Hope for a King from David’s Line
1 Lord, You are our King forever and ever, for our soul takes pride in You, God. 2 How long are the days of man's life on the earth? The hope (set) on him lasts as long as his days. 3 But we hope in God, our deliverer; For our God’s power lasts forever with mercy, And the kingdom of our God is forever over the nations in judgment.
4 You, Lord, chose David (to be) king over Israel, And swore to him concerning his descendants that his kingdom should never fail in Your presence. 5 But, for our sins, sinners rose up against us; They attacked us and drove us out; What You had not promised to them, they took away (from us) with violence. They did not glorify Your honorable name in any way; 6 They set a (worldly) monarchy in place of (that which was) their excellence; They destroyed the throne of David in turbulent arrogance. 7 But You, God, brought them down and removed their descendants from the earth, when a man from a foreign people rose up against them. 8 You repaid them according to their sins, God, so that what happened to them was according to their deeds.
9 God showed them no pity; He sought out their descendants and did not let one of them go free. 10 The Lord is faithful in all His judgments that He carries out on the earth. 11 The lawless one devastated our land so that no one lived in it. They destroyed young and old and their children together. 12 In the heat of His anger He sent them away all the way to the west, And (He exposed) the rulers of the land to merciless ridicule. 13 The enemy was a foreigner and acted proudly, and his heart was estranged from our God. 14 And [everything he did in] Jerusalem [was like what] the nations [do in the cities to their gods.]
15 And the children of the covenant among the mixed peoples [surpassed them in evil.] There was no one among them who practiced mercy and truth within Jerusalem. 16 Those who loved the synagogues of the faithful fled from them, As sparrows that fly from their nest. 17 They wandered in deserts so that their lives might be saved from harm, And anyone who escaped from them alive was precious to those who lived abroad. 18 They were scattered over the whole earth by lawless (men). 19 For the heavens withheld the rain from falling on the earth, Springs were stopped (that sprang) continuous(ly) from the depths, (that ran down) from high mountains. For there was no one among them who practiced righteousness and justice; 20 From their leaders to the least (of them) all were sinful; The king was a lawbreaker, and the judge disobedient, and the people sinful.
21 Look, Lord, and raise up for them their king, the son of David, at the time You see fit, God, so that he may reign over Your servant Israel. 22 And strengthen him so that he may shatter unrighteous rulers, and so that he may cleanse Jerusalem of nations that trample (her) down to destruction. 23 Wisely, righteously he shall drive out sinners from (the) inheritance; He shall destroy the pride of the sinner as a potter's jar. 24 With a rod of iron he shall shatter all their possessions; He shall destroy the godless nations with the word of his mouth; 25 At his rebuke nations shall flee from him, And he shall rebuke sinners for the thoughts of their heart.
26 And he shall gather a holy people, whom he shall lead in righteousness, And he shall judge the tribes of the people who have been made holy by the Lord his God. 27 And he shall not allow unrighteousness to live among them anymore, Nor shall any man who knows wickedness live with them, For he shall know that they are all sons of their God. 28 And he shall divide them according to their tribes on the land, And neither a temporary resident nor a foreigner shall live with them anymore. 29 He shall judge peoples and nations in the wisdom of his righteousness. Selah.
30 And he shall have the foreign nations serve him under his yoke; And he shall glorify the Lord in a place visible to (?) the whole earth; And he shall cleanse Jerusalem, making it holy as in ancient times: 31 So that nations shall come from the ends of the earth to see his glory, bringing as gifts her sons who had fainted, And to see the glory of the Lord, with which God has glorified her. 32 And he (shall be) a righteous king, taught by God, over them, And there shall be no unrighteousness among them during his days, For all shall be holy and their king the anointed of the Lord. 33 For he shall not put his trust in horse and rider and bow, Nor shall he accumulate for himself gold and silver for war, Nor shall he gain confidence from (?) a multitude (?) for the day of battle. 34 The Lord Himself is his king, the hope of the one who is powerful through (his) hope in God. All nations (shall be) in fear before him, 35 For he will strike the earth with the word of his mouth forever. He will bless the people of the Lord with wisdom and gladness, 36 And he himself (will be) free from sin, so that he may rule a great people. He will rebuke rulers, and remove sinners by the power of his word; 37 And (relying) on his God, throughout his life he will not stumble; For God will make him powerful by means of (His) holy spirit, And wise by means of the spirit of understanding, with strength and righteousness. 38 And the blessing of the Lord (will be) with him: he will be strong and not stumble; 39 His hope (will be) in the Lord: who then can overpower him? 40 (He will be) powerful in his actions, and strong in the fear of God; (He will be) shepherding the flock of the Lord faithfully and righteously, and will allow none of them to stumble in their pasture. 41 He will lead them all rightly, and there will be no pride among them that might cause anyone to be oppressed. 42 This (will be) the majesty of the king of Israel whom God knows; He will raise him up over the house of Israel to correct him.
43 His words (shall be) more refined than the finest, most precious gold; In the assemblies he will judge the peoples, the tribes of the holy people. 44 His words (shall be) like the words of the holy ones among holy peoples.
45 Blessed are those who shall live in those days, because they shall see the good fortune of Israel which God shall bring about when the tribes are gathered together. 46 May the Lord quickly bring His mercy to Israel! May He deliver us from the uncleanness of unholy enemies! The Lord Himself is our king forever and ever.