1 I t 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.

¶ Woe to thee that dost spoil, and thou wast not spoiled; and dost deal treacherously, and they did not deal treacherously with thee! When thou shalt cease to spoil, thou shalt be spoiled; and when thou shalt make an end to dealing treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee.

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

O LORD, have mercy on us; we wait for thee: thou wert the strength of thy people in the beginning, be also our saving health in the time of tribulation.

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

At the noise of the tumult the peoples fled; at the lifting up of thyself the Gentiles were scattered.

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

And your spoil shall be gathered like the gathering of the caterpillar: as the running to and fro of locusts shall he run upon them.

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

The LORD shall be exalted; he who dwells on the heights: for he has filled Zion with judgment and righteousness.

6 H e 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.

And in thy times wisdom and knowledge, and the strength of salvation shall reign: the fear of the LORD shall be his treasure.

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

Behold, their ambassadors shall cry without: the messengers of peace shall weep bitterly.

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

The highways shall be broken down; the travellers shall cease; he has broken the covenant; he has despised the cities; he does not regard man.

9 T he 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.

The earth mourns and languishes: Lebanon is ashamed and hewn down: Sharon is like a wilderness; and Bashan and Carmel were shaken.

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

Now I will rise up, saith the LORD; now I will be exalted; now I will be lifted up.

11 Y ou 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.

Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble: your breath, as fire, shall devour you.

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

And the peoples shall be as the burnings of lime: as thorns cut up they shall be burned in the fire.

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

¶ Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might.

14 S inners 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?”

The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness has surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with eternal flames?

15 H e 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,

He that walks in righteousness, he that speaks uprightly; he that despises the gain of violence, he that shakes his hands from receiving bribes; he that stops his ears to not hear of blood; he who shuts his eyes to not see evil;

16 h e 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.

he shall dwell upon the high places: fortresses of rocks shall be his place of refuge: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.

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

Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off.

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

Thine heart shall imagine the terror. Where is the scribe? Where is the receiver of tribute? Where is he that counted the towers?

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

Thou shalt not see that fierce people, a people of a darker speech than thou can perceive; of a stammering tongue, that thou can not understand.

20 L ook 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.

Thou shalt see Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of its stakes shall ever be removed, neither shall any of its cords be broken.

21 B ut 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.

For the LORD shall surely be strong unto us there, a place of broad rivers and wide streams in which no galley with oars shall go, neither shall any great ship pass thereby.

22 F or the Lord is our judge. The Lord is our law-giver. The Lord is our king. He will save us.

For the LORD shall be our judge, the LORD shall be our lawgiver, the LORD shall be our king; he himself will save us.

23 Y our 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.

Thy tacklings are loosed; they did not strengthen well their mast, nor could they spread the sail: then the prey of a great spoil shall be divided; even the lame shall take prey.

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

And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be absolved from sin.