Jerusalem’s Pride and Hidden Sins
1 I cried to the Lord when I was in severe distress, to God when sinners attacked. 2 Suddenly the sound of war was heard in front of me; (I said), He will listen to me because I am completely righteous. 3 I thought to myself that I was completely righteous, because I had prospered and had many children.
4 Their wealth spread to the whole earth, and their glory to the end of the earth. 5 They were lifted up to the stars; they said they would never fall. 6 But they grew arrogant as they prospered, and [they lacked understanding]. 7 Their sins were secret, and even I knew nothing (of them). 8 Their sins (went) beyond those of the nations before them; they completely defiled the holy things of the Lord.
Jerusalem’s Fall and Its Conqueror’s Judgment
1 When the sinner grew proud, with a battering-ram he knocked down fortified walls, and You did not restrain (him). 2 Foreign nations climbed onto Your altar; they trampled (it) proudly with their sandals; 3 Because the sons of Jerusalem had defiled the holy things of the Lord, and had defiled the offerings of God with their sins. 4 Therefore He said: Send them far away from Me; 5 It was treated as worthless in God’s presence; it was completely dishonored; 6 The sons and the daughters were in harsh captivity; their neck (was) sealed (?) and branded (?) among the nations. 7 He has dealt with them according to their sins, for He has abandoned them to those who overpowered them. 8 He has turned away His face rather than pity them, young and old and their children together; for they had all done evil by refusing to listen. 9 And the heavens were angry, and the earth detested them; for no one on it had done what they did, 10 And the earth recognized all Your righteous judgments, God.
11 They exposed the sons of Jerusalem to ridicule in return for (the) prostitutes in her; Every passerby entered in the full light of day. 12 They mocked with their sins, as they themselves used to do; In the full light of day they revealed their wrongdoing. 13 And the daughters of Jerusalem were defiled in accordance with Your judgment, because they had defiled themselves with unnatural intercourse. 14 These things cause pain deep in my stomach and throughout my body.
15 (And yet) I will declare You just, God, with an upright heart, for in Your judgments Your righteousness is (displayed), God. 16 For You have repaid the sinners according to their deeds, yes according to their sins, which were very wicked. 17 You have uncovered their sins, so that Your judgment might be clear; You have wiped out their memorial from the earth. 18 God is a righteous judge, and He shows no favoritism. 19 For the nations insulted Jerusalem, trampling it down; Her beauty was dragged down from the throne of glory. 20 She put on sackcloth instead of beautiful clothing, A rope (was) around her head instead of a crown. 21 She removed the glorious crown which God had placed on her; her beauty was thrown to the ground in dishonor.
22 And I saw and pleaded with the Lord and said, Long enough, Lord, has Your hand been heavy on Israel, by bringing the nations against (them). 23 For they have mocked without restraint in anger and fierce rage; And they will destroy everything, unless You, Lord, rebuke them in Your anger. 24 For they have done this out of greed rather than zeal, pouring out their anger upon us so that they could plunder. 25 Do not delay, God, in repaying them on (their) heads, to turn the pride of the dragon into dishonor.
26 And I did not have to wait long before God showed me the arrogant one killed on the mountains of Egypt, regarded as less important than anything else on land and sea; 27 His body, (too,) was carried back and forth on the waves with great contempt, with no one to bury (him), because He had rejected him with dishonor. 28 He did not consider that he was human. And he did not consider his final fate; 29 He said: I will be lord of land and sea; and he did not recognize that it is God who is great, mighty in His great strength. 30 He is king over the heavens, and judges kings and kingdoms. 31 (It is He) who lifts me up in glory, and brings down the proud to eternal destruction in dishonor, because they did not know Him.
32 And now, princes of the earth, look at the Lord’s judgment, for He (is) a great and righteous king, judging (all) that is under the heavens. 33 Bless God, you who fear the Lord with wisdom, for the Lord’s mercy will be on those who fear Him, in the Judgment; 34 So that He will distinguish between the righteous and the sinner, (And) repay the sinners forever according to their deeds; 35 And have mercy on the righteous, (delivering him) from the affliction of the sinner, and repaying the sinner for what he has done to the righteous.
36 For the Lord is good to those who patiently call on Him, acting mercifully toward His faithful people, keeping (them) strong in His presence at all times. 37 Blessed be the Lord forever in the presence of His servants.
