Study Desk

In that day^(a) this song will be sung^(b) in the land of Judah: We have a strong city;^(c) God makes salvation its walls^(d) and ramparts.^(e)

Open the gates^(f) that the righteous^(g) nation may enter, the nation that keeps faith.

You will keep in perfect peace^(h) those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust⁽ⁱ⁾ in you.

Trust^(j) in the Lord forever,^(k) for the Lord , the Lord himself, is the Rock^(l) eternal.

He humbles those who dwell on high, he lays the lofty city low; he levels it to the ground^(m) and casts it down to the dust.⁽ⁿ⁾

Feet trample^(o) it down— the feet of the oppressed,^(p) the footsteps of the poor.^(q)

The path of the righteous is level;^(r) you, the Upright One,^(s) make the way of the righteous smooth.^(t)

Yes, Lord , walking in the way of your laws,^[a](u) we wait^(v) for you; your name^(w) and renown are the desire of our hearts.

My soul yearns for you in the night;^(x) in the morning my spirit longs^(y) for you. When your judgments^(z) come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.^(aa)

But when grace is shown to the wicked,^(ab) they do not learn righteousness; even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil^(ac) and do not regard^(ad) the majesty of the Lord .

Lord , your hand is lifted high,^(ae) but they do not see^(af) it. Let them see your zeal^(ag) for your people and be put to shame;^(ah) let the fire^(ai) reserved for your enemies consume them.

Lord , you establish peace^(aj) for us; all that we have accomplished you have done^(ak) for us.

Lord our God, other lords^(al) besides you have ruled over us, but your name^(am) alone do we honor.^(an)

They are now dead,^(ao) they live no more; their spirits^(ap) do not rise. You punished them and brought them to ruin;^(aq) you wiped out all memory of them.^(ar)

You have enlarged the nation, Lord ; you have enlarged the nation.^(as) You have gained glory for yourself; you have extended all the borders^(at) of the land.

Lord , they came to you in their distress;^(au) when you disciplined^(av) them, they could barely whisper^(aw) a prayer.^[b]

As a pregnant woman about to give birth^(ax) writhes and cries out in her pain, so were we in your presence, Lord .

We were with child, we writhed in labor, but we gave birth^(ay) to wind. We have not brought salvation^(az) to the earth, and the people of the world have not come to life.^(ba)

But your dead^(bb) will live, Lord ; their bodies will rise— let those who dwell in the dust^(bc) wake up and shout for joy— your dew^(bd) is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead.^(be)

Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors^(bf) behind you; hide^(bg) yourselves for a little while until his wrath^(bh) has passed by.^(bi)

See, the Lord is coming^(bj) out of his dwelling^(bk) to punish^(bl) the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will disclose the blood^(bm) shed on it; the earth will conceal its slain no longer.

In that day,^(a) the Lord will punish with his sword^(b)— his fierce, great and powerful sword— Leviathan^(c) the gliding serpent,^(d) Leviathan the coiling serpent; he will slay the monster^(e) of the sea.

In that day^(f)— "Sing^(g) about a fruitful vineyard:^(h)

I, the Lord , watch over it; I water⁽ⁱ⁾ it continually. I guard^(j) it day and night so that no one may harm^(k) it.

I am not angry. If only there were briers and thorns confronting me! I would march against them in battle; I would set them all on fire.^(l)

Or else let them come to me for refuge;^(m) let them make peace⁽ⁿ⁾ with me, yes, let them make peace with me."

In days to come Jacob will take root,^(o) Israel will bud and blossom^(p) and fill all the world with fruit.^(q)

Has the Lord struck her as he struck^(r) down those who struck her? Has she been killed as those were killed who killed her?

By warfare^[a] and exile^(s) you contend with her— with his fierce blast he drives her out, as on a day the east wind^(t) blows.

By this, then, will Jacob's guilt be atoned^(u) for, and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin:^(v) When he makes all the altar stones^(w) to be like limestone crushed to pieces, no Asherah poles^[b](x) or incense altars^(y) will be left standing.

The fortified city stands desolate,^(z) an abandoned settlement, forsaken^(aa) like the wilderness; there the calves graze,^(ab) there they lie down;^(ac) they strip its branches bare.

When its twigs are dry, they are broken off^(ad) and women come and make fires^(ae) with them. For this is a people without understanding;^(af) so their Maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator^(ag) shows them no favor.^(ah)

In that day the Lord will thresh^(ai) from the flowing Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt,^(aj) and you, Israel, will be gathered^(ak) up one by one.

And in that day^(al) a great trumpet^(am) will sound. Those who were perishing in Assyria and those who were exiled^(an) in Egypt^(ao) will come and worship^(ap) the Lord on the holy mountain^(aq) in Jerusalem.