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The Judgment of God

¹ Woe ^(C1)to you, O destroyer,
While you were not destroyed;
And he ^(C2)who is treacherous, while others did not deal treacherously with him.
As soon as you finish destroying, ^(C3)you will be destroyed;
As soon as you cease to deal treacherously, others will ^(C4)deal treacherously with you.

² O LORD, ^(C1)be gracious to us; we have ^(C2)waited for You.
Be ^(F1)their ^(F2)(C3)strength every morning,
Our salvation also in the ^(C4)time of distress.

³ At the sound of the tumult ^(C1)peoples flee;
At the ^(C2)lifting up of Yourself nations disperse.

⁴ Your spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathers;
As locusts rushing about men rush about on it.

⁵ The LORD is ^(C1)exalted, for He dwells on high;
He has ^(C2)filled Zion with justice and righteousness.

⁶ And He will be the ^(F1)(C1)stability of your times,
A ^(C2)wealth of salvation, wisdom and ^(C3)knowledge;
The ^(C4)fear of the LORD is his treasure.

⁷ Behold, their brave men cry in ^(F1)the streets,
The ^(F2)(C1)ambassadors of peace weep bitterly.

⁸ The highways are desolate, ^(F1)the ^(C1)traveler has ceased,
He has ^(C2)broken the covenant, he has despised the cities,
He has no regard for man.

^9 (C1)The land mourns and pines away,
^(C2)Lebanon is shamed and withers;
^(C3)Sharon is like a desert plain,
And Bashan and Carmel ^(F1)lose their foliage.

¹⁰ "Now ^(C1)I will arise," says the LORD,
"Now I will be exalted, now I will be lifted up.

¹¹ "You have ^(C1)conceived ^(F1)chaff, you will give birth to stubble;
^(F2)My ^(C2)breath will consume you like a fire.

¹² "The peoples will be burned to lime,
^(C1)Like cut thorns which are burned in the fire.

¹³ "You who are far away, ^(C1)hear what I have done;
And you who are near, ^(F1)acknowledge My might."

^14 (C1)Sinners in Zion are terrified;
^(C2)Trembling has seized the godless.
"Who among us can live with ^(C3)the consuming fire?
Who among us can live with ^(F1)continual ^(C4)burning?"

¹⁵ He who ^(C1)walks righteously and speaks with sincerity,
He who rejects ^(F1)unjust gain
And shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe;
He who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed
And ^(C2)shuts his eyes from looking upon evil;

¹⁶ He will dwell on the heights,
^(C1)His refuge will be the ^(F1)impregnable rock;
^(C2)His bread will be given him,
His water will be sure.

¹⁷ Your eyes will see ^(C1)the King in His beauty;
They will behold ^(C2)a far-distant land.

¹⁸ Your heart will meditate on ^(C1)terror:
"Where is ^(C2)he who counts?
Where is he who weighs?
Where is he who counts the towers?"

¹⁹ You will no longer see a fierce people,
A people of ^(F1)(C1)unintelligible speech ^(F2)which no one comprehends,
Of a stammering tongue ^(F3)which no one understands.

^20 (C1)Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts;
Your eyes will see Jerusalem, an ^(C2)undisturbed habitation,
^(C3)A tent which will not be folded;
Its stakes will never be pulled up,
Nor any of its cords be torn apart.

²¹ But there the majestic One, the LORD, will be for us
A place of ^(C1)rivers and wide canals
On which no boat with oars will go,
And on which no mighty ship will pass--

²² For the LORD is our ^(C1)judge,
The LORD is ^(C2)our lawgiver,
The LORD is ^(C3)our king;
^(C4)He will save us--

²³ Your tackle hangs slack;
It cannot hold the base of its mast firmly,
Nor spread out the sail.
Then the ^(C1)prey of an abundant spoil will be divided;
^(C2)The lame will take the plunder.

²⁴ And no resident will say, "I am ^(C1)sick";
The people who dwell ^(F1)there will be ^(C2)forgiven their iniquity.