We have a strong city;^(C)
    God makes salvation
    its walls^(D) and ramparts.^(E)
2 Open the gates^(F)
    that the righteous^(G) nation may enter,
    the nation that keeps faith.
³ You will keep in perfect peace^(H)
    those whose minds are steadfast,
    because they trust^(I) in you.
⁴ Trust^(J) in the Lord forever,^(K)
    for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock^(L) eternal.
⁵ He humbles those who dwell on high,
    he lays the lofty city low;
he levels it to the ground^(M)
    and casts it down to the dust.^(N)
6 Feet trample^(O) it down—
    the feet of the oppressed,^(P)
    the footsteps of the poor.^(Q)

⁷ The path of the righteous is level;^(R)
    you, the Upright One,^(S) make the way of the righteous smooth.^(T)
8 Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws,^[a](U)
    we wait^(V) for you;
your name^(W) and renown
    are the desire of our hearts.
⁹ My soul yearns for you in the night;^(X)
    in the morning my spirit longs^(Y) for you.
When your judgments^(Z) come upon the earth,
    the people of the world learn righteousness.^(AA)
10 But when grace is shown to the wicked,^(AB)
    they do not learn righteousness;
even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil^(AC)
    and do not regard^(AD) the majesty of the Lord.
¹¹ Lord, your hand is lifted high,^(AE)
    but they do not see^(AF) it.
Let them see your zeal^(AG) for your people and be put to shame;^(AH)
    let the fire^(AI) reserved for your enemies consume them.

¹² Lord, you establish peace^(AJ) for us;
    all that we have accomplished you have done^(AK) for us.
¹³ Lord our God, other lords^(AL) besides you have ruled over us,
    but your name^(AM) alone do we honor.^(AN)
14 They are now dead,^(AO) they live no more;
    their spirits^(AP) do not rise.
You punished them and brought them to ruin;^(AQ)
    you wiped out all memory of them.^(AR)
15 You have enlarged the nation, Lord;
    you have enlarged the nation.^(AS)
You have gained glory for yourself;
    you have extended all the borders^(AT) of the land.

¹⁶ Lord, they came to you in their distress;^(AU)
    when you disciplined^(AV) them,
    they could barely whisper^(AW) a prayer.^[b]
17 As a pregnant woman about to give birth^(AX)
    writhes and cries out in her pain,
    so were we in your presence, Lord.
¹⁸ We were with child, we writhed in labor,
    but we gave birth^(AY) to wind.
We have not brought salvation^(AZ) to the earth,
    and the people of the world have not come to life.^(BA)

¹⁹ But your dead^(BB) will live, Lord;
    their bodies will rise—
let those who dwell in the dust^(BC)
    wake up and shout for joy—
your dew^(BD) is like the dew of the morning;
    the earth will give birth to her dead.^(BE)

²⁰ Go, my people, enter your rooms
    and shut the doors^(BF) behind you;
hide^(BG) yourselves for a little while
    until his wrath^(BH) has passed by.^(BI)
21 See, the Lord is coming^(BJ) out of his dwelling^(BK)
    to punish^(BL) the people of the earth for their sins.
The earth will disclose the blood^(BM) shed on it;
    the earth will conceal its slain no longer.

the Lord will punish with his sword^(BO)—
    his fierce, great and powerful sword—
Leviathan^(BP) the gliding serpent,^(BQ)
    Leviathan the coiling serpent;
he will slay the monster^(BR) of the sea.

“Sing^(BT) about a fruitful vineyard:^(BU)
3     I, the Lord, watch over it;
    I water^(BV) it continually.
I guard^(BW) it day and night
    so that no one may harm^(BX) it.
⁴     I am not angry.
If only there were briers and thorns confronting me!
    I would march against them in battle;
    I would set them all on fire.^(BY)
5 Or else let them come to me for refuge;^(BZ)
    let them make peace^(CA) with me,
    yes, let them make peace with me.”

