Month: September 2024

What troubles you now,
that you have all gone up on the roofs,^(D)
2 you town so full of commotion,
you city of tumult^(E) and revelry?^(F)
Your slain^(G) were not killed by the sword,^(H)
nor did they die in battle.
³ All your leaders have fled^(I) together;
they have been captured^(J) without using the bow.
All you who were caught were taken prisoner together,
having fled while the enemy was still far away.
⁴ Therefore I said, “Turn away from me;
let me weep^(K) bitterly.
Do not try to console me
over the destruction of my people.”^(L)

⁵ The Lord, the Lord Almighty, has a day^(M)
of tumult and trampling^(N) and terror^(O)
in the Valley of Vision,^(P)
a day of battering down walls^(Q)
and of crying out to the mountains.
⁶ Elam^(R) takes up the quiver,^(S)
with her charioteers and horses;
Kir^(T) uncovers the shield.
⁷ Your choicest valleys^(U) are full of chariots,
and horsemen are posted at the city gates.^(V)

⁸ The Lord stripped away the defenses of Judah,
and you looked in that day^(W)
to the weapons^(X) in the Palace of the Forest.^(Y)
9 You saw that the walls of the City of David
were broken through^(Z) in many places;
you stored up water
in the Lower Pool.^(AA)
10 You counted the buildings in Jerusalem
and tore down houses^(AB) to strengthen the wall.^(AC)
11 You built a reservoir between the two walls^(AD)
for the water of the Old Pool,^(AE)
but you did not look to the One who made it,
or have regard^(AF) for the One who planned^(AG) it long ago.

¹² The Lord, the Lord Almighty,
called you on that day^(AH)
to weep^(AI) and to wail,
to tear out your hair^(AJ) and put on sackcloth.^(AK)
13 But see, there is joy and revelry,^(AL)
slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep,
eating of meat and drinking of wine!^(AM)
“Let us eat and drink,” you say,
“for tomorrow we die!”^(AN)

“Go, say to this steward,
to Shebna^(AQ) the palace^(AR) administrator:^(AS)
16 What are you doing here and who gave you permission
to cut out a grave^(AT) for yourself^(AU) here,
hewing your grave on the height
and chiseling your resting place in the rock?

¹⁷ “Beware, the Lord is about to take firm hold of you
and hurl^(AV) you away, you mighty man.
¹⁸ He will roll you up tightly like a ball
and throw^(AW) you into a large country.
There you will die
and there the chariots^(AX) you were so proud of
will become a disgrace to your master’s house.
¹⁹ I will depose you from your office,
and you will be ousted^(AY) from your position.^(AZ)

Wail,^(BQ) you ships^(BR) of Tarshish!^(BS)
For Tyre is destroyed^(BT)
and left without house or harbor.
From the land of Cyprus
word has come to them.

² Be silent,^(BU) you people of the island
and you merchants^(BV) of Sidon,^(BW)
whom the seafarers have enriched.
³ On the great waters
came the grain of the Shihor;^(BX)
the harvest of the Nile^[b](BY) was the revenue of Tyre,^(BZ)
and she became the marketplace of the nations.

⁴ Be ashamed, Sidon,^(CA) and you fortress of the sea,
for the sea has spoken:
“I have neither been in labor nor given birth;^(CB)
I have neither reared sons nor brought up daughters.”
⁵ When word comes to Egypt,
they will be in anguish^(CC) at the report from Tyre.^(CD)

⁶ Cross over to Tarshish;^(CE)
wail, you people of the island.
⁷ Is this your city of revelry,^(CF)
the old, old city,
whose feet have taken her
to settle in far-off lands?
⁸ Who planned this against Tyre,
the bestower of crowns,
whose merchants^(CG) are princes,
whose traders^(CH) are renowned in the earth?
⁹ The Lord Almighty planned^(CI) it,
to bring down^(CJ) her pride in all her splendor
and to humble^(CK) all who are renowned^(CL) on the earth.

¹⁰ Till^[c] your land as they do along the Nile,
Daughter Tarshish,
for you no longer have a harbor.
¹¹ The Lord has stretched out his hand^(CM) over the sea
and made its kingdoms tremble.^(CN)
He has given an order concerning Phoenicia
that her fortresses be destroyed.^(CO)
12 He said, “No more of your reveling,^(CP)
Virgin Daughter^(CQ) Sidon, now crushed!

