1Woe to you, 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.

2LORD, be gracious to us; we have waited for You.

Be [a]their [b]strength every morning,

Our salvation also in the time of distress.

3At the sound of a roar, peoples flee;

At the lifting up of Yourself, nations disperse.

4Your plunder is gathered as the caterpillar gathers;

Like an infestation of locusts, people storm it.

5The LORD is exalted, for He dwells on high;

He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.

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

A wealth of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge;

The fear of the LORD is his treasure.

7Behold, their brave men cry out [d]in the streets,

The [e]ambassadors of peace weep bitterly.

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

He has broken the covenant, he has despised the cities,

He has no regard for mankind.

9The land mourns and wastes away,

Lebanon is shamed and withers;

Sharon is like a desert plain,

And Bashan and Carmel [g]lose their foliage.

10“Now I will arise,” says the LORD,

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

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

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

12“The 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, [j]acknowledge My might.”

14Sinners in Zion are terrified;

Trembling has seized the godless.

“Who among us can live with the consuming fire?

Who among us can live with everlasting burning?”

15One who walks righteously and speaks with integrity,

One who rejects [k]unjust gain

And shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe;

One who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed

And shuts his eyes from looking at evil;

16He will dwell on the heights,

His refuge will be the [l]impregnable rock;

His bread will be given him,

His water will be sure.

17Your eyes will see the King in His beauty;

They will see a distant land.

18Your heart will meditate on terror:

“Where is one who counts?

Where is one who weighs?

Where is one who counts the towers?”

19You will no longer see a fierce people,

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

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

20Look at Zion, the city of our appointed feasts;

Your eyes will see Jerusalem, an undisturbed settlement,

A tent which will not be folded;

Its stakes will never be pulled up,

Nor any of its ropes be torn apart.

21But there the majestic One, the LORD, 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 the LORD is our judge,

The LORD is our lawgiver,

The LORD is our king;

He will save us—

23Your ship’s tackle hangs slack;

It cannot hold the base of its mast firmly,

Nor spread out the sail.

Then the prey of an abundant spoil will be divided;

Those who limp will take the plunder.

24And no resident will say, “I am sick”;

The people who live [p]there will be forgiven their wrongdoing.