1 I n that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: “We have a strong city; He sets up walls and ramparts for security.

¶ In that day they shall sing this song in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; God has appointed saving health for walls and bulwarks.

2 “ Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter, The one that remains faithful.

Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keeps the truth may enter in.

3 “ The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, Because he trusts in You.

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusts in thee.

4 “ Trust in the Lord forever, For in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock.

Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in JAH, the LORD is the strength of the ages:

5 “ For He has brought low those who dwell on high, the unassailable city; He lays it low, He lays it low to the ground, He casts it to the dust.

¶ For he has brought down those that dwelt on high; he has humbled the lofty city; he humbled her, even to the ground; he brought her down even to the dust.

6 “ The foot will trample it, The feet of the afflicted, the steps of the helpless.”

The foot shall tread her down, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy.

7 T he way of the righteous is smooth; O Upright One, make the path of the righteous level.

The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just.

8 I ndeed, while following the way of Your judgments, O Lord, We have waited for You eagerly; Your name, even Your memory, is the desire of our souls.

Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, we wait for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name and to the remembrance of thee.

9 A t night my soul longs for You, Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently; For when the earth experiences Your judgments The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.

With my soul I desire thee in the night; yea, even as long as the spirit is within me I will seek thee early: for as long as thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.

10 T hough the wicked is shown favor, He does not learn righteousness; He deals unjustly in the land of uprightness, And does not perceive the majesty of the Lord.

Let favour be showed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness he will deal unjustly and will not behold the majesty of the LORD.

11 O Lord, Your hand is lifted up yet they do not see it. They see Your zeal for the people and are put to shame; Indeed, fire will devour Your enemies.

LORD, when thy hand is withdrawn, they will not see: but they shall see in the end and be ashamed with the zeal of the people. And fire shall consume thine enemies.

12 L ord, You will establish peace for us, Since You have also performed for us all our works.

¶ LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought in us all our works.

13 O Lord our God, other masters besides You have ruled us; But through You alone we confess Your name.

O LORD our God, other lords have had dominion over us without thee: but in thee only will we remember thy name.

14 T he dead will not live, the departed spirits will not rise; Therefore You have punished and destroyed them, And You have wiped out all remembrance of them.

They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise because thou hast visited and destroyed them and made all their memory to perish.

15 Y ou have increased the nation, O Lord, You have increased the nation, You are glorified; You have extended all the borders of the land.

Thou hast added the Gentiles, O LORD, thou hast added the Gentiles: thou hast made thyself glorious: thou hast extended thyself unto all the ends of the earth.

16 O Lord, they sought You in distress; They could only whisper a prayer, Your chastening was upon them.

LORD, in the tribulation they have sought thee, they poured out prayer when thy chastening was upon them.

17 A s the pregnant woman approaches the time to give birth, She writhes and cries out in her labor pains, Thus were we before You, O Lord.

Like as a woman with child, that draws near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and cries out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O LORD.

18 W e were pregnant, we writhed in labor, We gave birth, as it seems, only to wind. We could not accomplish deliverance for the earth, Nor were inhabitants of the world born.

We have conceived, we have had birth pangs; we have, as it were, brought forth wind; we have not wrought any health in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.

19 Y our dead will live; Their corpses will rise. You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy, For your dew is as the dew of the dawn, And the earth will give birth to the departed spirits.

Thy dead shall live, and together with my body they shall arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the covering of light, and the earth shall cast out the dead.

20 C ome, my people, enter into your rooms And close your doors behind you; Hide for a little while Until indignation runs its course.

¶ Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself, as it were, for a little moment until the indignation is overpast.

21 F or behold, the Lord is about to come out from His place To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; And the earth will reveal her bloodshed And will no longer cover her slain.

For, behold, the LORD comes out of his place to visit the iniquity of the inhabitant of the earth against himself: the earth also shall disclose her blood and shall no longer cover her slain.