“Up, cross over to Cyprus;^(CR)
even there you will find no rest.”
¹³ Look at the land of the Babylonians,^[d](CS)
this people that is now of no account!
The Assyrians^(CT) have made it
a place for desert creatures;^(CU)
they raised up their siege towers,^(CV)
they stripped its fortresses bare
and turned it into a ruin.^(CW)

¹⁴ Wail, you ships^(CX) of Tarshish;^(CY)
your fortress is destroyed!^(CZ)

¹⁶ “Take up a harp, walk through the city,
you forgotten prostitute;^(DC)
play the harp well, sing many a song,
so that you will be remembered.”

⁴ The earth dries up^(DS) and withers,^(DT)
the world languishes and withers,
the heavens^(DU) languish with the earth.^(DV)
5 The earth is defiled^(DW) by its people;
they have disobeyed^(DX) the laws,
violated the statutes
and broken the everlasting covenant.^(DY)
6 Therefore a curse^(DZ) consumes the earth;
its people must bear their guilt.
Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up,^(EA)
and very few are left.
⁷ The new wine dries up^(EB) and the vine withers;^(EC)
all the merrymakers groan.^(ED)
8 The joyful timbrels^(EE) are stilled,
the noise^(EF) of the revelers^(EG) has stopped,
the joyful harp^(EH) is silent.^(EI)
9 No longer do they drink wine^(EJ) with a song;
the beer is bitter^(EK) to its drinkers.
¹⁰ The ruined city^(EL) lies desolate;^(EM)
the entrance to every house is barred.
¹¹ In the streets they cry out^(EN) for wine;^(EO)
all joy turns to gloom,^(EP)
all joyful sounds are banished from the earth.
¹² The city is left in ruins,^(EQ)
its gate^(ER) is battered to pieces.
¹³ So will it be on the earth
and among the nations,
as when an olive tree is beaten,^(ES)
or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest.^(ET)

¹⁴ They raise their voices, they shout for joy;^(EU)
from the west^(EV) they acclaim the Lord’s majesty.
¹⁵ Therefore in the east^(EW) give glory^(EX) to the Lord;
exalt^(EY) the name^(EZ) of the Lord, the God of Israel,
in the islands^(FA) of the sea.
¹⁶ From the ends of the earth^(FB) we hear singing:^(FC)
“Glory^(FD) to the Righteous One.”^(FE)

But I said, “I waste away, I waste away!^(FF)
Woe^(FG) to me!
The treacherous^(FH) betray!
With treachery the treacherous betray!^(FI)”
¹⁷ Terror^(FJ) and pit and snare^(FK) await you,
people of the earth.^(FL)
18 Whoever flees^(FM) at the sound of terror
will fall into a pit;^(FN)
whoever climbs out of the pit
will be caught in a snare.^(FO)

The floodgates of the heavens^(FP) are opened,
the foundations of the earth shake.^(FQ)
19 The earth is broken up,^(FR)
the earth is split asunder,^(FS)
the earth is violently shaken.
²⁰ The earth reels like a drunkard,^(FT)
it sways like a hut^(FU) in the wind;
so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion^(FV)
that it falls^(FW)—never to rise again.^(FX)

²¹ In that day^(FY) the Lord will punish^(FZ)
the powers^(GA) in the heavens above
and the kings^(GB) on the earth below.
²² They will be herded together
like prisoners^(GC) bound in a dungeon;^(GD)
they will be shut up in prison
and be punished^[e] after many days.^(GE)
23 The moon will be dismayed,
the sun^(GF) ashamed;
for the Lord Almighty will reign^(GG)
on Mount Zion^(GH) and in Jerusalem,
and before its elders—with great glory.^(GI)

⁵ Save us and help us with your right hand,^(K)
that those you love^(L) may be delivered.
⁶ God has spoken from his sanctuary:
“In triumph I will parcel out Shechem^(M)
and measure off the Valley of Sukkoth.^(N)
7 Gilead^(O) is mine, and Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim^(P) is my helmet,
Judah^(Q) is my scepter.^(R)
8 Moab is my washbasin,
on Edom I toss my sandal;
over Philistia I shout in triumph.^(S)”

⁹ Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
¹⁰ Is it not you, God, you who have now rejected us
and no longer go out with our armies?^(T)
11 Give us aid against the enemy,
for human help is worthless.^(U)
12 With God we will gain the victory,
and he will trample down our enemies.^(V)

