2  O Lord, ^bhow long shall I cry for help,

and you will not hear?

Or cry to you ^c“Violence!”

and you will not save?

3  ^dWhy do you make me see iniquity,

and why do you idly look at wrong?

Destruction ^cand violence are before me;

strife and contention arise.

4  ^eSo the law is paralyzed,

and justice never goes forth.

^fFor the wicked surround the righteous;

so justice goes forth perverted.

5  ^g“Look among the nations, and see;

wonder and be astounded.

^hFor I am doing a work in your days

that you would not believe if told.

6  For behold, ⁱI am raising up the Chaldeans,

that bitter and hasty nation,

^jwho march through the breadth of the earth,

^kto seize dwellings not their own.

7  They are dreaded and fearsome;

^ltheir justice and dignity go forth from themselves.

8  ^mTheir horses are swifter than leopards,

more fierce than ⁿthe evening wolves;

their horsemen press proudly on.

Their horsemen come from afar;

^othey fly like an eagle swift to devour.

9  They all come ^pfor violence,

all their faces forward.

They gather captives ^rlike sand.

10  At kings they scoff,

and at rulers they laugh.

^sThey laugh at every fortress,

for ^tthey pile up earth and take it.

11  Then they sweep by like the wind and go on,

^uguilty men, ^vwhose own might is their god!”

12  Are you not ^wfrom everlasting,

O Lord my God, my Holy One?

^xWe shall not die.

O Lord, ^yyou have ordained them as a judgment,

and you, O ^zRock, have established them for reproof.

13  You who are ^aof purer eyes than to see evil

and cannot look at wrong,

^bwhy do you idly look at traitors

and ^cremain silent when the wicked swallows up

the man more righteous than he?

14  You make mankind like the fish of the sea,

like crawling things that have no ruler.

15  ^dHe¹ brings all of them up ^ewith a hook;

he drags them out with his net;

he gathers them in his dragnet;

so he rejoices and is glad.

16  ^fTherefore he sacrifices to his net

and makes offerings to his dragnet;

for by them he lives in luxury,²

and his food is rich.

17  Is he then to keep on emptying his net

^gand mercilessly killing nations forever?

1  I will ^htake my stand at my watchpost

and station myself on the tower,

and ⁱlook out to see ^jwhat he will say to me,

and what I will answer concerning my complaint.

^k“Write the vision;

make it plain on tablets,

so he may run who reads it.

3  For still ^lthe vision awaits its appointed time;

it hastens to the end—it will not lie.

If it seems slow, ^mwait for it;

ⁿit will surely come; it will not delay.

4  “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,

but ^othe righteous shall live by his faith.³

5  “Moreover, wine⁴ is ^pa traitor,

an arrogant man who is never at rest.⁵

His greed is as wide as Sheol;

like death ^qhe has never enough.

^rHe gathers for himself all nations

and collects as his own all peoples.”

^t“Woe to him ^uwho heaps up what is not his own—

for ^vhow long?—

and ^wloads himself with pledges!”

7  ^xWill not your debtors suddenly arise,

and those awake who will make you tremble?

Then you will be spoil for them.

8  ^yBecause you have plundered many nations,

all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder you,

^zfor the blood of man and ^yviolence to the earth,

to cities and all who dwell in them.

9  ^t“Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house,

^ato ^bset his nest on high,

to be safe from the reach of harm!

10  You have devised shame for your house

^cby cutting off many peoples;

you have forfeited your life.

11  For ^dthe stone will cry out from the wall,

and the beam from the woodwork respond.

12  ^t“Woe to him ^ewho builds a town with blood

and founds a city on iniquity!

13  Behold, is it not from the Lord of hosts

that ^fpeoples labor merely for fire,

and nations weary themselves for nothing?

14  ^gFor the earth will be filled

with the knowledge of ^hthe glory of the Lord

as the waters cover the sea.

15  ^t“Woe to him ⁱwho makes his neighbors drink—

you pour out your wrath and make them drunk,

in order to gaze ^jat their nakedness!

16  You will have your fill ^kof shame instead of glory.

^lDrink, yourself, and show your uncircumcision!

^lThe cup in the Lord’s right hand

will come around to you,

and ^mutter shame will come upon your glory!

17  ⁿThe violence ^odone to Lebanon will overwhelm you,

as will the destruction of the beasts that terrified them,

ⁿfor the blood of man and violence to the earth,

to cities and all who dwell in them.

18  ^p“What profit is an idol

when its maker has shaped it,

a metal image, ^qa teacher of lies?

For its maker trusts in his own creation

when he makes ^rspeechless idols!

19  ^sWoe to him ^twho says to a wooden thing, Awake;

to a silent stone, Arise!

Can this teach?

Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver,

and ^uthere is no breath at all in it.

20  But ^vthe Lord is in his holy temple;

^wlet all the earth keep silence before him.”

