16 To humans belong the plans of the heart,
    but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue.^(A)

² All a person’s ways seem pure to them,^(B)
    but motives are weighed^(C) by the Lord.^(D)

³ Commit to the Lord whatever you do,
    and he will establish your plans.^(E)

⁴ The Lord works out everything to its proper end^(F)—
    even the wicked for a day of disaster.^(G)

⁵ The Lord detests all the proud of heart.^(H)
    Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.^(I)

⁶ Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for;
    through the fear of the Lord^(J) evil is avoided.^(K)

⁷ When the Lord takes pleasure in anyone’s way,
    he causes their enemies to make peace^(L) with them.^(M)

⁸ Better a little with righteousness
    than much gain^(N) with injustice.^(O)

⁹ In their hearts humans plan their course,
    but the Lord establishes their steps.^(P)

¹⁰ The lips of a king speak as an oracle,
    and his mouth does not betray justice.^(Q)

¹¹ Honest scales and balances belong to the Lord;
    all the weights in the bag are of his making.^(R)

¹² Kings detest wrongdoing,
    for a throne is established through righteousness.^(S)

¹³ Kings take pleasure in honest lips;
    they value the one who speaks what is right.^(T)

¹⁴ A king’s wrath is a messenger of death,^(U)
    but the wise will appease it.^(V)

¹⁵ When a king’s face brightens, it means life;^(W)
    his favor is like a rain cloud in spring.^(X)

¹⁶ How much better to get wisdom than gold,
    to get insight^(Y) rather than silver!^(Z)

¹⁷ The highway of the upright avoids evil;
    those who guard their ways preserve their lives.^(AA)

¹⁸ Pride^(AB) goes before destruction,
    a haughty spirit^(AC) before a fall.^(AD)

¹⁹ Better to be lowly in spirit along with the oppressed
    than to share plunder with the proud.

²⁰ Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers,^[a](AE)
    and blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord.^(AF)

²¹ The wise in heart are called discerning,
    and gracious words promote instruction.^[b](AG)

²² Prudence is a fountain of life to the prudent,^(AH)
    but folly brings punishment to fools.

²³ The hearts of the wise make their mouths prudent,^(AI)
    and their lips promote instruction.^[c](AJ)

²⁴ Gracious words are a honeycomb,^(AK)
    sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.^(AL)

²⁵ There is a way that appears to be right,^(AM)
    but in the end it leads to death.^(AN)

²⁶ The appetite of laborers works for them;
    their hunger drives them on.

²⁷ A scoundrel^(AO) plots evil,
    and on their lips it is like a scorching fire.^(AP)

²⁸ A perverse person stirs up conflict,^(AQ)
    and a gossip separates close friends.^(AR)

²⁹ A violent person entices their neighbor
    and leads them down a path that is not good.^(AS)

³⁰ Whoever winks^(AT) with their eye is plotting perversity;
    whoever purses their lips is bent on evil.

³¹ Gray hair is a crown of splendor;^(AU)
    it is attained in the way of righteousness.

³² Better a patient person than a warrior,
    one with self-control than one who takes a city.

³³ The lot is cast^(AV) into the lap,
    but its every decision^(AW) is from the Lord.^(AX)

² I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;^(C)
    apart from you I have no good thing.”^(D)
3 I say of the holy people^(E) who are in the land,^(F)
    “They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.”
⁴ Those who run after other gods^(G) will suffer^(H) more and more.
    I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods
    or take up their names^(I) on my lips.

⁵ Lord, you alone are my portion^(J) and my cup;^(K)
    you make my lot^(L) secure.
⁶ The boundary lines^(M) have fallen for me in pleasant places;
    surely I have a delightful inheritance.^(N)
7 I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;^(O)
    even at night^(P) my heart instructs me.
⁸ I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
    With him at my right hand,^(Q) I will not be shaken.^(R)

⁹ Therefore my heart is glad^(S) and my tongue rejoices;
    my body also will rest secure,^(T)
10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,^(U)
    nor will you let your faithful^[b] one^(V) see decay.^(W)
11 You make known to me the path of life;^(X)
    you will fill me with joy in your presence,^(Y)
    with eternal pleasures^(Z) at your right hand.^(AA)

³ The cords of death^(E) entangled me,
    the anguish of the grave came over me;
    I was overcome by distress and sorrow.
⁴ Then I called on the name^(F) of the Lord:
    “Lord, save me!^(G)”

⁵ The Lord is gracious and righteous;^(H)
    our God is full of compassion.^(I)
6 The Lord protects the unwary;
    when I was brought low,^(J) he saved me.^(K)

⁷ Return to your rest,^(L) my soul,
    for the Lord has been good^(M) to you.

⁸ For you, Lord, have delivered me^(N) from death,
    my eyes from tears,
    my feet from stumbling,
⁹ that I may walk before the Lord^(O)
    in the land of the living.^(P)

¹⁰ I trusted^(Q) in the Lord when I said,
    “I am greatly afflicted”;^(R)
11 in my alarm I said,
    “Everyone is a liar.”^(S)

¹² What shall I return to the Lord
    for all his goodness^(T) to me?