⁴ I will hand over Egypt to harsh masters,^(I)
and a strong king will rule it.
This is the declaration of the Lord God of Armies.
⁵ The water of the sea will dry up,
and the river will be parched and dry.
⁶ The channels will stink;
they will dwindle, and Egypt’s canals will be parched.
Reed and rush will wilt.
⁷ The reeds by the Nile, by the mouth of the river,
and all the cultivated areas of the Nile
will wither, blow away, and vanish.
⁸ Then the fishermen will mourn.
All those who cast hooks into the Nile will lament,
and those who spread nets on the water will give up.
⁹ Those who work with flax will be dismayed;^(J)
those combing it and weaving linen will turn pale.^[a]
10 Egypt’s weavers^[b] will be dejected;
all her wage earners will be demoralized.
¹¹ The princes of Zoan are complete fools;^(K)
Pharaoh’s wisest advisers give stupid advice!
How can you say to Pharaoh,
“I am one^[c] of the wise,
a student of eastern^[d] kings”?
¹² Where then are your wise men?
Let them tell you and reveal
what the Lord of Armies has planned against Egypt.
¹³ The princes of Zoan have been fools;
the princes of Memphis are deceived.^(L)
Her tribal chieftains have led Egypt astray.

¹⁴ The Lord has mixed within her a spirit of confusion.
The leaders have made Egypt stagger in all she does,
as a drunkard staggers in his vomit.
¹⁵ No head or tail, palm or reed,^(M)
will be able to do anything for Egypt.

⁶ They return at evening, snarling like dogs
and prowling around the city.^(I)
7 Look, they spew from their mouths—
sharp words from^[a] their lips.^(J)
“For who,” they say, “will hear?” ^(K)
8 But you laugh at them, Lord;
you ridicule all the nations.^(L)
9 I will keep watch for you, my^[b] strength,
because God is my stronghold.^(M)
10 My faithful God^[c] will come to meet me;
God will let me look down on my adversaries.^(N)

¹¹ Do not kill them; otherwise, my people will forget.
By your power, make them homeless wanderers^(O)
and bring them down,
Lord, our shield.^(P)
12 For the sin of their mouths and the words of their lips,
let them be caught in their pride.
They utter curses and lies.^(Q)
13 Consume them in fury;
consume them until they are gone.^(R)
Then people will know throughout^[d] the earth
that God rules over Jacob.^(S)Selah

¹⁴ And they return at evening, snarling like dogs
and prowling around the city.^(T)
15 They scavenge for food;
they growl if they are not satisfied.^(U)

¹⁶ But I will sing of your strength
and will joyfully proclaim
your faithful love in the morning.^(V)
For you have been a stronghold for me,
a refuge in my day of trouble.^(W)
17 To you, my strength, I sing praises,
because God is my stronghold—
my faithful God.^(X)

¹³ Don’t withhold discipline from a youth;
if you punish him with a rod, he will not die.^(A)
14 Punish him with a rod,
and you will rescue his life from Sheol.^(B)

Ar^(D) in Moab is ruined,^(E)
destroyed in a night!
Kir^(F) in Moab is ruined,
destroyed in a night!
² Dibon^(G) goes up to its temple,
to its high places^(H) to weep;
Moab wails^(I) over Nebo^(J) and Medeba.
Every head is shaved^(K)
and every beard cut off.^(L)
3 In the streets they wear sackcloth;^(M)
on the roofs^(N) and in the public squares^(O)
they all wail,^(P)
prostrate with weeping.^(Q)
4 Heshbon^(R) and Elealeh^(S) cry out,
their voices are heard all the way to Jahaz.^(T)
Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out,
and their hearts are faint.

⁵ My heart cries out^(U) over Moab;^(V)
her fugitives^(W) flee as far as Zoar,^(X)
as far as Eglath Shelishiyah.
They go up the hill to Luhith,
weeping as they go;
on the road to Horonaim^(Y)
they lament their destruction.^(Z)
6 The waters of Nimrim are dried up^(AA)
and the grass is withered;^(AB)
the vegetation is gone^(AC)
and nothing green is left.^(AD)
7 So the wealth they have acquired^(AE) and stored up
they carry away over the Ravine of the Poplars.
⁸ Their outcry echoes along the border of Moab;
their wailing reaches as far as Eglaim,
their lamentation as far as Beer^(AF) Elim.
⁹ The waters of Dimon^[a] are full of blood,
but I will bring still more upon Dimon^[b]—
a lion^(AG) upon the fugitives of Moab^(AH)
and upon those who remain in the land.

