| NET Bible | International Standard Version |
| 1The destroyer is as good as dead, you who have not been destroyed! The deceitful one is as good as dead, the one whom others have not deceived! When you are through destroying, you will be destroyed; when you finish deceiving, others will deceive you! | 1"How terrible it will be for you, destroyer, you who have not been destroyed yourself! And how terrible it will be for you, traitor, one whom people have not betrayed! When you have sunk so low in destroying others, you will be destroyed; and when you have finished betraying, they will betray you." |
| 2LORD, be merciful to us! We wait for you. Give us strength each morning! Deliver us when distress comes. | 2"LORD, be gracious to us; we long for you; and be our strength every morning, our salvation in times of trouble. |
| 3The nations run away when they hear a loud noise; the nations scatter when you spring into action! | 3At the thunder of your voice, the peoples flee; at your silence, the nations scatter. |
| 4Your plunder disappears as if locusts were eating it; they swarm over it like locusts! | 4Your plunder is gathered as when grasshoppers gather; just like locusts pounce, people have pounced on it. |
| 5The LORD is exalted, indeed, he lives in heaven; he fills Zion with justice and fairness. | 5"The LORD is exalted, for he lives on high; he has filled Zion with justice and righteousness. |
| 6He is your constant source of stability; he abundantly provides safety and great wisdom; he gives all this to those who fear him. | 6He will be a sure foundation for your times, abundance and salvation, wisdom and knowledge — the fear of the LORD is Zion's treasure." |
| 7Look, ambassadors cry out in the streets; messengers sent to make peace weep bitterly. | 7"Listen! Their brave men cry out in the streets; the envoys of peace weep bitterly. |
| 8Highways are empty, there are no travelers. Treaties are broken, witnesses are despised, human life is treated with disrespect. | 8The highways are deserted; travelers have quit the road. The enemy has broken treaties; he despises their witnesses, and respects no one. |
| 9The land dries up and withers away; the forest of Lebanon shrivels up and decays. Sharon is like the desert; Bashan and Carmel are parched. | 9The land mourns and wastes away; Lebanon feels ashamed and withers. Sharon is like a desert; Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves." |
| 10"Now I will rise up," says the LORD. "Now I will exalt myself; now I will magnify myself. | 10"Now I'll rise up," the LORD has said, "now I'll exalt myself; now I'll be lifted up. |
| 11You conceive straw, you give birth to chaff; your breath is a fire that destroys you. | 11You conceive dried grass, you give birth to stubble; your breath is a fire that will consume you. |
| 12The nations will be burned to ashes; like thorn bushes that have been cut down, they will be set on fire. | 12And the peoples will be burned as if to ashes; like cut thorn bushes, they will be set ablaze. |
| 13You who are far away, listen to what I have done! You who are close by, recognize my strength!" | 13"Those who are far away have heard what I've done; and those that are near have acknowledged my power. |
| 14Sinners are afraid in Zion; panic grips the godless. They say, 'Who among us can coexist with destructive fire? Who among us can coexist with unquenchable fire?' | 14The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling grips the godless: "Who among us can live with the consuming fire? Who among us can live with everlasting flames?" |
| 15The one who lives uprightly and speaks honestly; the one who refuses to profit from oppressive measures and rejects a bribe; the one who does not plot violent crimes and does not seek to harm others-- | 15The one who walks righteously and has spoken sincere words, who rejects gain from extortion and waves his hand, rejecting bribes, who blocks his ears from hearing plots of murder and shuts his eyes against seeing evil— |
| 16This is the person who will live in a secure place; he will find safety in the rocky, mountain strongholds; he will have food and a constant supply of water. | 16this is the one who will live on the heights; his refuge will be a mountain fortress. His food will be supplied, and his water will be guaranteed. |
| 17You will see a king in his splendor; you will see a wide land. | 17"Your eyes will see the king in his elegance, and will view a land that stretches afar. |
| 18Your mind will recall the terror you experienced, and you will ask yourselves, "Where is the scribe? Where is the one who weighs the money? Where is the one who counts the towers?" | 18Your mind will ponder at that time of terror: 'Where is the king's accountant? Where is the one who weighed the revenue? Where is the officer who supervises the towers?' |
| 19You will no longer see a defiant people whose language you do not comprehend, whose derisive speech you do not understand. | 19No longer will you see those arrogant people, those people with their obscure speech you cannot comprehend, stammering in a language you cannot understand. |
| 20Look at Zion, the city where we hold religious festivals! You will see Jerusalem, a peaceful settlement, a tent that stays put; its stakes will never be pulled up; none of its ropes will snap in two. | 20"Look at Zion, city of our festivals! Your eyes will see Jerusalem, an undisturbed abode, an immovable tent; its stakes will never be pulled up, nor will any of its ropes be broken. |
| 21Instead the LORD will rule there as our mighty king. Rivers and wide streams will flow through it; no war galley will enter; no large ships will sail through. | 21But there the LORD in majesty will be for us our source of broad rivers and streams, where no galley with oars can go, where no stately ship can sail. |
| 22For the LORD, our ruler, the LORD, our commander, the LORD, our king--he will deliver us. | 22For the LORD is our judge, and the LORD is our lawgiver; and the LORD is our king, and it is he who will save us. |
| 23Though at this time your ropes are slack, the mast is not secured, and the sail is not unfurled, at that time you will divide up a great quantity of loot; even the lame will drag off plunder. | 23"Your rigging hangs loose; it cannot reliably hold the mast in its place, and the sail cannot spread out. Then an abundance of spoils will be divided — even the lame will carry off plunder. |
| 24No resident of Zion will say, "I am ill"; the people who live there will have their sin forgiven. | 24And no one living there will say, 'I am ill.' The people living there will have their sins forgiven." |
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