¹⁴ how could I face God?
    What could I say when he questioned me?

⁷ The time of Israel’s punishment has come;
    the day of payment is here.
    Soon Israel will know this all too well.
Because of your great sin and hostility,
    you say, “The prophets are crazy
    and the inspired men are fools!”

³ What will you do when I punish you,
    when I send disaster upon you from a distant land?
To whom will you turn for help?
    Where will your treasures be safe?

² Don’t put your servant on trial,
    for no one is innocent before you.

⁹ You stand up to judge those who do evil, O God,
    and to rescue the oppressed of the earth. Interlude

²¹ God would surely have known it,
    for he knows the secrets of every heart.