2  O Lord, ^xI have heard the report of you,

and ^yyour work, O Lord, do I fear.

In the midst of the years ^zrevive it;

in the midst of the years make it known;

^ain wrath remember mercy.

3  God came from ^bTeman,

^cand the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah

His splendor covered the heavens,

and the earth was full of his praise.

4  ^dHis brightness was like the light;

rays flashed from his hand;

and there he veiled his power.

5  ^eBefore him went pestilence,

and plague followed ^fat his heels.⁶

6  He stood ^gand measured the earth;

he looked and shook the nations;

then the ^heternal mountains ⁱwere scattered;

the everlasting hills sank low.

His were ^jthe everlasting ways.

7  I saw the tents of ^kCushan in affliction;

^lthe curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.

8  ^mWas your wrath against the rivers, O Lord?

Was your anger against the rivers,

^mor your indignation against the sea,

ⁿwhen you rode on your horses,

ⁿon your chariot of salvation?

9  You stripped the sheath from your bow,

calling for many arrows.⁷ Selah

^pYou split the earth with rivers.

10  ^qThe mountains saw you and writhed;

the raging waters swept on;

^rthe deep gave forth its voice;

^sit lifted its hands on high.

11  ^tThe sun and moon stood still in their place

^uat the light of your arrows as they sped,

at the flash of your glittering spear.

12  ^vYou marched through the earth in fury;

^wyou threshed the nations in anger.

13  ^vYou went out for the salvation of your people,

for the salvation of ^xyour anointed.

^yYou crushed the head of the house of the wicked,

laying him bare from thigh to neck.⁸ Selah

14  You pierced with his own arrows the heads of his warriors,

who came like a whirlwind to scatter me,

rejoicing as if to devour the poor in secret.

15  ^zYou trampled the sea with your horses,

the surging of mighty waters.

16  ^aI hear, and ^bmy body trembles;

my lips quiver at the sound;

^crottenness enters into my bones;

my legs tremble beneath me.

Yet ^dI will quietly wait for the day of trouble

to come upon people who invade us.

17  Though the fig tree should not blossom,

nor fruit be on the vines,

the produce of the olive fail

and the fields yield no food,

the flock be cut off from the fold

and there be no herd in the stalls,

18  ^eyet I will rejoice in the Lord;

^fI will take joy in the God of my salvation.

19  God, the Lord, is my strength;

^ghe makes my feet like the deer’s;

he makes me ^htread on my ⁱhigh places.

^jTo the choirmaster: with ^kstringed⁹ instruments.

2  “I will utterly sweep away everything

from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.

3  “I will sweep away man and beast;

I will sweep away the birds of the heavens

and the fish of the sea,

and the rubble¹⁰ with the wicked.

I will cut off mankind

from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.

4  “I will stretch out my hand against Judah

and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem;

and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal

and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,

5  those who bow down on the roofs

to the host of the heavens,

those who bow down and swear to the Lord

and yet swear by Milcom,¹¹

6  those who have turned back from following the Lord,

who do not seek the Lord or inquire of him.”

7  Be silent before the Lord God!

For the day of the Lord is near;

the Lord has prepared a sacrifice

and consecrated his guests.

8  And on the day of the Lord’s sacrifice—

“I will punish the officials and the king’s sons

and all who array themselves in foreign attire.

9  On that day I will punish

everyone who leaps over the threshold,

and those who fill their master’s¹² house

with violence and fraud.

10  “On that day,” declares the Lord,

“a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate,

a wail from the Second Quarter,

a loud crash from the hills.

11  Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!

For all the traders¹³ are no more;

all who weigh out silver are cut off.

12  At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps,

and I will punish the men

who are complacent,¹⁴

those who say in their hearts,

‘The Lord will not do good,

nor will he do ill.’

13  Their goods shall be plundered,

and their houses laid waste.

Though they build houses,

they shall not inhabit them;

though they plant vineyards,

they shall not drink wine from them.”

14  The great day of the Lord is near,

near and hastening fast;

the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter;

the mighty man cries aloud there.

15  A day of wrath is that day,

a day of distress and anguish,

a day of ruin and devastation,

a day of darkness and gloom,

a day of clouds and thick darkness,

16  a day of trumpet blast and battle cry

against the fortified cities

and against the lofty battlements.

17  I will bring distress on mankind,

so that they shall walk like the blind,

because they have sinned against the Lord;

their blood shall be poured out like dust,

and their flesh like dung.

18  Neither their silver nor their gold

shall be able to deliver them

on the day of the wrath of the Lord.

In the fire of his jealousy,

all the earth shall be consumed;

for a full and sudden end

he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.

1  Gather together, yes, gather,

O shameless nation,

2  before the decree takes effect¹⁵

—before the day passes away like chaff—

before there comes upon you

the burning anger of the Lord,

before there comes upon you

the day of the anger of the Lord.

