Messenger after messenger runs to tell the king of Babylonia that his city has been broken into from every side.

Howl in pain! The day of the LORD is near, the day when the Almighty brings destruction.

They will all be terrified and overcome with pain, like the pain of a woman in labor. They will look at each other in fear, and their faces will burn with shame.

What I saw and heard in the vision has filled me with terror and pain, pain like that of a woman in labor.

My head is spinning, and I am trembling with fear. I had been longing for evening to come, but it has brought me nothing but terror.

Suddenly a human hand appeared and began writing on the plaster wall of the palace, where the light from the lamps was shining most brightly. And the king saw the hand as it was writing.

He turned pale and was so frightened that his knees began to shake.

The enemy will attack Bozrah like an eagle swooping down with outspread wings. On that day Edom's soldiers will be as frightened as a woman in labor."

The people of Damascus are weak and have fled in terror. They are in pain and misery like a woman in labor.