1 W oe to thee that destroyest, and thou wast not destroyed; and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! When thou hast ceased to destroy, thou shalt be destroyed; and when thou hast made an end of dealing treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee.

It is bad for you, O destroyer, you who were not destroyed yourself! You cannot be trusted, but others have trusted you. As soon as you finish destroying, you will be destroyed. As soon as you stop lying, others will lie to you.

2 O Jehovah, be gracious unto us; we have waited for thee: be thou our arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble.

O Lord, be kind to us. We have waited for You. Be our strength every morning. Save us in the time of trouble.

3 A t the noise of the tumult the peoples are fled; at the lifting up of thyself the nations are scattered.

At the loud noise of battle, the people run. When You lift Yourself up, nations divide and run.

4 A nd your spoil shall be gathered as the caterpillar gathereth: as locusts leap shall men leap upon it.

The things taken in war will be gathered as the caterpillar gathers. Men rush upon it like locusts.

5 J ehovah is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled Zion with justice and righteousness.

The Lord is honored, for He lives on high. He has filled Zion with what is right and fair and good.

6 A nd there shall be stability in thy times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge: the fear of Jehovah is thy treasure.

He will be for you what is sure and faithful for your times, with much saving power, wisdom and learning. The fear of the Lord is worth much.

7 B ehold, their valiant ones cry without; the ambassadors of peace weep bitterly.

See, their men with strength of heart cry in the streets. The men sent to bring peace cry many tears.

8 T he highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: the enemy hath broken the covenant, he hath despised the cities, he regardeth not man.

The roads are empty. The traveler does not travel. He has broken the agreement. He has hated the cities. He does not care for man.

9 T he land mourneth and languisheth; Lebanon is confounded and withereth away; Sharon is like a desert; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.

The land is filled with sorrow and wastes away. Lebanon is put to shame and wastes away. Sharon is like a desert. And Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.

10 N ow will I arise, saith Jehovah; now will I lift up myself; now will I be exalted.

“Now I will rise up,” says the Lord. “Now I will be honored. Now I will be lifted up.

11 Y e shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble: your breath is a fire that shall devour you.

You bring life to what is of no worth. You give birth to what is of no use. My breath will destroy you like a fire.

12 A nd the peoples shall be as the burnings of lime, as thorns cut down, that are burned in the fire.

The people will be burned to white dust, like thorns cut down and burned in the fire.

13 H ear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might.

“You who are far away, hear what I have done. And you who are near, speak of My power.”

14 T he sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling hath seized the godless ones: Who among us can dwell with the devouring fire? who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?

Sinners in Zion are filled with fear. The sinful shake with fear. They cry, “Who among us can live with the fire that destroys? Who among us can live with the fire that burns forever?”

15 H e that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from taking a bribe, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from looking upon evil:

He who walks with God, and whose words are good and honest, he who will not take money received from wrong-doing, and will not receive money given in secret for wrong-doing, he who stops his ears from hearing about killing, and shuts his eyes from looking at what is sinful,

16 H e shall dwell on high; his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks; his bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.

he will have a place on high. His safe place will be a rock that cannot be taken over. He will be given food and will have water for sure.

17 T hine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold a land that reacheth afar.

Your eyes will see the King in His beauty. They will see a land that is far away.

18 T hy heart shall muse on the terror: Where is he that counted, where is he that weighed the tribute? where is he that counted the towers?

Your heart will think about fear, asking, “Where is he who numbers? Where is he who weighs? Where is he who numbers the towers?”

19 T hou shalt not see the fierce people, a people of a deep speech that thou canst not comprehend, of a strange tongue that thou canst not understand.

You will not see people who show no pity, people whose language no one knows, whose strange tongue you cannot understand.

20 L ook upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tent that shall not be removed, the stakes whereof shall never be plucked up, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken.

Look upon Zion, the city of our special suppers! Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a quiet resting place, a tent that will not be moved. Its tie-downs will never be pulled up, and none of its ropes will be broken.

21 B ut there Jehovah will be with us in majesty, a place of broad rivers and streams, wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby.

But there the Lord in His great power will be for us. It will be a place of rivers and wide waterways, where no rowboats can go, and where no powerful ships can pass.

22 F or Jehovah is our judge, Jehovah is our lawgiver, Jehovah is our king; he will save us.

For the Lord is our judge. The Lord is our law-giver. The Lord is our king. He will save us.

23 T hy tacklings are loosed; they could not strengthen the foot of their mast, they could not spread the sail: then was the prey of a great spoil divided; the lame took the prey.

Your ropes are loose. They cannot hold the sail up in its place or spread it out. Then the many riches taken in battle will be divided. Even those who cannot walk will take the riches.

24 A nd the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.

And no one living there will say, “I am sick.” The people who live there will be forgiven of their sin.