16 Send lambs^(AI) as tribute^(AJ)
to the ruler of the land,
from Sela,^(AK) across the desert,
to the mount of Daughter Zion.^(AL)
2 Like fluttering birds
pushed from the nest,^(AM)
so are the women of Moab^(AN)
at the fords^(AO) of the Arnon.^(AP)

³ “Make up your mind,” Moab says.
“Render a decision.
Make your shadow like night—
at high noon.
Hide the fugitives,^(AQ)
do not betray the refugees.
⁴ Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you;
be their shelter^(AR) from the destroyer.”

The oppressor^(AS) will come to an end,
and destruction will cease;^(AT)
the aggressor will vanish from the land.
⁵ In love a throne^(AU) will be established;^(AV)
in faithfulness a man will sit on it—
one from the house^[c] of David^(AW)—
one who in judging seeks justice^(AX)
and speeds the cause of righteousness.

⁶ We have heard of Moab’s^(AY) pride^(AZ)—
how great is her arrogance!—
of her conceit, her pride and her insolence;
but her boasts are empty.
⁷ Therefore the Moabites wail,^(BA)
they wail together for Moab.
Lament and grieve
for the raisin cakes^(BB) of Kir Hareseth.^(BC)
8 The fields of Heshbon^(BD) wither,^(BE)
the vines of Sibmah^(BF) also.
The rulers of the nations
have trampled down the choicest vines,^(BG)
which once reached Jazer^(BH)
and spread toward the desert.
Their shoots spread out^(BI)
and went as far as the sea.^[d](BJ)
9 So I weep,^(BK) as Jazer weeps,
for the vines of Sibmah.
Heshbon and Elealeh,^(BL)
I drench you with tears!^(BM)
The shouts of joy^(BN) over your ripened fruit
and over your harvests^(BO) have been stilled.
¹⁰ Joy and gladness are taken away from the orchards;^(BP)
no one sings or shouts^(BQ) in the vineyards;
no one treads^(BR) out wine at the presses,^(BS)
for I have put an end to the shouting.
¹¹ My heart laments for Moab^(BT) like a harp,^(BU)
my inmost being^(BV) for Kir Hareseth.
¹² When Moab appears at her high place,^(BW)
she only wears herself out;
when she goes to her shrine^(BX) to pray,
it is to no avail.^(BY)

“See, Damascus will no longer be a city
but will become a heap of ruins.^(CG)
2 The cities of Aroer^(CH) will be deserted
and left to flocks,^(CI) which will lie down,^(CJ)
with no one to make them afraid.^(CK)
3 The fortified^(CL) city will disappear from Ephraim,
and royal power from Damascus;
the remnant of Aram will be
like the glory^(CM) of the Israelites,”^(CN)
declares the Lord Almighty.

⁴ “In that day^(CO) the glory^(CP) of Jacob will fade;
the fat of his body will waste^(CQ) away.
⁵ It will be as when reapers harvest the standing grain,
gathering^(CR) the grain in their arms—
as when someone gleans heads of grain^(CS)
in the Valley of Rephaim.^(CT)
6 Yet some gleanings will remain,^(CU)
as when an olive tree is beaten,^(CV)
leaving two or three olives on the topmost branches,
four or five on the fruitful boughs,”
declares the Lord, the God of Israel.

⁷ In that day^(CW) people will look^(CX) to their Maker^(CY)
and turn their eyes to the Holy One^(CZ) of Israel.
⁸ They will not look to the altars,^(DA)
the work of their hands,^(DB)
and they will have no regard for the Asherah poles^[e](DC)
and the incense altars their fingers^(DD) have made.

¹⁰ You have forgotten^(DF) God your Savior;^(DG)
you have not remembered the Rock,^(DH) your fortress.^(DI)
Therefore, though you set out the finest plants
and plant imported vines,^(DJ)
11 though on the day you set them out, you make them grow,
and on the morning^(DK) when you plant them, you bring them to bud,
yet the harvest^(DL) will be as nothing^(DM)
in the day of disease and incurable^(DN) pain.^(DO)

¹² Woe to the many nations that rage^(DP)—
they rage like the raging sea!^(DQ)
Woe to the peoples who roar^(DR)—
they roar like the roaring of great waters!^(DS)
13 Although the peoples roar^(DT) like the roar of surging waters,
when he rebukes^(DU) them they flee^(DV) far away,
driven before the wind like chaff^(DW) on the hills,
like tumbleweed before a gale.^(DX)
14 In the evening, sudden^(DY) terror!^(DZ)
Before the morning, they are gone!^(EA)
This is the portion of those who loot us,
the lot of those who plunder us.

