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Dumah

11     Oracle on Dumah:[a]
They call to me from Seir,
    “Watchman, how much longer the night?
    Watchman, how much longer the night?”

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Footnotes

  1. 21:11–12 Dumah: an oasis in north Arabia (cf. Gn 25:14 and 1 Chr 1:30), may be identified with the north Arabian Adummatu mentioned in Assyrian records of Sennacherib’s campaign against north Arabia. Seir: a site in Edom. The Edomites ask the prophet how much longer they must suffer (“the night” of suffering); he answers ambiguously: “Liberation (“morning”) and further suffering (“night”),” but perhaps they will later receive a more encouraging answer (“ask; come back again”).

My soul yearns for you at night,
    yes, my spirit within me seeks you at dawn;
When your judgment comes upon the earth,
    the world’s inhabitants learn justice.(A)

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