³ How long will you assault me?
    Would all of you throw me down—
    this leaning wall,^(G) this tottering fence?
⁴ Surely they intend to topple me
    from my lofty place;
    they take delight in lies.
With their mouths they bless,
    but in their hearts they curse.^[b](H)

⁵ Yes, my soul, find rest in God;^(I)
    my hope comes from him.
⁶ Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
    he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
⁷ My salvation and my honor depend on God^[c];
    he is my mighty rock, my refuge.^(J)
8 Trust in him at all times, you people;^(K)
    pour out your hearts to him,^(L)
    for God is our refuge.

⁹ Surely the lowborn^(M) are but a breath,^(N)
    the highborn are but a lie.
If weighed on a balance,^(O) they are nothing;
    together they are only a breath.
¹⁰ Do not trust in extortion^(P)
    or put vain hope in stolen goods;^(Q)
though your riches increase,
    do not set your heart on them.^(R)

¹¹ One thing God has spoken,
    two things I have heard:
“Power belongs to you, God,^(S)
12     and with you, Lord, is unfailing love”;^(T)
and, “You reward everyone
    according to what they have done.”^(U)

⁹ “Since the days of Gibeah,^(A) you have sinned,^(B) Israel,
    and there you have remained.^[a]
Will not war again overtake
    the evildoers in Gibeah?
¹⁰ When I please, I will punish^(C) them;
    nations will be gathered against them
    to put them in bonds for their double sin.
¹¹ Ephraim is a trained heifer
    that loves to thresh;
so I will put a yoke^(D)
    on her fair neck.
I will drive Ephraim,
    Judah must plow,
    and Jacob must break up the ground.
¹² Sow^(E) righteousness^(F) for yourselves,
    reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;^(G)
    for it is time to seek^(H) the Lord,
until he comes
    and showers his righteousness^(I) on you.
¹³ But you have planted wickedness,
    you have reaped evil,^(J)
    you have eaten the fruit of deception.^(K)
Because you have depended on your own strength
    and on your many warriors,^(L)
14 the roar of battle will rise against your people,
    so that all your fortresses will be devastated^(M)—
as Shalman^(N) devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle,
    when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.^(O)
15 So will it happen to you, Bethel,
    because your wickedness is great.
When that day dawns,
    the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.^(P)