Go, swift messengers,
to a people tall and smooth-skinned,^(EF)
to a people feared far and wide,
an aggressive^(EG) nation of strange speech,
whose land is divided by rivers.^(EH)

³ All you people of the world,^(EI)
you who live on the earth,
when a banner^(EJ) is raised on the mountains,
you will see it,
and when a trumpet^(EK) sounds,
you will hear it.
⁴ This is what the Lord says to me:
“I will remain quiet^(EL) and will look on from my dwelling place,^(EM)
like shimmering heat in the sunshine,^(EN)
like a cloud of dew^(EO) in the heat of harvest.”
⁵ For, before the harvest, when the blossom is gone
and the flower becomes a ripening grape,
he will cut off^(EP) the shoots with pruning knives,
and cut down and take away the spreading branches.^(EQ)
6 They will all be left to the mountain birds of prey^(ER)
and to the wild animals;^(ES)
the birds will feed on them all summer,
the wild animals all winter.

from a people tall and smooth-skinned,^(EU)
from a people feared^(EV) far and wide,
an aggressive nation of strange speech,
whose land is divided by rivers^(EW)—

³ Even from birth the wicked go astray;
from the womb they are wayward, spreading lies.
⁴ Their venom is like the venom of a snake,^(D)
like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears,
⁵ that will not heed^(E) the tune of the charmer,^(F)
however skillful the enchanter may be.

⁶ Break the teeth in their mouths, O God;^(G)
Lord, tear out the fangs of those lions!^(H)
7 Let them vanish like water that flows away;^(I)
when they draw the bow, let their arrows fall short.^(J)
8 May they be like a slug that melts away as it moves along,^(K)
like a stillborn child^(L) that never sees the sun.

⁹ Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns^(M)—
whether they be green or dry—the wicked will be swept away.^[c](N)
10 The righteous will be glad^(O) when they are avenged,^(P)
when they dip their feet in the blood of the wicked.^(Q)
11 Then people will say,
“Surely the righteous still are rewarded;^(R)
surely there is a God who judges the earth.”^(S)

“I will praise^(B) you, Lord.
Although you were angry with me,
your anger has turned away^(C)
and you have comforted^(D) me.
² Surely God is my salvation;^(E)
I will trust^(F) and not be afraid.
The Lord, the Lord himself,^(G) is my strength^(H) and my defense^[a];
he has become my salvation.^(I)”
³ With joy you will draw water^(J)
from the wells^(K) of salvation.

“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;^(M)
make known among the nations^(N) what he has done,
and proclaim that his name is exalted.^(O)
5 Sing^(P) to the Lord, for he has done glorious things;^(Q)
let this be known to all the world.
⁶ Shout aloud and sing for joy,^(R) people of Zion,
for great^(S) is the Holy One of Israel^(T) among you.^(U)”

² Raise a banner^(Z) on a bare hilltop,
shout to them;
beckon to them
to enter the gates^(AA) of the nobles.
³ I have commanded those I prepared for battle;
I have summoned my warriors^(AB) to carry out my wrath^(AC)—
those who rejoice^(AD) in my triumph.

⁴ Listen, a noise on the mountains,
like that of a great multitude!^(AE)
Listen, an uproar^(AF) among the kingdoms,
like nations massing together!
The Lord Almighty^(AG) is mustering^(AH)
an army for war.
⁵ They come from faraway lands,
from the ends of the heavens^(AI)—
the Lord and the weapons^(AJ) of his wrath^(AK)—
to destroy^(AL) the whole country.

