1 W o the rebellious and polluted, The oppressing city!

Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, The tyrannical city!

2 S he hath not hearkened to the voice, She hath not accepted instruction, In Jehovah she hath not trusted, Unto her God she hath not drawn near.

She heeded no voice, She accepted no instruction. She did not trust in the Lord, She did not draw near to her God.

3 H er heads in her midst roaring lions, Her judges evening wolves, They have not gnawn the bone in the morning.

Her princes within her are roaring lions, Her judges are wolves at evening; They leave nothing for the morning.

4 H er prophets unstable -- men of treachery, Her priests have polluted the sanctuary, They have violated the law.

Her prophets are reckless, treacherous men; Her priests have profaned the sanctuary. They have done violence to the law.

5 J ehovah righteous in her midst, He doth not do perverseness, Morning by morning His judgment he giveth to the light, It hath not been lacking, And the perverse doth not know shame.

The Lord is righteous within her; He will do no injustice. Every morning He brings His justice to light; He does not fail. But the unjust knows no shame.

6 I have cut off nations, Desolated have been their chief ones, I have laid waste their out-places without any passing by, Destroyed have been their cities, Without man, without inhabitant.

“I have cut off nations; Their corner towers are in ruins. I have made their streets desolate, With no one passing by; Their cities are laid waste, Without a man, without an inhabitant.

7 I have said: Only, ye do fear Me, Ye do accept instruction, And her habitation is not cut off, All that I have appointed for her, But they have risen early, They have corrupted all their doings.

“I said, ‘Surely you will revere Me, Accept instruction.’ So her dwelling will not be cut off According to all that I have appointed concerning her. But they were eager to corrupt all their deeds.

8 T herefore, wait for Me -- an affirmation of Jehovah, For the day of My rising for prey, For My judgment to gather nations, To assemble kingdoms, To pour out on them Mine indignation, All the heat of Mine anger, For by the fire of My jealousy consumed is all the earth.

“Therefore wait for Me,” declares the Lord, “For the day when I rise up as a witness. Indeed, My decision is to gather nations, To assemble kingdoms, To pour out on them My indignation, All My burning anger; For all the earth will be devoured By the fire of My zeal.

9 F or then do I turn unto peoples a pure lip, To call all of them by the name of Jehovah, To serve Him one shoulder.

“For then I will give to the peoples purified lips, That all of them may call on the name of the Lord, To serve Him shoulder to shoulder.

10 F rom beyond the rivers of Cush, my supplicants, The daughter of My scattered ones, Do bring My present.

“From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My worshipers, My dispersed ones, Will bring My offerings.

11 I n that day thou art not ashamed because of any of thine actions, Wherewith thou hast transgressed against Me, For then do I turn aside from thy midst The exulting ones of thine excellency, And thou dost add no more to be haughty, In My holy mountain.

“In that day you will feel no shame Because of all your deeds By which you have rebelled against Me; For then I will remove from your midst Your proud, exulting ones, And you will never again be haughty On My holy mountain. A Remnant of Israel

12 A nd I have left in thy midst a people humble and poor, And they have trusted in the name of Jehovah.

“But I will leave among you A humble and lowly people, And they will take refuge in the name of the Lord.

13 T he remnant of Israel do no perversity, nor speak lies, Nor found in their mouth is a deceitful tongue, For they have delight, and have lain down, And there is none troubling.

“The remnant of Israel will do no wrong And tell no lies, Nor will a deceitful tongue Be found in their mouths; For they will feed and lie down With no one to make them tremble.”

14 C ry aloud, O daughter of Zion, shout, O Israel, Rejoice and exult with the whole heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.

Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!

15 J ehovah hath turned aside thy judgments, He hath faced thine enemy, The king of Israel, Jehovah, in thy midst, Thou seest evil no more.

The Lord has taken away His judgments against you, He has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; You will fear disaster no more.

16 I n that day it is said to Jerusalem, `Fear not, O Zion, let not thy hands be feeble.

In that day it will be said to Jerusalem: “ Do not be afraid, O Zion; Do not let your hands fall limp.

17 J ehovah thy God in thy midst, A mighty one doth save, He rejoiceth over thee with joy, He doth work in His love, He joyeth over thee with singing.'

“The Lord your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.

18 M ine afflicted from the appointed place I have gathered, from thee they have been, Bearing for her sake reproach.

“I will gather those who grieve about the appointed feasts— They came from you, O Zion; The reproach of exile is a burden on them.

19 L o, I am dealing with all afflicting thee at that time, And I have saved the halting one, And the driven out ones I do gather, And have set them for a praise and for a name, In all the land of their shame.

“Behold, I am going to deal at that time With all your oppressors, I will save the lame And gather the outcast, And I will turn their shame into praise and renown In all the earth.

20 A t that time I bring you in, Even at the time of My assembling you, For I give you for a name, and for a praise, Among all peoples of the land, In My turning back your captivity before your eyes, said Jehovah!

“At that time I will bring you in, Even at the time when I gather you together; Indeed, I will give you renown and praise Among all the peoples of the earth, When I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” Says the Lord.