The King in His Beauty

1Woe to you, O destroyer,

While you were not destroyed;

And he who is treacherous, while others did not deal treacherously with him.

As soon as you finish destroying, you will be destroyed;

As soon as you cease to deal treacherously, others will deal treacherously with you.

2O Yahweh, be gracious to us; we have hoped in You.

Be [†]their [†]strength every morning,

Our salvation also in the time of distress.

3At the sound of the tumult peoples flee;

At the lifting up of Yourself nations scatter.

4Your spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathers;

As locusts rushing about men rush about on it.

5Yahweh is exalted, for He dwells on high;

He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.

6And He will be the [†]stability of your times,

A wealth of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge;

The fear of Yahweh is his treasure.

7Behold, their brave men cry in [†]the streets;

The messengers of peace weep bitterly.

8The highways are desolate, [†]the traveler has ceased;

He has broken the covenant, he has rejected the cities;

He has no regard for man.

9The land mourns and languishes,

Lebanon is humiliated and withers;

Sharon is like a desert plain,

And Bashan and Carmel [†]lose their foliage.

10“Now I will be on high,” says Yahweh,

“Now I will be lifted up, now I will be lifted up.

11You have conceived [†]chaff, you will give birth to stubble;

[†]My breath will consume you like a fire.

12The peoples will be burned to lime,

Like cut thorns which are burned in the fire.

13“You who are far away, hear what I have done;

And you who are near, [†]acknowledge My might.”

14Sinners in Zion are in dread;

Trembling has seized the godless.

“Who among us can sojourn with the consuming fire?

Who among us can sojourn with [†]continual burning?”

15He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly;

He who rejects greedy gain of [†]oppression,

And shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe;

He who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed

And shuts his eyes from looking upon evil;

16He will dwell on the heights,

His refuge will be the strongholds of the cliffs;

His bread will be given him,

His water will be sure.

17Your eyes will behold the King in His beauty;

They will see a far-distant land.

18Your heart will meditate on terror:

“Where is he who counts?

Where is he who weighs?

Where is he who counts the towers?”

19You will no longer see a fierce people,

A people of [†]unintelligible speech [†]which no one comprehends,

Of a stammering tongue [†]which no one understands.

20Behold Zion, the city of our appointed times;

Your eyes will see Jerusalem, an abode at ease,

A tent which will not be folded;

Its stakes will never be pulled up,

Nor any of its cords ever be torn apart.

21But there the Mighty One, Yahweh, will be for us

A place of rivers and wide canals

On which no boat with oars will go,

And on which no mighty ship will pass—

22For Yahweh is our judge,

Yahweh is our lawgiver,

Yahweh is our king;

He will save us—

23Your cords hang slack;

They cannot hold the base of their mast firmly,

Nor spread out the sail.

Then the prey of an abundant spoil will be divided;

The lame will take the plunder.

24And no one who dwells there will say, “I am sick”;

The people who inhabit [†]there will be forgiven their iniquity.