He Will Not Forsake His Saints
1 Of David.
1 uFret not yourself because of evildoers;
be not venvious of wrongdoers!
2 For they will soon wfade like xthe grass
and wither ylike the green herb.
3 zTrust in the Lord, and do good;
adwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.2
4 bDelight yourself in the Lord,
and he will cgive you the desires of your heart.
5 dCommit your way to the Lord;
ztrust in him, and he will act.
6 eHe will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as fthe noonday.
7 gBe still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
hfret not yourself over the one who iprospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!
8 jRefrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
hFret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
9 kFor the evildoers shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the Lord shall linherit the land.
10 In mjust a little while, the wicked will be no more;
though you look carefully at nhis place, he will not be there.
11 But othe meek shall inherit the land
and delight themselves in pabundant peace.
12 The wicked qplots against the righteous
and rgnashes his teeth at him,
13 but the Lord slaughs at the wicked,
for he sees that his tday is coming.
14 The wicked draw the sword and ubend their bows
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose vway is upright;
15 their sword shall enter their own heart,
and their wbows shall be broken.
16 xBetter is the little that the righteous has
than the abundance of many wicked.
17 For ythe arms of the wicked shall be broken,
but the Lord zupholds the righteous.
18 The Lord aknows the days of the blameless,
and their bheritage will remain forever;
19 they are not put to shame in evil times;
in cthe days of famine they have abundance.
20 But the wicked will perish;
the enemies of the Lord are like dthe glory of the pastures;
they vanish—like esmoke they vanish away.
21 The wicked borrows but does not pay back,
but the righteous fis generous and gives;
22 for those blessed by the Lord3 shall ginherit the land,
but those cursed by him hshall be cut off.
23 The isteps of a man are jestablished by the Lord,
when he delights in his way;
24 kthough he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
for the Lord lupholds his hand.
25 I have been young, and now am old,
yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
or his children mbegging for bread.
26 He is ever nlending generously,
and his children become a blessing.
27 oTurn away from evil and do good;
so shall you pdwell forever.
28 For the Lord qloves justice;
he will not forsake his rsaints.
They are preserved forever,
but the children of the wicked shall be scut off.
29 The righteous shall inherit the land
and pdwell upon it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks justice.
31 tThe law of his God is in his heart;
his usteps do not slip.
32 The wicked vwatches for the righteous
and seeks to put him to death.
33 The Lord will not wabandon him to his power
or let him xbe condemned when he is brought to trial.
34 yWait for the Lord and keep his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
you will look on zwhen the wicked are cut off.
35 aI have seen a wicked, ruthless man,
spreading himself like ba green laurel tree.4
36 But he passed away,5 and behold, che was no more;
though I sought him, he could not be found.
37 Mark the blameless and behold the upright,
for there is a future for the man of dpeace.
38 But etransgressors shall be altogether destroyed;
the future of the wicked fshall be cut off.
39 gThe salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
he is their stronghold in hthe time of trouble.
40 The Lord helps them and idelivers them;
jhe delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they ktake refuge in him.
The Coming Assyrian Invasion
1 Then the Lord said to me, “Take a large tablet wand write on it in common characters,1 ‘Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz.’2 2 And xI will get reliable witnesses, yUriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah, to attest for me.”
3 And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said to me, z“Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz; 4 afor before the boy knows how to cry ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the awealth of bDamascus and the spoil of bSamaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.”
5 The Lord spoke to me again: 6 “Because this people has refused the waters of cShiloah that flow gently, and rejoice over dRezin and the son of Remaliah, 7 therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them ethe waters of fthe River,3 mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory. And it gwill rise over all its channels and go over all its banks, 8 and it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, hreaching even to the neck, and its ioutspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, jO Immanuel.”
9 Be broken,4 you peoples, and kbe shattered;5
give ear, all you far countries;
strap on your armor and be shattered;
strap on your armor and be shattered.
10 Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing;
speak a word, lbut it will not stand,
Fear God, Wait for the Lord
11 For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and nwarned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: 12 “Do not call oconspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and pdo not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. 13 But the Lord of hosts, qhim you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 14 And he will become a rsanctuary and sa stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many tshall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.”
16 Bind up uthe testimony; vseal the teaching7 among my disciples. 17 I will wwait for the Lord, who is xhiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him. 18 yBehold, I and zthe children whom the Lord has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion. 19 And when they say to you, “Inquire of the amediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of bthe dead on behalf of the living? 20 cTo the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no ddawn. 21 They will pass through the land,8 greatly distressed and hungry. And when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously against9 their king and their God, and turn their faces upward. 22 eAnd they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into fthick darkness.
