CHAPTER 33
Woe
to you,
O destroyer
never
destroyed,
O traitor
never
betrayed!
When you have finished
destroying,
you will be destroyed.
When you have finished
betraying,
you will be betrayed.
O LORD,
be gracious to us!
We wait for You.
Be
our strength
every morning
and
our salvation
in time
of trouble.
There will be
times
of security for you—
a storehouse
of salvation,
wisdom,
and knowledge.
The fear
of the LORD
is Zion’s treasure.
The highways
are deserted;
travel
has ceased.
The treaty
has been broken,
the witnesses
are despised,
and human life
is disregarded.
The land
mourns
and languishes;
Lebanon
is ashamed
and decayed.
Sharon
is
like a desert;
Bashan
and Carmel
shake off their leaves.
The sinners
in Zion
are afraid;
trembling
grips
the ungodly:
“Who
of us can dwell with
a consuming
fire?
Who
of us can dwell with
everlasting
flames?”
He who walks
righteously
and speaks
with sincerity,
who refuses
gain
from extortion,
whose hand
never
takes
a bribe,
who stops
his ears
against
murderous plots
and shuts
his eyes tightly
against
evil—
he
will dwell
on the heights;
his refuge
will be the mountain
fortress;
his food
will be provided
and his water
assured.
Your mind
will ponder
the former terror:
“Where
is he who tallies?
Where
is he who weighs?
Where
is he who counts
the towers?”
You will no
longer see
the insolent,
a people
whose speech
is unintelligible,
who stammer
in a language
that is not
understood.
Look
upon Zion,
the city
of our festivals.
Your eyes
will see
Jerusalem,
a peaceful
pasture,
a tent
that does not
wander;
its tent pegs
will not
be pulled up,
nor
will any
of its cords
be loosened.
But
there
the Majestic One,
our LORD,
will be for us
a place
of rivers
and wide
canals,
where no
galley
with oars
will go,
and majestic
vessels
will not
pass.
Your ropes
are slack;
they cannot
secure
the mast
or spread
the sail.
Then
an abundance
of spoils
will be divided,
and even the lame
will carry off plunder.
And no
resident of Zion
will say,
“I am sick.”
The people
who dwell
there
will be forgiven
their iniquity.