The Righteous and the Sinner
1 Why are you sleeping, my soul, and not blessing the Lord? Sing a new song to God who is worthy to be praised. 2 Sing and stay awake to watch for His awakening, for a psalm (sung) to God from a joyful heart is good.
3 The righteous remember the Lord at all times, with thanksgiving and by declaring that the Lord’s judgments are righteous. 4 The righteous person does not despise the Lord’s discipline; His desire is always in the Lord’s presence.
5 The righteous person stumbles and acknowledges that the Lord is righteous: He falls and watches for what God will do to him; He searches for where his rescue will come from. 6 The firm resolve of the righteous is from God their deliverer; Sin does not pile up in the righteous person’s house. 7 The righteous person continually searches his house, to remove completely (all) wrongdoing (done) by him unintentionally. 8 He makes atonement for (sins of) ignorance by fasting and humbling himself, and the Lord counts every faithful man and his household as free from guilt.
9 The sinner stumbles and curses his life, the day he was born, and his mother's labor pains. 10 He adds sin to sin while he lives (?); He falls, his fall is truly terrible, and he never rises again. 11 The destruction of the sinner is forever, and he will not be remembered when God attends to the righteous person.
12 This is the fate of sinners forever. But those who fear the Lord shall rise to eternal life, And their life (shall be) in the light of the Lord, and will never end.
Hypocrisy and Judgment
1 Why do you sit in the council of the faithful, profane (man), when your heart is far from the Lord, provoking the God of Israel with your sins? 2 The person who speaks harshly when condemning sinners in judgment is extravagant in speech and in outward appearance beyond all (men). 3 And his hand is the first raised against him as (though he acted) out of zeal, and (yet) he himself is guilty of many sins and of self-indulgence. 4 His eyes are upon every woman without distinction; his tongue lies when he makes a contract with an oath. 5 At night and in secret he sins as though unseen, with his eyes he speaks to every woman about evil agreements. He eagerly enters every house with a cheerful face as though he were innocent.
6 Let God remove those who live hypocritically among the faithful, (Even) the life of such a person through the decay of his flesh and poverty. 7 Let God reveal the deeds of those who seek human approval, The deeds of such a person with laughter and derision; 8 So that the faithful may acknowledge their God’s judgment as righteous, When sinners are removed from the presence of the righteous, (Even the) person who seeks human approval and teaches the law deceitfully.
9 And their eyes (are fixed) upon any man's house that is (still) secure, so that, like (the) Serpent, they may destroy the wisdom of [text uncertain] with the words of sinners, 10 His words are deceitful so that (he) may fulfill (his) wicked desire. He never stops scattering (families) as though (they were) orphans, 11 Yes, he destroys a house because of (his) lawless desire. He deceives with words, (saying,) There is no one who sees or judges. 12 He fills one (house) with lawlessness, and (then) his eyes (are fixed) upon the next house, to destroy it with words that make (desire) take flight. 13 (Yet) despite all this his soul, like Sheol, is never satisfied.
14 Let his portion, Lord, be dishonored in Your presence; Let him go out groaning and come home cursed. 15 Let his life be (spent) in anguish, and poverty, and need, Lord; Let his sleep be (beset) with pains and his waking with confusion. 16 Let sleep be withdrawn from his eyelids at night; Let him fail dishonorably in everything his hands do. 17 Let him come home empty-handed to his house, and may his house lack everything he could use to satisfy his appetite. 18 (Let) his old age (be spent) in childless loneliness until he is taken away (by death).
19 Let the flesh of those who seek human approval be torn apart by wild beasts, and (let) the bones of the lawless (lie) dishonored in the sight of the sun. 20 Let ravens peck out the eyes of the hypocrites. For they have shamefully destroyed many people’s houses and scattered (them) in (their) lust; 21 And they have not remembered God, or feared God in all these things; But they have provoked God's anger and upset Him. 22 May He remove them from the earth, because they deceitfully misled the souls of the blameless.
23 Blessed are those who fear the Lord in their innocence; The Lord shall deliver them from deceitful men and sinners, And deliver us from every obstacle of the lawless (men). 24 Let God destroy those who arrogantly commit every kind of wrongdoing, for the Lord our God is a great and mighty judge who judges righteously. 25 Let Your mercy, Lord, be on all those who love You.
