1  The Lord is my ^hlight and my ⁱsalvation;

^jwhom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold¹ of my life;

of whom shall I be afraid?

2  When evildoers assail me

to ^keat up my flesh,

my adversaries and foes,

it is they who stumble and fall.

3  ^lThough an army encamp against me,

my heart shall not fear;

though war arise against me,

yet² I will be confident.

4  ^mOne thing have I asked of the Lord,

that will I seek after:

that I may ⁿdwell in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life,

to gaze upon ^othe beauty of the Lord

and to inquire³ in his temple.

5  For he will ^phide me in his shelter

in the day of trouble;

he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;

he will ^qlift me high upon a rock.

6  And now my ^rhead shall be lifted up

above my enemies all around me,

and I will offer in his tent

sacrifices with shouts of ^sjoy;

^tI will sing and make melody to the Lord.

7  ^uHear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;

be gracious to me and answer me!

8  You have said, ^v“Seek⁴ my face.”

My heart says to you,

“Your face, Lord, do I seek.”⁵

9  ^wHide not your face from me.

Turn not your servant away in anger,

O you who have been my help.

Cast me not off; forsake me not,

^xO God of my salvation!

10  For ^ymy father and my mother have forsaken me,

but the Lord will ^ztake me in.

11  ^aTeach me your way, O Lord,

and lead me on ^ba level path

because of my enemies.

12  ^cGive me not up to the will of my adversaries;

for ^dfalse witnesses have risen against me,

and they ^ebreathe out violence.

13  I believe that I shall look⁶ upon ^fthe goodness of the Lord

in ^gthe land of the living!

14  ^hWait for the Lord;

ⁱbe strong, and let your heart take courage;

wait for the Lord!

1  For behold, the ^sLord God of hosts

is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah

support and supply,¹

all ^tsupport of bread,

and all support of water;

2  ^uthe mighty man and the soldier,

the judge and the prophet,

the diviner and the elder,

3  the captain of fifty

and the man of rank,

the counselor and the skillful magician

and the expert in charms.

4  ^vAnd I will make boys their princes,

and infants² shall rule over them.

5  ^wAnd the people will oppress one another,

every one his fellow

and every one his neighbor;

the youth will be insolent to the elder,

and the despised to the honorable.

6  For ^xa man will take hold of his brother

in the house of his father, saying:

“You have a cloak;

you shall be our leader,

and this heap of ruins

shall be under your rule”;

7  in that day he will speak out, saying:

“I will not be a ^yhealer;³

in my house there is neither bread nor cloak;

you shall not make me

leader of the people.”

8  For Jerusalem has stumbled,

and Judah has fallen,

because their ^zspeech and their deeds are against the Lord,

^adefying his glorious presence.⁴

9  For the look on their faces bears witness against them;

they proclaim their sin ^blike Sodom;

they do not hide it.

Woe to them!

^cFor they have brought evil on themselves.

10  ^dTell the righteous that it shall be well with them,

^efor they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.

11  ^fWoe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him,

for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him.

12  My people—^ginfants are their oppressors,

and women rule over them.

O my people, ^hyour guides mislead you

and they have swallowed up⁵ the course of your paths.

13  The Lord ⁱhas taken his place to contend;

he stands to judge peoples.

14  The Lord will enter into judgment

with the ^jelders and princes of his people:

“It is you who ^khave devoured⁶ the vineyard,

^lthe spoil of the poor is in your houses.

15  What do you mean by ^mcrushing my people,

by grinding the face of the poor?”

declares the Lord God of hosts.

16  The Lord said:

ⁿBecause ^othe daughters of Zion are haughty

and walk with outstretched necks,

glancing wantonly with their eyes,

mincing along as they go,

^ptinkling with their feet,

17  therefore the Lord ^qwill strike with a scab

the heads of ^othe daughters of Zion,

and the Lord will lay bare their secret parts.

24  Instead of ^xperfume there will be rottenness;

and instead of a ^ybelt, a rope;

and instead of ^zwell-set hair, ^abaldness;

and instead of a rich robe, a ^bskirt of sackcloth;

and ^cbranding instead of beauty.

25  Your men shall fall by the sword

and your mighty men in battle.

26  And ^dher gates shall lament and mourn;

empty, she shall ^esit on the ground.