⁸ Then the watchman^[a] called out,
“Day after day I have stood on the watchtower, my lord.
    Night after night I have remained at my post.

2 I will climb up to my watchtower
    and stand at my guardpost.
There I will wait to see what the Lord says
    and how he^[a] will answer my complaint.

“Write my answer plainly on tablets,
    so that a runner can carry the correct message to others.

⁴⁴ “I will come like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan,
    leaping on the sheep in the pasture.
I will chase Babylon from its land,
    and I will appoint the leader of my choice.
For who is like me, and who can challenge me?
    What ruler can oppose my will?”

¹⁹ I will come like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan,
    leaping on the sheep in the pasture.
I will chase Edom from its land,
    and I will appoint the leader of my choice.
For who is like me, and who can challenge me?
    What ruler can oppose my will?”

³⁸ He has left his den like a strong lion seeking its prey,
    and their land will be made desolate
by the sword^[a] of the enemy
    and the Lord’s fierce anger.

⁷ A lion stalks from its den,
    a destroyer of nations.
It has left its lair and is headed your way.
    It’s going to devastate your land!
Your towns will lie in ruins,
    with no one living in them anymore.

⁶ O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen on your walls;
    they will pray day and night, continually.
    Take no rest, all you who pray to the Lord.

²⁹ They will roar like lions,
    like the strongest of lions.
Growling, they will pounce on their victims and carry them off,
    and no one will be there to rescue them.