God’s Generosity and Human Need
1 Lord God, I will praise Your name with joy, among those who know Your righteous judgments. 2 For You are good and merciful, the refuge of the poor; When I cry to You, do not silently disregard me. 3 For no one takes plunder from a powerful man; Who, then, can take anything You have made unless You Yourself give it? 4 For man and his portion (lie) in Your presence in the balance; He cannot increase what You have assigned to him, God.
5 When we are in distress we call upon You for help, And You do not reject our request, for You are our God. 6 Do not let Your hand weigh heavily on us, so that hardship does not lead us into sin. 7 Even though You do not restore us, we will not stay away; But we will come to You.
8 For if I hunger, I will cry to You, God; and You will give to me. 9 You feed birds and fish, by giving rain to the steppes so that green grass may grow, 10 (So) to prepare fodder in the steppe for every living thing; And if they are hungry, they lift their faces to You. 11 You feed kings and rulers and peoples, God; And who helps the poor and needy, if not You, Lord? 12 And You will listen, for who is good and gentle but You? You bring joy to the humble person’s soul by opening Your hand in mercy. 13 Human kindness is (given) grudgingly and [text uncertain]; And if someone repeats (it) without complaining, even that is marvelous. 14 But Your gift is great in goodness and wealth, And the person whose hope is (set) on You will lack no gifts. 15 Your mercy extends in goodness over the whole earth, Lord.
16 Happy is he whom God remembers by (granting to him) enough to live on; If a man has too much, he sins. 17 Modest resources with righteousness are enough, and in this way the Lord’s blessing (becomes) abundance with righteousness. 18 Those who fear the Lord rejoice in good (gifts), And Your goodness is upon Israel in Your kingdom. 19 Blessed is the glory of the Lord for He is our king.
Trust in God’s Protection
1 Happy is the man whose heart is determined to call on the name of the Lord; When he remembers the name of the Lord, he will be saved. 2 His paths are made smooth by the Lord, And the works of his hands are preserved by the Lord his God.
3 His soul will not be troubled by what he sees in bad dreams; When he passes through rivers and the tossing of the seas, he shall not be terrified. 4 He rises from his sleep, and blesses the name of the Lord: When his heart is at peace, he sings to the name of his God, 5 And he pleads with the Lord for his entire household. And the Lord hears the prayer of everyone who fears God, 6 And the Lord fulfills every request of the soul that hopes in Him. Blessed is the Lord, who shows mercy to those who love Him in sincerity.
A Prayer for Mercy and Protection
1 Do not live far away from us, God, so that those who hate us without cause do not attack us. 2 For You have rejected them, God; Do not let their feet trample Your holy inheritance. 3 Discipline us Yourself as You see fit; But do not hand (us) over to the nations; 4 For, if You send death, You Yourself give it instructions concerning us; 5 For You are merciful, And will not be angry to the point of destroying us. 6 While Your name lives among us, we shall find mercy; And the nations shall not overpower us. 7 For You are our shield, And when we call upon You, You listen to us; 8 For You will pity the descendants of Israel forever, and You will not reject (them): 9 But we (shall be) under Your yoke forever, And (under) the rod of Your discipline. 10 You will strengthen us when You help us, showing mercy to the house of Jacob on the day when You promised (to help them).
Jerusalem’s Sins and the Foreign Invasion
1 My ears have heard distress and the sound of war; the sound of a trumpet announcing slaughter and calamity, 2 The sound of a great crowd like an extremely strong wind, like a storm with mighty fire sweeping through the Negeb. 3 And I said to myself: Surely (?) God is judging us; 4 I hear a sound (moving) toward Jerusalem, the holy city. 5 My lower back was shattered at what I heard, my knees shook; my heart was afraid, my bones trembled like flax. 6 I said: They live their lives in righteousness. 7 I thought about the judgments of God since the creation of heaven and earth; I considered God righteous in His judgments which have existed since ancient times. 8 God exposed their sins in the full light of day; All the earth came to know the righteous judgments of God. 9 In secret places underground their sins (were committed) to provoke (Him) to anger; They engaged in confused unions, son with mother and father with daughter; 10 They committed adultery, every man with his neighbor's wife. They made agreements with one another under oath concerning these things; 11 They plundered the sanctuary of God, as though there was no one to take revenge. 12 They trampled the altar of the Lord, (coming straight) from every kind of impurity; And with menstrual blood they defiled the sacrifices, as (though these were) ordinary meat. 13 They committed every sin, surpassing the nations in all of them.
