1 "How terrible it will be for you, destroyer, you who have not been destroyed yourself! And how terrible it will be for you, traitor, one whom people have not betrayed! When you have sunk so low in destroying others, you will be destroyed; and when you have finished betraying, they will betray you."
2 "LORD, be gracious to us; we long for you; and be our strength every morning, our salvation in times of trouble.
3 At the thunder of your voice, the nations flee; at your silence, the nations scatter.
4 Your plunder is gathered as when grasshoppers gather; just like locusts pounce, people have pounced on it.
5 "The LORD is exalted, for he lives on high; he has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
6 He will be a sure foundation for your times, abundance and salvation, wisdom and knowledge the fear of the LORD is Zion's treasure."
7 "Listen! Their brave men cry out in the streets; the envoys of peace weep bitterly.
8 The highways are deserted; travelers have quit the road. The enemy has broken treaties; he despises their witnesses, and respects no one.
9 The land mourns and wastes away; Lebanon feels ashamed and withers. Sharon is like a desert; Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves."
10 "Now I'll rise up," the LORD has said, "now I'll exalt myself; now I'll be lifted up.
11 You conceive dried grass, you give birth to stubble; your breath is a fire that will consume you.
12 And the nations will be burned as if to ashes; like cut thorn bushes, they will be set ablaze.
13 "Those who are far away have heard what I've done; and those that are near have acknowledged my power.
14 The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling grips the godless: "Who among us can live with the consuming fire? Who among us can live with everlasting flames?"
15 The one who walks righteously and has spoken sincere words, who rejects gain from extortion and waves his hand, rejecting bribes, who blocks his ears from hearing plots of murder and shuts his eyes against seeing evil
16 this is the one who will live on the heights; his refuge will be a mountain fortress. His food will be supplied, and his water will be guaranteed.
17 "Your eyes will see the king in his elegance, and will view a land that stretches afar.
18 Your mind will ponder at that time of terror: "Where is the king's accountant? Where is the one who weighed the revenue? Where is the officer who supervises the towers?'
19 No longer will you see those arrogant people, those people with their obscure speech you cannot comprehend, stammering in a language you cannot understand.
20 "Look at Zion, city of our festivals! Your eyes will see Jerusalem, an undisturbed abode, an immovable tent; its stakes will never be pulled up, nor will any of its ropes be broken.
21 But there the LORD in majesty will be for us our source of broad rivers and streams, where no galley with oars can go, where no stately ship can sail.
22 For the LORD is our judge, and the LORD is our lawgiver; and the LORD is our king, and it is he who will save us.
23 "Your rigging hangs loose; it cannot reliably hold the mast in its place, and the sail cannot spread out. Then an abundance of spoils will be divided even the lame will carry off plunder.
24 And no one living there will say, "I am ill.' The people living there will have their sins forgiven."