⁶ Wail,^(AM) for the day^(AN) of the Lord is near;
it will come like destruction^(AO) from the Almighty.^[b](AP)
7 Because of this, all hands will go limp,^(AQ)
every heart will melt with fear.^(AR)
8 Terror^(AS) will seize them,
pain and anguish will grip^(AT) them;
they will writhe like a woman in labor.^(AU)
They will look aghast at each other,
their faces aflame.^(AV)

⁹ See, the day^(AW) of the Lord is coming
—a cruel^(AX) day, with wrath^(AY) and fierce anger^(AZ)—
to make the land desolate
and destroy the sinners within it.
¹⁰ The stars of heaven and their constellations
will not show their light.^(BA)
The rising sun^(BB) will be darkened^(BC)
and the moon will not give its light.^(BD)
11 I will punish^(BE) the world for its evil,
the wicked^(BF) for their sins.
I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty^(BG)
and will humble^(BH) the pride of the ruthless.^(BI)
12 I will make people^(BJ) scarcer than pure gold,
more rare than the gold of Ophir.^(BK)
13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble;^(BL)
and the earth will shake^(BM) from its place
at the wrath^(BN) of the Lord Almighty,
in the day of his burning anger.^(BO)

¹⁴ Like a hunted^(BP) gazelle,
like sheep without a shepherd,^(BQ)
they will all return to their own people,
they will flee^(BR) to their native land.^(BS)
15 Whoever is captured will be thrust through;
all who are caught will fall^(BT) by the sword.^(BU)
16 Their infants^(BV) will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;
their houses will be looted and their wives violated.^(BW)

¹⁷ See, I will stir up^(BX) against them the Medes,^(BY)
who do not care for silver
and have no delight in gold.^(BZ)
18 Their bows^(CA) will strike down the young men;^(CB)
they will have no mercy^(CC) on infants,
nor will they look with compassion on children.^(CD)
19 Babylon,^(CE) the jewel of kingdoms,^(CF)
the pride and glory^(CG) of the Babylonians,^[c]
will be overthrown^(CH) by God
like Sodom and Gomorrah.^(CI)
20 She will never be inhabited^(CJ)
or lived in through all generations;
there no nomads^(CK) will pitch their tents,
there no shepherds will rest their flocks.
²¹ But desert creatures^(CL) will lie there,
jackals^(CM) will fill her houses;
there the owls^(CN) will dwell,
and there the wild goats^(CO) will leap about.
²² Hyenas^(CP) will inhabit her strongholds,^(CQ)
jackals^(CR) her luxurious palaces.
Her time is at hand,^(CS)
and her days will not be prolonged.^(CT)

14 The Lord will have compassion^(CU) on Jacob;
once again he will choose^(CV) Israel
and will settle them in their own land.^(CW)
Foreigners^(CX) will join them
and unite with the descendants of Jacob.
² Nations will take them
and bring^(CY) them to their own place.
And Israel will take possession of the nations^(CZ)
and make them male and female servants in the Lord’s land.
They will make captives^(DA) of their captors
and rule over their oppressors.^(DB)

How the oppressor^(DH) has come to an end!
How his fury^[d] has ended!
⁵ The Lord has broken the rod^(DI) of the wicked,^(DJ)
the scepter^(DK) of the rulers,
⁶ which in anger struck down peoples^(DL)
with unceasing blows,
and in fury subdued^(DM) nations
with relentless aggression.^(DN)
7 All the lands are at rest and at peace;^(DO)
they break into singing.^(DP)
8 Even the junipers^(DQ) and the cedars of Lebanon
gloat over you and say,
“Now that you have been laid low,
no one comes to cut us down.”^(DR)

⁹ The realm of the dead^(DS) below is all astir
to meet you at your coming;
it rouses the spirits of the departed^(DT) to greet you—
all those who were leaders^(DU) in the world;
it makes them rise from their thrones—
all those who were kings over the nations.^(DV)
10 They will all respond,
they will say to you,
“You also have become weak, as we are;
you have become like us.”^(DW)
11 All your pomp has been brought down to the grave,^(DX)
along with the noise of your harps;^(DY)
maggots are spread out beneath you
and worms^(DZ) cover you.^(EA)

¹² How you have fallen^(EB) from heaven,
morning star,^(EC) son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
you who once laid low the nations!^(ED)
13 You said in your heart,
“I will ascend^(EE) to the heavens;
I will raise my throne^(EF)
above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,^(EG)
on the utmost heights^(EH) of Mount Zaphon.^[e]
14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;^(EI)
I will make myself like the Most High.”^(EJ)
15 But you are brought down^(EK) to the realm of the dead,^(EL)
to the depths^(EM) of the pit.^(EN)

¹⁶ Those who see you stare at you,
they ponder your fate:^(EO)
“Is this the man who shook^(EP) the earth
and made kingdoms tremble,
¹⁷ the man who made the world a wilderness,^(EQ)
who overthrew^(ER) its cities
and would not let his captives go home?”^(ES)

¹⁸ All the kings of the nations lie in state,
each in his own tomb.^(ET)
19 But you are cast out^(EU) of your tomb
like a rejected branch;
you are covered with the slain,^(EV)
with those pierced by the sword,^(EW)
those who descend to the stones of the pit.^(EX)
Like a corpse trampled underfoot,
²⁰ you will not join them in burial,^(EY)
for you have destroyed your land
and killed your people.