14 Therefore God mixed a spirit of confusion for them and gave them a cup of undiluted wine to drink so that they might become drunk. 15 He brought the one from the end of the earth who strikes with great power; He decreed (?) war against Jerusalem, and against her land. 16 The princes of the land went to meet him with joy: they said to him, Blessed be your way! Come, enter in peace. 17 They smoothed the rough roads before he entered; They opened the gates to Jerusalem, they crowned its walls.
18 As a father (enters) the house of his sons, (so) he entered (Jerusalem) in peace; He placed his feet (there) in complete safety. 19 He captured her fortresses and the wall of Jerusalem; for God Himself led him in safety, while they wandered. 20 He destroyed their princes and everyone who gave wise advice; He poured out the blood of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, like the water of uncleanness. 21 He led away their sons and daughters, whom they had brought into the world in defilement. 22 They acted according to their impurity, even as their ancestors (had done): They defiled Jerusalem and the things that had been consecrated to the name of God.
23 (But) God has shown Himself righteous in His judgments upon the nations of the earth; And the faithful (servants) of God are like innocent lambs in their midst. 24 The Lord deserves praise, for He judges the whole earth in His righteousness. 25 Look now, God, You have shown us Your judgment in Your righteousness; Our eyes have seen Your judgments, God. 26 We have declared Your name just, honored forever; For You are the God of righteousness, judging Israel with discipline.
27 Turn Your mercy toward us, God, and have pity upon us; 28 Gather the scattered people of Israel together, with mercy and goodness; For Your faithfulness is with us.
29 And (though) we have stubbornly refused to obey, yet You are the one who disciplines us; 30 Do not overlook us, our God, so that the nations do not swallow us up as though there were no one to rescue us. 31 But You are our God from the beginning, and our hope is (set) on You, Lord; 32 And we will not depart from You, for Your judgments toward us are good.
33 May Your favor be ours and our children’s forever; Lord our Savior, we shall never again be shaken. 34 The Lord deserves praise for His judgments from the mouths of His faithful people; And blessed be Israel of the Lord forever.
Confession and Mercy for Israel
1 When Israel was led away captive into a foreign land, when they fell away from the Lord who redeemed them, they were cast away from the inheritance, which the Lord had given them. 2 The scattered people of Israel (were) among every nation according to the word of God, so that You might be declared just, God, in Your righteousness because of our sins: For You are a just judge over all the peoples of the earth. 3 For no one who acts unjustly is hidden from Your knowledge, And the righteous deeds of Your faithful people (are) in Your presence, Lord. Where, then, can a man hide himself from Your knowledge, God?
4 Our actions are subject to our own choice and power, to do right or wrong with our hands. And in Your righteousness You attend to human beings. 5 The person who acts righteously stores up life for himself with the Lord; And the person who does wrong forfeits his life to destruction; For the judgments of the Lord are (given) in righteousness to (every) man and (his) house. 6 To whom are You good, God, except those who call on the Lord? He cleanses a soul of sins when it confesses and acknowledges them; For shame is upon us and upon our faces because of all these things. 7 And whose sins does He forgive except those who have sinned? You bless the righteous, and do not rebuke them for the sins that they have committed; And Your goodness is upon those who sin, when they repent.
8 And, now, You are our God, and we the people whom You have loved: Look and show pity, God of Israel, for we are Yours; And do not remove Your mercy from us, so that they do not attack us. 9 For You chose Abraham’s descendants above all the nations, and placed Your name on us, Lord, And You will not reject (us) forever. 10 You made a covenant with our ancestors concerning us; And we hope in You, when our soul turns (to You). 11 The mercy of the Lord be upon the house of Israel forever and ever.
Discipline and the Everlasting Covenant
1 Happy is the man whom the Lord remembers by correcting, and whom He holds back from the path of evil with blows, so that he may be cleansed from sin and it may not increase. 2 The person who prepares his back for blows shall be cleansed, For the Lord is good to those who endure discipline. 3 For He straightens the paths of the righteous, And does not distort (them) by His discipline. And the mercy of the Lord (is) upon those who love Him in truth, 4 And the Lord remembers His servants in mercy. For the testimony (is) in the law of the eternal covenant. The testimony of the Lord (is) about people’s ways when (He) attends to them.
