6 A prophecy concerning the animals of the Negev:

Through a land of hardship and distress,

of lions and lionesses,

of adders and darting snakes,

the envoys carry their riches on donkeys’ backs,

their treasures on the humps of camels,

to that unprofitable nation,

6 An oracle on the beasts of the Negeb.

Through a land of trouble and anguish,

from where come the lioness and the lion,

the adder and the flying fiery serpent,

they carry their riches on the backs of donkeys,

and their treasures on the humps of camels,

to a people that cannot profit them.

6 The burden of the beasts of the south: Into the land of trouble and anguish, From whence come the young and old lion, The viper and fiery flying serpent, They will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, And their treasures upon the bunches of camels, To a people that shall not profit them.

6 This message came to me concerning the animals in the Negev:

The caravan moves slowly

across the terrible desert to Egypt—

donkeys weighed down with riches

and camels loaded with treasure—

all to pay for Egypt’s protection.

They travel through the wilderness,

a place of lionesses and lions,

a place where vipers and poisonous snakes live.

All this, and Egypt will give you nothing in return.

6 The burden against the beasts of the South.

Through a land of trouble and anguish,

From which came the lioness and lion,

The viper and fiery flying serpent,

They will carry their riches on the backs of young donkeys,

And their treasures on the humps of camels,

To a people who shall not profit;

6 This is a message about the animals in southern Judah:

Southern Judah is a dangerous place

full of lions and lionesses,

poisonous snakes and darting snakes.

The messengers travel through there with their wealth on the backs of donkeys

and their treasure on the backs of camels.

They carry them to a nation that cannot help them,

6 The burden of the beasts of the South.

Through the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the lioness and the lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the humps of camels, to a people that shall not profit them.

6 —The burden of the beasts of the south: Through a land of trouble and anguish, whence come the lioness and lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they carry their riches upon the shoulders of asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to the people that shall not profit them.

6 This is the divine revelation about the animals in the Negev. 

“My people travel through lands 

where they experience distress and hardship. 

Lions and lionesses live there. 

Vipers and poisonous snakes live there. 

They carry their riches on the backs of young donkeys 

and their treasures on the humps of camels 

to a nation that can’t help them. 

6 An oracle about the animals of the Negev:

Through a land of trouble and distress,

of lioness and lion,

of viper and flying serpent,

they carry their wealth on the backs of donkeys

and their treasures on the humps of camels,

to a people who will not help them.

6 An oracle concerning the animals of the Negeb.

Through a land of trouble and distress,

of lioness and roaring lion,

of viper and flying serpent,

they carry their riches on the backs of donkeys,

and their treasures on the humps of camels,

to a people that cannot profit them.

6 An oracle of the animals of the Negev:

Through a land of trouble and distress,

of lioness and lion,

among them are snake and flying serpent;

they carry their wealth on the backs of male donkeys

and their treasures on the humps of camels,

to a people that cannot profit them.

6 Here is a message the Lord gave me about the animals in the Negev Desert.

Judah’s messengers carry their riches on the backs of donkeys.

They carry their treasures on the humps of camels.

They travel through a land of danger and suffering.

It’s a land that is filled with lions.

Poisonous snakes are also there.

The messengers travel to a nation

that can’t do them any good.