3  Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land,

who do his just commands;¹⁶

seek righteousness; seek humility;

perhaps you may be hidden

on the day of the anger of the Lord.

4  For Gaza shall be deserted,

and Ashkelon shall become a desolation;

Ashdod’s people shall be driven out at noon,

and Ekron shall be uprooted.

5  Woe to you inhabitants of the seacoast,

you nation of the Cherethites!

The word of the Lord is against you,

O Canaan, land of the Philistines;

and I will destroy you until no inhabitant is left.

6  And you, O seacoast, shall be pastures,

with meadows¹⁷ for shepherds

and folds for flocks.

7  The seacoast shall become the possession

of the remnant of the house of Judah,

on which they shall graze,

and in the houses of Ashkelon

they shall lie down at evening.

For the Lord their God will be mindful of them

and restore their fortunes.

8  “I have heard the taunts of Moab

and the revilings of the Ammonites,

how they have taunted my people

and made boasts against their territory.

9  Therefore, as I live,” declares the Lord of hosts,

the God of Israel,

“Moab shall become like Sodom,

and the Ammonites like Gomorrah,

a land possessed by nettles and salt pits,

and a waste forever.

The remnant of my people shall plunder them,

and the survivors of my nation shall possess them.”

10  This shall be their lot in return for their pride,

because they taunted and boasted

against the people of the Lord of hosts.

11  The Lord will be awesome against them;

for he will famish all the gods of the earth,

and to him shall bow down,

each in its place,

all the lands of the nations.

12  You also, O Cushites,

shall be slain by my sword.

13  And he will stretch out his hand against the north

and destroy Assyria,

and he will make Nineveh a desolation,

a dry waste like the desert.

14  Herds shall lie down in her midst,

all kinds of beasts;¹⁸

even the owl and the hedgehog¹⁹

shall lodge in her capitals;

a voice shall hoot in the window;

devastation will be on the threshold;

for her cedar work will be laid bare.

15  This is the exultant city

that lived securely,

that said in her heart,

“I am, and there is no one else.”

What a desolation she has become,

a lair for wild beasts!

Everyone who passes by her

hisses and shakes his fist.

1  Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled,

the oppressing city!

2  She listens to no voice;

she accepts no correction.

She does not trust in the Lord;

she does not draw near to her God.

3  Her officials within her

are roaring lions;

her judges are evening wolves

that leave nothing till the morning.

4  Her prophets are fickle, treacherous men;

her priests profane what is holy;

they do violence to the law.

5  The Lord within her is righteous;

he does no injustice;

every morning he shows forth his justice;

each dawn he does not fail;

but the unjust knows no shame.

6  “I have cut off nations;

their battlements are in ruins;

I have laid waste their streets

so that no one walks in them;

their cities have been made desolate,

without a man, without an inhabitant.

7  I said, ‘Surely you will fear me;

you will accept correction.

Then your²⁰ dwelling would not be cut off

according to all that I have appointed against you.’²¹

But all the more they were eager

to make all their deeds corrupt.

8  “Therefore wait for me,” declares the Lord,

“for the day when I rise up to seize the prey.

For my decision is to gather nations,

to assemble kingdoms,

to pour out upon them my indignation,

all my burning anger;

for in the fire of my jealousy

all the earth shall be consumed.

9  “For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples

to a pure speech,

that all of them may call upon the name of the Lord

and serve him with one accord.

10  From beyond the rivers of Cush

my worshipers, the daughter of my dispersed ones,

shall bring my offering.

11  “On that day you shall not be put to shame

because of the deeds by which you have rebelled against me;

for then I will remove from your midst

your proudly exultant ones,

and you shall no longer be haughty

in my holy mountain.

12  But I will leave in your midst

a people humble and lowly.

They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord,

13  those who are left in Israel;

they shall do no injustice

and speak no lies,

nor shall there be found in their mouth

a deceitful tongue.

For they shall graze and lie down,

and none shall make them afraid.”

14  Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;

shout, O Israel!

Rejoice and exult with all your heart,

O daughter of Jerusalem!

15  The Lord has taken away the judgments against you;

he has cleared away your enemies.

The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;

you shall never again fear evil.

16  On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:

“Fear not, O Zion;

let not your hands grow weak.

17  The Lord your God is in your midst,

a mighty one who will save;

he will rejoice over you with gladness;

he will quiet you by his love;

he will exult over you with loud singing.

18  I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival,

so that you will no longer suffer reproach.²²

19  Behold, at that time I will deal

with all your oppressors.

And I will save the lame

and gather the outcast,

and I will change their shame into praise

and renown in all the earth.

20  At that time I will bring you in,

at the time when I gather you together;

for I will make you renowned and praised

among all the peoples of the earth,

when I restore your fortunes

before your eyes,” says the Lord.