1How horrible it will be for you, you destroyer, although you haven't been destroyed. How horrible it will be for you, you traitor, although you haven't been betrayed. When you've finished destroying, you will be destroyed. When you've finished being a traitor, you will be betrayed.

2O LORD, have pity on us. We wait with hope for you. Be our strength in the morning. Yes, be our savior in times of trouble.

3People flee from the noise of [your] army. Nations scatter when you attack.

4You nations, your loot is gathered as grasshoppers harvest a crop. Like swarming locusts, people rush for your loot.

5The LORD is honored because he lives on high. He will fill Zion with justice and righteousness.

6He will be the foundation of your future. The riches of salvation are wisdom and knowledge. The fear of the LORD is [your] treasure.

7Heroes cry in the streets. Messengers of peace cry bitterly.

8Highways are deserted. Travelers stop traveling. Agreements are broken. Witnesses are rejected. People are no longer respected.

9The country grieves and wastes away. Lebanon is ashamed and is decaying. Sharon has become like a wilderness. Bashan and Carmel are shaken.

10The LORD says, "Now I will arise. Now I will get up. Now I will be lifted up."

11You will be pregnant with hay. You will give birth to straw. Your breath will be a fire which will burn you up.

12People will be cremated. They will be set on fire like dry thornbushes.

13Hear what I have done, you people who are far away! Acknowledge my might, you people who are near!

14The sinners in Zion are terrified. Trembling seizes the ungodly. Can any of us live through a fire that destroys? Can any of us live through a fire that burns forever?

15The person who does what is right and speaks the truth will live. He rejects getting rich by extortion and refuses to take bribes. He refuses to listen to those who are plotting murders. He doesn't look for evil things to do.

16This person will live on high. His stronghold will be a fortress made of rock. He will have plenty of food and a dependable supply of water.

17Your eyes will see how handsome the king is. You will see a land that stretches into the distance.

18Your mind will be thinking of the terrors [in the past]. Where are the scribes? Where are the tax collectors? Where are those who counted the towers?

19You will no longer see those savage people, those people with an unrecognizable language, with a foreign language that you can't understand.

20Look at Zion, the city of our festivals. Your eyes will see Jerusalem as a peaceful place. It is a tent that can't be moved. Its tent pegs will never be pulled out, and none of its ropes will be broken.

21The LORD will be our mighty defender in a place surrounded by wide rivers and streams. Ships with oars won't travel on them. Stately ships won't sail on them.

22The LORD is our judge. The LORD is our lawgiver. The LORD is our king. The LORD is our savior.

23Your ropes hang loose, your mast isn't secure, and your sail isn't spread out. A large amount of loot will be distributed. Lame people will carry off your loot.

24No one who lives [in Zion] will say, "I'm sick." The sins of its inhabitants will be forgiven.