¹⁷ Let the priests, who minister to the Lord,
Weep ^(A)between the porch and the altar;
Let them say, ^(B)“Spare Your people, O Lord,
And do not give Your heritage to reproach,
That the nations should ^[a]rule over them.
^(C)Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’ ”

¹⁹ Then ^(A)out of them shall proceed thanksgiving
And the voice of those who make merry;
^(B)I will multiply them, and they shall not diminish;
I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small.

^9 (A)Unless the Lord of hosts
Had left to us a very small remnant,
We would have become like ^(B)Sodom,
We would have been made like Gomorrah.