Let the offspring^(EZ) of the wicked^(FA)
never be mentioned^(FB) again.
²¹ Prepare a place to slaughter his children^(FC)
for the sins of their ancestors;^(FD)
they are not to rise to inherit the land
and cover the earth with their cities.

²² “I will rise up^(FE) against them,”
declares the Lord Almighty.
“I will wipe out Babylon’s name^(FF) and survivors,
her offspring and descendants,^(FG)”
declares the Lord.
²³ “I will turn her into a place for owls^(FH)
and into swampland;
I will sweep her with the broom of destruction,^(FI)”
declares the Lord Almighty.^(FJ)

“Surely, as I have planned,^(FL) so it will be,
and as I have purposed, so it will happen.^(FM)
25 I will crush the Assyrian^(FN) in my land;
on my mountains I will trample him down.
His yoke^(FO) will be taken from my people,
and his burden removed from their shoulders.^(FP)”

²⁶ This is the plan^(FQ) determined for the whole world;
this is the hand^(FR) stretched out over all nations.
²⁷ For the Lord Almighty has purposed,^(FS) and who can thwart him?
His hand^(FT) is stretched out, and who can turn it back?^(FU)

²⁹ Do not rejoice, all you Philistines,^(FY)
that the rod that struck you is broken;
from the root of that snake will spring up a viper,^(FZ)
its fruit will be a darting, venomous serpent.^(GA)
30 The poorest of the poor will find pasture,
and the needy^(GB) will lie down in safety.^(GC)
But your root I will destroy by famine;^(GD)
it will slay^(GE) your survivors.^(GF)

³¹ Wail,^(GG) you gate!^(GH) Howl, you city!
Melt away, all you Philistines!^(GI)
A cloud of smoke comes from the north,^(GJ)
and there is not a straggler in its ranks.^(GK)
32 What answer shall be given
to the envoys^(GL) of that nation?
“The Lord has established Zion,^(GM)
and in her his afflicted people will find refuge.^(GN)”

² I cry out to God Most High,
to God, who vindicates me.^(F)
3 He sends from heaven and saves me,^(G)
rebuking those who hotly pursue me—^[c](H)
God sends forth his love and his faithfulness.^(I)

⁴ I am in the midst of lions;^(J)
I am forced to dwell among ravenous beasts—
men whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongues are sharp swords.^(K)

⁵ Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth.^(L)

⁶ They spread a net for my feet^(M)—
I was bowed down^(N) in distress.
They dug a pit^(O) in my path—
but they have fallen into it themselves.^(P)

⁷ My heart, O God, is steadfast,
my heart is steadfast;^(Q)
I will sing and make music.
⁸ Awake, my soul!
Awake, harp and lyre!^(R)
I will awaken the dawn.

⁹ I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
I will sing of you among the peoples.
¹⁰ For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.^(S)

¹¹ Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;^(T)
let your glory be over all the earth.^(U)

10 Woe^(A) to those who make unjust laws,
to those who issue oppressive decrees,^(B)
2 to deprive^(C) the poor of their rights
and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people,^(D)
making widows their prey
and robbing the fatherless.^(E)
3 What will you do on the day of reckoning,^(F)
when disaster^(G) comes from afar?
To whom will you run for help?^(H)
Where will you leave your riches?
⁴ Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives^(I)
or fall among the slain.^(J)

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,^(K)
his hand is still upraised.

“‘By the strength of my hand^(AK) I have done this,^(AL)
and by my wisdom, because I have understanding.
I removed the boundaries of nations,
I plundered their treasures;^(AM)
like a mighty one I subdued^[a] their kings.^(AN)
14 As one reaches into a nest,^(AO)
so my hand reached for the wealth^(AP) of the nations;
as people gather abandoned eggs,
so I gathered all the countries;^(AQ)
not one flapped a wing,
or opened its mouth to chirp.^(AR)’”