¹³ I will lift up the cup of salvation
    and call on the name^(U) of the Lord.
¹⁴ I will fulfill my vows^(V) to the Lord
    in the presence of all his people.

¹⁵ Precious in the sight^(W) of the Lord
    is the death of his faithful servants.^(X)
16 Truly I am your servant, Lord;^(Y)
    I serve you just as my mother did;^(Z)
    you have freed me from my chains.^(AA)

¹⁷ I will sacrifice a thank offering^(AB) to you
    and call on the name of the Lord.
¹⁸ I will fulfill my vows^(AC) to the Lord
    in the presence of all his people,
¹⁹ in the courts^(AD) of the house of the Lord—
    in your midst, Jerusalem.^(AE)

Praise the Lord.^[a]

⁶ On this mountain^(U) the Lord Almighty will prepare
    a feast^(V) of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
    the best of meats and the finest of wines.^(W)
7 On this mountain he will destroy
    the shroud^(X) that enfolds all peoples,^(Y)
the sheet that covers all nations;
⁸     he will swallow up death^(Z) forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears^(AA)
    from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace^(AB)
    from all the earth.
The Lord has spoken.^(AC)

“Surely this is our God;^(AE)
    we trusted^(AF) in him, and he saved^(AG) us.
This is the Lord, we trusted in him;
    let us rejoice^(AH) and be glad in his salvation.”^(AI)

¹⁰ The hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain;^(AJ)
    but Moab^(AK) will be trampled in their land
    as straw is trampled down in the manure.
¹¹ They will stretch out their hands in it,
    as swimmers stretch out their hands to swim.
God will bring down^(AL) their pride^(AM)
    despite the cleverness^[a] of their hands.
¹² He will bring down your high fortified walls^(AN)
    and lay them low;^(AO)
he will bring them down to the ground,
    to the very dust.

We have a strong city;^(AR)
    God makes salvation
    its walls^(AS) and ramparts.^(AT)
2 Open the gates^(AU)
    that the righteous^(AV) nation may enter,
    the nation that keeps faith.
³ You will keep in perfect peace^(AW)
    those whose minds are steadfast,
    because they trust^(AX) in you.
⁴ Trust^(AY) in the Lord forever,^(AZ)
    for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock^(BA) eternal.
⁵ He humbles those who dwell on high,
    he lays the lofty city low;
he levels it to the ground^(BB)
    and casts it down to the dust.^(BC)
6 Feet trample^(BD) it down—
    the feet of the oppressed,^(BE)
    the footsteps of the poor.^(BF)

⁷ The path of the righteous is level;^(BG)
    you, the Upright One,^(BH) make the way of the righteous smooth.^(BI)
8 Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws,^[b](BJ)
    we wait^(BK) for you;
your name^(BL) and renown
    are the desire of our hearts.
⁹ My soul yearns for you in the night;^(BM)
    in the morning my spirit longs^(BN) for you.
When your judgments^(BO) come upon the earth,
    the people of the world learn righteousness.^(BP)
10 But when grace is shown to the wicked,^(BQ)
    they do not learn righteousness;
even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil^(BR)
    and do not regard^(BS) the majesty of the Lord.
¹¹ Lord, your hand is lifted high,^(BT)
    but they do not see^(BU) it.
Let them see your zeal^(BV) for your people and be put to shame;^(BW)
    let the fire^(BX) reserved for your enemies consume them.

¹² Lord, you establish peace^(BY) for us;
    all that we have accomplished you have done^(BZ) for us.
¹³ Lord our God, other lords^(CA) besides you have ruled over us,
    but your name^(CB) alone do we honor.^(CC)
14 They are now dead,^(CD) they live no more;
    their spirits^(CE) do not rise.
You punished them and brought them to ruin;^(CF)
    you wiped out all memory of them.^(CG)
15 You have enlarged the nation, Lord;
    you have enlarged the nation.^(CH)
You have gained glory for yourself;
    you have extended all the borders^(CI) of the land.

¹⁶ Lord, they came to you in their distress;^(CJ)
    when you disciplined^(CK) them,
    they could barely whisper^(CL) a prayer.^[c]
17 As a pregnant woman about to give birth^(CM)
    writhes and cries out in her pain,
    so were we in your presence, Lord.
¹⁸ We were with child, we writhed in labor,
    but we gave birth^(CN) to wind.
We have not brought salvation^(CO) to the earth,
    and the people of the world have not come to life.^(CP)

¹⁹ But your dead^(CQ) will live, Lord;
    their bodies will rise—
let those who dwell in the dust^(CR)
    wake up and shout for joy—
your dew^(CS) is like the dew of the morning;
    the earth will give birth to her dead.^(CT)

²⁰ Go, my people, enter your rooms
    and shut the doors^(CU) behind you;
hide^(CV) yourselves for a little while
    until his wrath^(CW) has passed by.^(CX)
21 See, the Lord is coming^(CY) out of his dwelling^(CZ)
    to punish^(DA) the people of the earth for their sins.
The earth will disclose the blood^(DB) shed on it;
    the earth will conceal its slain no longer.

the Lord will punish with his sword^(DD)—
    his fierce, great and powerful sword—
Leviathan^(DE) the gliding serpent,^(DF)
    Leviathan the coiling serpent;
he will slay the monster^(DG) of the sea.