⁶ In days to come Jacob will take root,^(CB)
    Israel will bud and blossom^(CC)
    and fill all the world with fruit.^(CD)

⁷ Has the Lord struck her
    as he struck^(CE) down those who struck her?
Has she been killed
    as those were killed who killed her?
⁸ By warfare^[c] and exile^(CF) you contend with her—
    with his fierce blast he drives her out,
    as on a day the east wind^(CG) blows.
⁹ By this, then, will Jacob’s guilt be atoned^(CH) for,
    and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin:^(CI)
When he makes all the altar stones^(CJ)
    to be like limestone crushed to pieces,
no Asherah poles^[d](CK) or incense altars^(CL)
    will be left standing.
¹⁰ The fortified city stands desolate,^(CM)
    an abandoned settlement, forsaken^(CN) like the wilderness;
there the calves graze,^(CO)
    there they lie down;^(CP)
    they strip its branches bare.
¹¹ When its twigs are dry, they are broken off^(CQ)
    and women come and make fires^(CR) with them.
For this is a people without understanding;^(CS)
    so their Maker has no compassion on them,
    and their Creator^(CT) shows them no favor.^(CU)

⁵ In that day^(DQ) the Lord Almighty
    will be a glorious^(DR) crown,^(DS)
a beautiful wreath
    for the remnant^(DT) of his people.
⁶ He will be a spirit of justice^(DU)
    to the one who sits in judgment,^(DV)
a source of strength
    to those who turn back the battle^(DW) at the gate.

⁷ And these also stagger^(DX) from wine^(DY)
    and reel^(DZ) from beer:
Priests^(EA) and prophets^(EB) stagger from beer
    and are befuddled with wine;
they reel from beer,
    they stagger when seeing visions,^(EC)
    they stumble when rendering decisions.
⁸ All the tables are covered with vomit^(ED)
    and there is not a spot without filth.

⁹ “Who is it he is trying to teach?^(EE)
    To whom is he explaining his message?^(EF)
To children weaned^(EG) from their milk,^(EH)
    to those just taken from the breast?
¹⁰ For it is:
    Do this, do that,
    a rule for this, a rule for that^[e];
    a little here, a little there.^(EI)”

¹¹ Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues^(EJ)
    God will speak to this people,^(EK)
12 to whom he said,
    “This is the resting place, let the weary rest”;^(EL)
and, “This is the place of repose”—
    but they would not listen.
¹³ So then, the word of the Lord to them will become:
    Do this, do that,
    a rule for this, a rule for that;
    a little here, a little there^(EM)—
so that as they go they will fall backward;
    they will be injured^(EN) and snared and captured.^(EO)

¹⁴ Therefore hear the word of the Lord,^(EP) you scoffers^(EQ)
    who rule this people in Jerusalem.
¹⁵ You boast, “We have entered into a covenant with death,^(ER)
    with the realm of the dead we have made an agreement.
When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by,^(ES)
    it cannot touch us,
for we have made a lie^(ET) our refuge
    and falsehood^[f] our hiding place.^(EU)”

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,^(EV) a tested stone,^(EW)
    a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;^(EX)
the one who relies on it
    will never be stricken with panic.^(EY)
17 I will make justice^(EZ) the measuring line
    and righteousness the plumb line;^(FA)
hail^(FB) will sweep away your refuge, the lie,
    and water will overflow^(FC) your hiding place.
¹⁸ Your covenant with death will be annulled;
    your agreement with the realm of the dead will not stand.^(FD)
When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by,^(FE)
    you will be beaten down^(FF) by it.
¹⁹ As often as it comes it will carry you away;^(FG)
    morning after morning,^(FH) by day and by night,
    it will sweep through.”

