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

In the second year that Nebuchadnezzar was king, he had a dream. It worried him so much that he couldn't sleep,

All around them terror is waiting; it follows them at every step.

A deadly disease spreads over their bodies and causes their arms and legs to rot.

He shot his arrows and scattered his enemies; with flashes of lightning he sent them running.

Then the kings of the earth, the rulers and the military chiefs, the rich and the powerful, and all other people, slave and free, hid themselves in caves and under rocks on the mountains.

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

I was left there alone, watching this amazing vision. I had no strength left, and my face was so changed that no one could have recognized me.

There they were seized with fear and anguish, like a woman about to bear a child,

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.

I have seen a vision of cruel events, a vision of betrayal and destruction. Army of Elam, attack! Army of Media, lay siege to the cities! God will put an end to the suffering which Babylon has caused.

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.

"We have heard the news," say the people of Jerusalem, "and our hands hang limp; we are seized by anguish and pain like a woman in labor.

Now stop and think! Can a man give birth to a child? Why then do I see every man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor? Why is everyone so pale?

When King Herod heard about this, he was very upset, and so was everyone else in Jerusalem.