God’s Judgment

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 whoma people have not betrayed!

When you have sunk so low inb destroying others,

you will be destroyed;

and when you have finished betraying,

they will betray you.”

A Prayer for Grace

2“LORD, be gracious to us; we long for you;

andc be our strengthd every morning,

our salvation in times of trouble.

3At the thunder of your voice, the peoples flee;

at your silence,e the nations scatter.

4Your plunder is gathered as when grasshoppers gather;

just likef locusts pounce, people have pouncedg on it.

5“The LORD is exalted, for he lives on high;

he has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.

6He will be a sure foundation for your times,

abundance and salvation,h wisdom and knowledge —

the fear of the LORD is Zion’s treasure.”

Israel’s Unenviable Plight

7“Listen! Their brave men cry out in the streets;

the envoys of peace weep bitterly.

8The highways are deserted;

travelers have quit the road.

The enemyi has broken treaties;

he despises their witnesses,j

and respects no one.

9The land mourns and wastes away;

Lebanon feels ashamed and withers.

Sharon is like a desert;

Bashank and Carmel shake off their leaves.”

God is Exalted

10“Now I’ll rise up,” the LORD has said,l

“now I’ll exalt myself;

now I’ll be lifted up.

11You conceive dried grass, you give birth to stubble;

your breath is a fire that will consume you.

12And the peoples will be burned as if to ashes;

like cut thorn bushes, they will be set ablaze.

13“Those who are far away have heardm what I’ve done;

and those that are near have acknowledgedn my power.

14The 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?”

15The one who walks righteously and has spokeno 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—

16this 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.

18Your 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 supervisesp the towers?’

19No longer will youq 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!r

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.

21But there the LORD in majesty will be for us

our sources of broad rivers and streams,

where no galley with oars can go,

where no stately ship can sail.

22For 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 reliablyt hold the mast in its place,

and the sail cannot spread out.u

Then an abundance of spoils will be divided —

even the lame will carry off plunder.

24And no one living there will say, ‘I am ill.’

The people living there will have their sins forgiven.”