The understanding of this message
    will bring sheer terror.^(FI)
20 The bed is too short to stretch out on,
    the blanket too narrow to wrap around you.^(FJ)
21 The Lord will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim,^(FK)
    he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon^(FL)—
to do his work,^(FM) his strange work,
    and perform his task, his alien task.
²² Now stop your mocking,^(FN)
    or your chains will become heavier;
the Lord, the Lord Almighty, has told me
    of the destruction decreed^(FO) against the whole land.^(FP)

²³ Listen^(FQ) and hear my voice;
    pay attention and hear what I say.
²⁴ When a farmer plows for planting,^(FR) does he plow continually?
    Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil?
²⁵ When he has leveled the surface,
    does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin?^(FS)
Does he not plant wheat in its place,^[g]
    barley^(FT) in its plot,^[h]
    and spelt^(FU) in its field?
²⁶ His God instructs him
    and teaches^(FV) him the right way.

²⁷ Caraway is not threshed^(FW) with a sledge,^(FX)
    nor is the wheel of a cart rolled over cumin;
caraway is beaten out with a rod,^(FY)
    and cumin with a stick.
²⁸ Grain must be ground to make bread;
    so one does not go on threshing it forever.
The wheels of a threshing cart^(FZ) may be rolled over it,
    but one does not use horses to grind grain.
²⁹ All this also comes from the Lord Almighty,
    whose plan is wonderful,^(GA)
    whose wisdom is magnificent.^(GB)

⁵ But your many enemies will become like fine dust,^(GP)
    the ruthless^(GQ) hordes like blown chaff.^(GR)
Suddenly,^(GS) in an instant,
⁶     the Lord Almighty will come^(GT)
with thunder^(GU) and earthquake^(GV) and great noise,
    with windstorm and tempest^(GW) and flames of a devouring fire.^(GX)
7 Then the hordes of all the nations^(GY) that fight against Ariel,^(GZ)
    that attack her and her fortress and besiege her,
will be as it is with a dream,^(HA)
    with a vision in the night—
⁸ as when a hungry person dreams of eating,
    but awakens^(HB) hungry still;
as when a thirsty person dreams of drinking,
    but awakens faint and thirsty still.^(HC)
So will it be with the hordes of all the nations
    that fight against Mount Zion.^(HD)

⁹ Be stunned and amazed,^(HE)
    blind yourselves and be sightless;^(HF)
be drunk,^(HG) but not from wine,^(HH)
    stagger,^(HI) but not from beer.
¹⁰ The Lord has brought over you a deep sleep:^(HJ)
    He has sealed your eyes^(HK) (the prophets);^(HL)
    he has covered your heads (the seers).^(HM)

“These people^(HP) come near to me with their mouth
    and honor me with their lips,^(HQ)
    but their hearts are far from me.^(HR)
Their worship of me
    is based on merely human rules they have been taught.^[j](HS)
14 Therefore once more I will astound these people
    with wonder upon wonder;^(HT)
the wisdom of the wise^(HU) will perish,
    the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.^(HV)”
¹⁵ Woe to those who go to great depths
    to hide^(HW) their plans from the Lord,
who do their work in darkness and think,
    “Who sees us?^(HX) Who will know?”^(HY)
16 You turn things upside down,
    as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!^(HZ)
Shall what is formed say to the one who formed^(IA) it,
    “You did not make me”?
Can the pot say to the potter,^(IB)
    “You know nothing”?^(IC)

¹⁷ In a very short time,^(ID) will not Lebanon^(IE) be turned into a fertile field^(IF)
    and the fertile field seem like a forest?^(IG)
18 In that day^(IH) the deaf^(II) will hear the words of the scroll,
    and out of gloom and darkness^(IJ)
    the eyes of the blind will see.^(IK)
19 Once more the humble^(IL) will rejoice in the Lord;
    the needy^(IM) will rejoice in the Holy One^(IN) of Israel.
²⁰ The ruthless^(IO) will vanish,^(IP)
    the mockers^(IQ) will disappear,
    and all who have an eye for evil^(IR) will be cut down—
²¹ those who with a word make someone out to be guilty,
    who ensnare the defender in court^(IS)
    and with false testimony^(IT) deprive the innocent of justice.^(IU)

