1 W oe to you who plunder, though you have not been plundered; And you who deal treacherously, though they have not dealt treacherously with you! When you cease plundering, You will be plundered; When you make an end of dealing treacherously, They will deal treacherously with you.

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 Lord, be gracious to us; We have waited for You. Be their 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 people shall flee; When You lift Yourself up, the nations shall be scattered;

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

4 A nd Your plunder shall be gathered Like the gathering of the caterpillar; As the running to and fro of locusts, He shall run upon them.

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

5 T he Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has 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 W isdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, And the strength of salvation; The fear of the Lord is His 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 S urely their valiant ones shall cry outside, The ambassadors of peace shall 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 traveling man ceases. He has broken the covenant, He has despised the cities, He regards no 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 earth mourns and languishes, Lebanon is shamed and shriveled; Sharon is like a wilderness, And Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits. Impending Judgment on Zion

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 “ Now I will rise,” says the Lord; “Now I will be exalted, Now I will lift Myself up.

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

11 Y ou shall conceive chaff, You shall bring forth stubble; Your breath, as fire, 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 people shall be like the burnings of lime; Like thorns cut up they shall be burned in the fire.

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

13 H ear, you who are afar off, what I have done; And you who 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; Fearfulness has seized the hypocrites: “Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall 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 who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, He who despises the gain of oppressions, Who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes, Who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, And shuts his eyes from seeing 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 will dwell on high; His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks; Bread will be given him, His water will be sure. The Land of the Majestic King

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 Y our eyes will see the King in His beauty; They will see the land that is very far off.

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

18 Y our heart will meditate on terror: “Where is the scribe? Where is he who weighs? Where is he who counts 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 Y ou will not see a fierce people, A people of obscure speech, beyond perception, Of a stammering tongue that you cannot 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 appointed feasts; Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a quiet home, A tabernacle that will not be taken down; Not one of its stakes will ever be removed, Nor will any of its cords 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 the majestic Lord will be for us A place of broad rivers and streams, In which no galley with oars will sail, Nor majestic ships pass by

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 ( For the Lord is our Judge, The Lord is our Lawgiver, The Lord 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 Y our tackle is loosed, They could not strengthen their mast, They could not spread the sail. Then the prey of great plunder is divided; The lame take 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 will not say, “I am sick”; The people who dwell in it will 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.