5 Our Lord is just and kind in His judgments forever, And Israel shall praise the name of the Lord in gladness. 6 And the faithful shall give thanks in the assembly of the people; And God will have mercy on the poor in the gladness (?) of Israel; 7 For God is good and merciful forever, And the assemblies of Israel shall glorify the name of the Lord. 8 The salvation of the Lord be upon the house of Israel in everlasting gladness!
The Return of Jerusalem’s Scattered Children
1 Blow the trumpet in Zion to summon (the) saints. Let Jerusalem hear the voice of the one who brings good news; For God has had pity on Israel by attending to them. 2 Stand on the height, Jerusalem, and look at your children, From the East and the West, gathered together by the Lord; 3 From the North they come in the gladness of their God, From the faraway islands God has gathered them. 4 He has lowered high mountains into a plain for them; The hills fled at their entrance. 5 The woods gave them shelter as they passed by; God caused every sweet-smelling tree to grow for them, 6 so that Israel might pass by when their God visits them in glory. 7 Put on, Jerusalem, your glorious clothing; Prepare your holy robe; For God has promised good things for Israel, forever and ever. 8 Let the Lord do what He has spoken concerning Israel and Jerusalem; Let the Lord raise up Israel by His glorious name. 9 The mercy of the Lord be upon Israel forever and ever.
Deliverance from Slander
1 Lord, deliver my soul from (the) lawless and wicked man, From the tongue that is lawless and slanderous, and speaks lies and deceit. 2 The wicked man’s tongue speaks in many twisted ways (?), [like a fire among a people that burns up their beauty]. 3 So [he delights] to fill houses with a lying tongue, to cut down the trees of gladness [with the fire of his wicked tongue], to involve households in warfare by means of slanderous lips. 4 May God remove the lips of sinners far from the innocent by (bringing them to) poverty. And may the bones of slanderers be scattered (far) away from those who fear the Lord! May the slanderous tongue perish in flaming fire (far) away from the faithful! 5 May the Lord preserve the quiet soul that hates the unrighteous; And may the Lord establish the man who pursues peace at home. 6 The salvation of the Lord be upon Israel His servant forever; And let the sinners perish together in the presence of the Lord; But let the Lord's faithful people inherit the promises of the Lord.
Rescue and Discipline for the Righteous
1 The right hand of the Lord has covered me; The right hand of the Lord has spared us. 2 The arm of the Lord has saved us from the sword that passed through, From famine and the death of sinners. 3 Dangerous beasts rushed at them: With their teeth they tore their flesh, And with their molars crushed their bones. 4 But from all these things the Lord rescued us.
5 The righteous person was troubled because of his errors, for fear that he might be taken away along with the sinners; 6 For the sinner’s destruction is terrible; But not one of all these things touches the righteous person. 7 For the discipline of the righteous (for sins done) in ignorance is different from the destruction of sinners. 8 The righteous person is disciplined in secret (?), so that the sinner does not take delight in the righteous person’s suffering. 9 For He corrects the righteous person as a beloved son, And his discipline is as that of a firstborn. 10 For the Lord spares His faithful people, And wipes away their errors by His discipline. 11 For the life of the righteous shall be forever; But sinners shall be taken away into destruction, And no memory of them will ever be found again. 12 But the Lord’s mercy is on the faithful, and His mercy is on those who fear Him.
The Faithful as Trees of Life
1 The Lord is faithful to those who truly love Him, to those who endure His discipline, 2 to those who walk in the righteousness of His commandments, In the law which He commanded us so that we might live. 3 The Lord’s faithful people shall live by it forever; The Paradise of the Lord, the trees of life, are His faithful people. 4 Their planting is rooted forever; They shall not be uprooted as long as the heavens last: 5 For Israel is God’s portion and inheritance.
6 But this is not true of sinners and those who break the law, who love (the brief) day (spent) in the company of their sin; 7 Their delight is in fleeting corruption, and they do not remember God. 8 For He knows people’s ways at all times, And He knows the secrets of the heart before they happen. 9 Therefore their inheritance is Sheol and darkness and destruction, and they shall not be found in the day when the righteous obtain mercy; 10 But the Lord’s faithful people shall inherit life in gladness.