“No longer will Jacob be ashamed;^(IX)
    no longer will their faces grow pale.^(IY)
23 When they see among them their children,^(IZ)
    the work of my hands,^(JA)
they will keep my name holy;^(JB)
    they will acknowledge the holiness of the Holy One^(JC) of Jacob,
    and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
²⁴ Those who are wayward^(JD) in spirit will gain understanding;^(JE)
    those who complain will accept instruction.”^(JF)

Through a land of hardship and distress,^(JW)
    of lions^(JX) and lionesses,
    of adders and darting snakes,^(JY)
the envoys carry their riches on donkeys’^(JZ) backs,
    their treasures^(KA) on the humps of camels,
to that unprofitable nation,
⁷     to Egypt, whose help is utterly useless.^(KB)
Therefore I call her
    Rahab^(KC) the Do-Nothing.

⁸ Go now, write it on a tablet^(KD) for them,
    inscribe it on a scroll,^(KE)
that for the days to come
    it may be an everlasting witness.^(KF)
9 For these are rebellious^(KG) people, deceitful^(KH) children,
    children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction.^(KI)
10 They say to the seers,^(KJ)
    “See no more visions^(KK)!”
and to the prophets,
    “Give us no more visions of what is right!
Tell us pleasant things,^(KL)
    prophesy illusions.^(KM)
11 Leave this way,^(KN)
    get off this path,
and stop confronting^(KO) us
    with the Holy One^(KP) of Israel!”

“Because you have rejected this message,^(KR)
    relied on oppression^(KS)
    and depended on deceit,
¹³ this sin will become for you
    like a high wall,^(KT) cracked and bulging,
    that collapses^(KU) suddenly,^(KV) in an instant.
¹⁴ It will break in pieces like pottery,^(KW)
    shattered so mercilessly
that among its pieces not a fragment will be found
    for taking coals from a hearth
    or scooping water out of a cistern.”

“In repentance and rest^(KZ) is your salvation,
    in quietness and trust^(LA) is your strength,
    but you would have none of it.^(LB)
16 You said, ‘No, we will flee^(LC) on horses.’^(LD)
    Therefore you will flee!
You said, ‘We will ride off on swift horses.’
    Therefore your pursuers will be swift!
¹⁷ A thousand will flee
    at the threat of one;
at the threat of five^(LE)
    you will all flee^(LF) away,
till you are left^(LG)
    like a flagstaff on a mountaintop,
    like a banner^(LH) on a hill.”

¹⁸ Yet the Lord longs^(LI) to be gracious to you;
    therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.^(LJ)
For the Lord is a God of justice.^(LK)
    Blessed are all who wait for him!^(LL)

²⁷ See, the Name^(ML) of the Lord comes from afar,
    with burning anger^(MM) and dense clouds of smoke;
his lips are full of wrath,^(MN)
    and his tongue is a consuming fire.^(MO)
28 His breath^(MP) is like a rushing torrent,^(MQ)
    rising up to the neck.^(MR)
He shakes the nations in the sieve^(MS) of destruction;
    he places in the jaws of the peoples
    a bit^(MT) that leads them astray.
²⁹ And you will sing
    as on the night you celebrate a holy festival;^(MU)
your hearts will rejoice^(MV)
    as when people playing pipes^(MW) go up
to the mountain^(MX) of the Lord,
    to the Rock^(MY) of Israel.
³⁰ The Lord will cause people to hear his majestic voice^(MZ)
    and will make them see his arm^(NA) coming down
with raging anger^(NB) and consuming fire,^(NC)
    with cloudburst, thunderstorm^(ND) and hail.^(NE)
31 The voice of the Lord will shatter Assyria;^(NF)
    with his rod he will strike^(NG) them down.
³² Every stroke the Lord lays on them
    with his punishing club^(NH)
will be to the music of timbrels^(NI) and harps,
    as he fights them in battle with the blows of his arm.^(NJ)
33 Topheth^(NK) has long been prepared;
    it has been made ready for the king.
Its fire pit has been made deep and wide,
    with an abundance of fire and wood;
the breath^(NL) of the Lord,
    like a stream of burning sulfur,^(NM)
    sets it ablaze.^(NN)