²³ Concerning Damascus:
Hamath and Arpad lose heart
    when they hear the bad news.
They are trembling with fear,
    like the raging sea,
        which can’t become quiet.
²⁴ Damascus staggers about;
    she tries to flee,
        but panic overwhelms her.
She’s gripped by anguish and pain,
    like a woman in labor.
²⁵ Forsaken^[a] is the renowned city,
    city of my delight.
²⁶ Yes, her young men will fall in the streets,
    and her soldiers will be silent on that day,
        declares the Lord of heavenly forces.
²⁷ I will set fire to the walls of Damascus;
    it will burn up the fortresses of Ben-hadad.