Read the Bible

¹ The time is coming
when the people of Judah
    will sing this song:
"Our city^[a] is protected.
The Lord is our fortress,
    and he gives us victory.
² Open the city gates
for a law-abiding nation
    that is faithful to God.
³ The Lord gives perfect peace
    to those whose faith is firm.
⁴ So always trust the Lord
because he is forever
    our mighty rock.^[b]
5 God has put down our enemies
in their mountain city^[c]
    and rubbed it in the dirt.
⁶ Now the poor and abused
    stomp all over that city."

⁷ Our Lord, you always do right,
and you make the path smooth
    for those who obey you.
⁸ You are the one we trust
    to bring about justice;
above all else we want
    your name to be honored.
⁹ Throughout the night,
    my heart searches for you,
because your decisions
show everyone on this earth
    how to live right.

¹⁰ Even when the wicked
are treated with mercy
    in this land of justice,
they do wrong and are blind
    to your glory, our Lord.
¹¹ Your hand is raised and ready
    to punish them,
but they don't see it.
    Put them to shame!
Show how much you care for us
and throw them into the fire
    intended for your enemies.

¹² You will give us peace, Lord,
because everything we have done
    was by your power.
¹³ Others have ruled over us
besides you, our Lord God,
    but we obey only you.
¹⁴ Those enemies are now dead
    and can never live again.
You have punished them—
they are destroyed,
    completely forgotten.
¹⁵ Our nation has grown
    because of you, our Lord.
We have more land than before,
    and you are honored.

¹⁶ When you punished our people,
they turned and prayed
    to you, our Lord.^[d]
17     Because of what you did to us,
we suffered like a woman
    about to give birth.
¹⁸ But instead of having a child,
our terrible pain
    produced only wind.
We have won no victories,
and we have no descendants
    to take over the earth.

¹⁹ Your people will rise to life!
Tell them to leave their graves
    and celebrate with shouts.
You refresh the earth
like morning dew;
    you give life to the dead.

²⁰ Go inside and lock the doors,
    my people.
Hide there for a little while,
until the Lord
    is no longer angry.

²¹ The Lord will come out
to punish everyone on earth
    for their sins.
And when he does,
those who did violent crimes
    will be known and punished.