The Righteous and Sinners at Judgment
1 When I was in distress I called upon the name of the Lord, I hoped for the help of the God of Jacob and was saved; For You are the hope and refuge of the poor, God. 2 For who, God, is strong except to give thanks to You sincerely? And how is a man powerful except by giving thanks to Your name? 3 A new psalm with song in gladness of heart, The fruit of the lips with the well-tuned instrument of the tongue, The firstfruits of the lips from a faithful and righteous heart: 4 The person who offers these things shall never be shaken by evil; The flame of fire and the anger against the unrighteous shall not touch him, 5 when it goes out from the face of the Lord against sinners, to destroy all the possessions of sinners, 6 For the mark of God is upon the righteous so that they may be saved. 7 Famine and sword and disease (shall be) far from the righteous, For they shall flee away from the faithful as men pursued in war; 8 But they shall pursue sinners and overtake (them), And those who commit lawless acts shall not escape the judgment of God; 9 They shall be overtaken as if by enemies experienced (in war), For the mark of destruction is upon their forehead.
10 And the inheritance of sinners is destruction and darkness, And their sins shall pursue them to Sheol beneath. 11 Their children shall not find their inheritance, For sins shall destroy the houses of sinners. 12 And sinners shall perish forever in the day of the Lord's judgment, When God visits the earth with His judgment. 13 But those who fear the Lord shall find mercy there, And shall live by the compassion of their God; But sinners shall perish forever.
A Prayer for Strength to Resist Sin
1 When my soul slept (being far away) from the Lord, I had all but slipped down to the pit, When (I was) far from God, 2 my soul had nearly been poured out in death, (I had been) near the gates of Sheol with the sinner, 3 when my soul departed from the Lord God of Israel, if the Lord had not helped me with His everlasting mercy. 4 He prodded me as a horse is prodded, so that I might serve Him. My savior and helper at all times saved me. 5 I will give thanks to You, God, for You have helped me to (my) salvation; and You have not counted me with sinners to (my) destruction.
6 Do not remove Your mercy from me, God, or the memory of You from my heart until I die. 7 Rule me, God, (keeping me back) from wicked sin, And from every wicked woman that causes the innocent to stumble. 8 And do not let the beauty of a lawless woman deceive me, or anyone who is subject to (?) useless sin. 9 Establish the works of my hands in Your presence, And guard my steps as I remember You. 10 Protect my tongue and my lips with words of truth; Keep anger and irrational rage far from me. 11 Remove complaining and impatience in suffering far from me, When I sin, You discipline me so that I may return (to You).
12 But with goodwill and cheerfulness support my soul; When You strengthen my soul, what is given (to me) will be sufficient for me. 13 For if You do not give strength, who can endure discipline along with poverty? 14 When a man is rebuked through his bodily decay, Your testing (of him) is in his flesh and in the suffering of poverty. 15 If the righteous person endures in all these (trials), he shall receive mercy from the Lord.
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.
The Coming King and the Ordered Heavens
1 Lord, Your mercy is over the works of Your hands forever; Your goodness is over Israel with a rich gift. 2 Your eyes watch over them, so that none of them lacks anything; Your ears listen to the hopeful prayer of the poor. 3 Your judgments (are executed) upon the whole earth in mercy; And Your love (is) toward Abraham’s descendants, the children of Israel. 4 Your discipline is upon us as (upon) a firstborn son, an only child, to turn back the obedient soul from foolishness (that is committed) in ignorance.
5 May God cleanse Israel in preparation for the day of mercy and blessing, in preparation for the day of choice when He brings back His anointed.
6 Blessed shall be those who live in those days, because they shall see the goodness of the Lord which He shall carry out for the generation that is to come, 7 Under the rod of discipline of the Lord's anointed in the fear of his God, In the spirit of wisdom and righteousness and strength; 8 so that he may guide (every) man in the works of righteousness by the fear of God, so that he may strengthen them all in the Lord’s presence, 9 A good generation (living) in the fear of God in the days of mercy. Selah.
10 Our God is great and glorious, living in the highest heavens. (It is He) who has placed the lights (of heaven) in (their) courses for determining seasons from year to year, and they have not turned aside from the way which He appointed for them. 11 In the fear of God (they pursue) their path every day, From the day God created them and forevermore. 12 And they have not strayed since the day He created them. Since ancient generations they have not withdrawn from their path, unless God commanded them (so to do) by the command of His servants.