deserted,
with only sheep living there
and no one to bother them.
3 Israel will lose its fortresses.
The kingdom of Damascus
will be destroyed;
its survivors will suffer
the same fate as Israel.
The Lord All-Powerful
has promised this.
Sin and Suffering
4 When that time comes,
the glorious nation of Israel
will be brought down;
its prosperous people
will be skin and bones.
5 Israel will be like wheat fields
in Rephaim Valley
picked clean of grain.
6 It will be like an olive tree
beaten with a stick,
leaving two or three olives
or maybe four or five
on the highest
or most fruitful branches.
The Lord God of Israel
has promised this.
7 At that time the people will turn and trust their Creator, the holy God of Israel. 8 They have built altars and places for burning incense to their goddess Asherah, and they have set up sacred poles for her. But they will stop worshiping at these places.
9 Israel captured powerful cities and chased out the people who lived there. But these cities will lie in ruins, covered over with weeds and underbrush.
10 Israel, you have forgotten
the God who saves you,
the one who is the mighty rock
where you find protection.
You plant the finest flowers
to honor a foreign god.
11 The plants may sprout
and blossom
that very same morning,
but it will do you no good,
because you will suffer
endless agony.
God Defends His People
12 The nations are a noisy,
thunderous sea.
13 But even if they roar
like a fearsome flood,
God will give the command
to turn them back.
They will be like dust,
or like a tumbleweed
blowing across the hills
in a windstorm.
14 In the evening
their attack is fierce,
but by morning
they are destroyed.
This is what happens to those
who raid and rob us.
Elob ge Siriab tsî Israeli tsîkha nî ǁkhara
1 Nēs ge Damaskus xa hâ ǂhôasa: “Mû, Damaskus ge ǃaruǀî ǃāse ī tide tsî ǀuiǁkhobose nî ī. 2 Siriab ǃādi hoadi ge ǀamose nî ǃū-aisa. ǁÎdi ge ǀgoan di hâǃkhai kai nî, ǁîn ge ǁnāpa ǁgoe tsî xū-i xare-i xa ǃaoǃaohe tide. 3 Omǂnamisa ǃādi ge Efraimma xu nî kā tsî Damaskus ge ǁîs gaosisa nî ǂoaǃnâ. Arammi di ûiǃgau hâ khoen ge Israeli ôan ǂkhaisib ra kā khami nî toa”
tib ge ǃKhūb Hoaǀgaixaba ra mî.4 “ǁNā tsēs aib ge Jakob ǂkhaisiba nî ǀoroǀorohe tsî ǂkhō tsî nî khō kai. 5 Israeli ge ǃgaohe hâ ǃhoroǃhanab khami nî ī. ǁÎb ge Refaimǃgoaǃnāb ǃhorodanade ūkhâixūhe hâb khami nî ī. 6 ǀNîn ge nî ûiǃgau, ǀkherahais ra ǂnauhes gao ī khami; ǀgam tamas ka io ǃnona ǂûdi ge hais ǀgapiseb ai ra ǂnûǃgau, haka tamas ka io korodi ge ǂûtani ra ǁnâub ai ra ǂnûǃgau,”
tib ge ǃKhūb Israeli Eloba ra mî.7 ǁNā tsēs ga hā, on ge khoena ǁîn Kuru-aoba ǂgomǃgâ tsî Israeli di ǃAnuba xu huiba nî ǃâubasen. 8 ǁÎn ge ǃaruǀî ǁîn ge kuru altarde ǂgomǃgâ tama i, tamas ka io Aseras ǂgurihaigu tamas ka io ǃgâihamxūn altardi ǁîn ǃomgu ǀkhan ge kuruna ǃaruǀî ǂgomǃgâ tide.
9 ǁNā tsēs ai di ge ǁîn ǀgaisa ǃāde Hivǁîn tsî Amorǁîn tsîn di ǃādi ge ǃū-aisase ī khami nî ī, Israelǁîn ǃaroman di ge ǃū-aisase ǁnāxūde tsî ǃgaroǃhūb khami nî ī.
10 Sado ge ore Eloba du ge ǀuru tsî sadu ǃGareǀuiba ǁae-ū tama hâ i xui-ao. ǁNā-amaga, îsa tsî ǃgâi ǀapede du ge kuru tsî ǁgôa-eloǃoabas ǃaroma ǃhanaga ge ǃhana. 11 ǃHana du ga tsēs ai gu ge ǀomkhâi tsî ǁgoaga nî ǁhare; xawe ǀaeb tsî ǂuruǂuruhe ǁoa tsûb tsîkha tsēs ais ge ǃgaosa nî kābē.
Khākhoe ǁaedi ra danhe
12 ǀGaisa ǁaedi ǃgurub, ǁîdi ge hurib di ǃgabigu khami ra ǃguru! ǁAedi ǃgurub, ǁîdi ge ǀgaisa ǁgamgu khami ra ǃguru! 13 ǁAedi ga ǀgaisa ǁgamgu khami ǃguru, xawe Elob ge ǁîde nî ǂgōǀau tsî di ge ǁîde ǃnūse nî ǃkhoebē, ǁîdi ge ǂnâsa ǁîǁhain khami ǃhomgu ai ǂoab xa saurumahe tsî sareb di tsarab khami ǁgaoǂoab xa nî ǃgombēhe. 14 Tsuxub ge ǃaob xa nî xāǂgāhe! ǁHaisores aiǃân ge ǁîna nî kā! Nēb ge sada gere hîkākān di ǁkharaba, sada ǃhūba gere ǀhanan di ǀamsa!