“Sing^(DI) about a fruitful vineyard:^(DJ)
3     I, the Lord, watch over it;
    I water^(DK) it continually.
I guard^(DL) it day and night
    so that no one may harm^(DM) it.
⁴     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.^(DN)
5 Or else let them come to me for refuge;^(DO)
    let them make peace^(DP) with me,
    yes, let them make peace with me.”

⁶ In days to come Jacob will take root,^(DQ)
    Israel will bud and blossom^(DR)
    and fill all the world with fruit.^(DS)

⁷ Has the Lord struck her
    as he struck^(DT) down those who struck her?
Has she been killed
    as those were killed who killed her?
⁸ By warfare^[d] and exile^(DU) you contend with her—
    with his fierce blast he drives her out,
    as on a day the east wind^(DV) blows.
⁹ By this, then, will Jacob’s guilt be atoned^(DW) for,
    and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin:^(DX)
When he makes all the altar stones^(DY)
    to be like limestone crushed to pieces,
no Asherah poles^[e](DZ) or incense altars^(EA)
    will be left standing.
¹⁰ The fortified city stands desolate,^(EB)
    an abandoned settlement, forsaken^(EC) like the wilderness;
there the calves graze,^(ED)
    there they lie down;^(EE)
    they strip its branches bare.
¹¹ When its twigs are dry, they are broken off^(EF)
    and women come and make fires^(EG) with them.
For this is a people without understanding;^(EH)
    so their Maker has no compassion on them,
    and their Creator^(EI) shows them no favor.^(EJ)

⁵ In that day^(FF) the Lord Almighty
    will be a glorious^(FG) crown,^(FH)
a beautiful wreath
    for the remnant^(FI) of his people.
⁶ He will be a spirit of justice^(FJ)
    to the one who sits in judgment,^(FK)
a source of strength
    to those who turn back the battle^(FL) at the gate.

⁷ And these also stagger^(FM) from wine^(FN)
    and reel^(FO) from beer:
Priests^(FP) and prophets^(FQ) stagger from beer
    and are befuddled with wine;
they reel from beer,
    they stagger when seeing visions,^(FR)
    they stumble when rendering decisions.
⁸ All the tables are covered with vomit^(FS)
    and there is not a spot without filth.

⁹ “Who is it he is trying to teach?^(FT)
    To whom is he explaining his message?^(FU)
To children weaned^(FV) from their milk,^(FW)
    to those just taken from the breast?
¹⁰ For it is:
    Do this, do that,
    a rule for this, a rule for that^[f];
    a little here, a little there.^(FX)”

¹¹ Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues^(FY)
    God will speak to this people,^(FZ)
12 to whom he said,
    “This is the resting place, let the weary rest”;^(GA)
and, “This is the place of repose”—
    but they would not listen.
¹³ So then, the word of the Lord to them will become:
    Do this, do that,
    a rule for this, a rule for that;
    a little here, a little there^(GB)—
so that as they go they will fall backward;
    they will be injured^(GC) and snared and captured.^(GD)

¹⁴ Therefore hear the word of the Lord,^(GE) you scoffers^(GF)
    who rule this people in Jerusalem.
¹⁵ You boast, “We have entered into a covenant with death,^(GG)
    with the realm of the dead we have made an agreement.
When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by,^(GH)
    it cannot touch us,
for we have made a lie^(GI) our refuge
    and falsehood^[g] our hiding place.^(GJ)”

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,^(GK) a tested stone,^(GL)
    a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;^(GM)
the one who relies on it
    will never be stricken with panic.^(GN)
17 I will make justice^(GO) the measuring line
    and righteousness the plumb line;^(GP)
hail^(GQ) will sweep away your refuge, the lie,
    and water will overflow^(GR) your hiding place.
¹⁸ Your covenant with death will be annulled;
    your agreement with the realm of the dead will not stand.^(GS)
When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by,^(GT)
    you will be beaten down^(GU) by it.
¹⁹ As often as it comes it will carry you away;^(GV)
    morning after morning,^(GW) by day and by night,
    it will sweep through.”

The understanding of this message
    will bring sheer terror.^(GX)
20 The bed is too short to stretch out on,
    the blanket too narrow to wrap around you.^(GY)
21 The Lord will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim,^(GZ)
    he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon^(HA)—
to do his work,^(HB) his strange work,
    and perform his task, his alien task.
²² Now stop your mocking,^(HC)
    or your chains will become heavier;
the Lord, the Lord Almighty, has told me
    of the destruction decreed^(HD) against the whole land.^(HE)

²³ Listen^(HF) and hear my voice;
    pay attention and hear what I say.
²⁴ When a farmer plows for planting,^(HG) does he plow continually?
    Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil?
²⁵ When he has leveled the surface,
    does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin?^(HH)
Does he not plant wheat in its place,^[h]
    barley^(HI) in its plot,^[i]
    and spelt^(HJ) in its field?
²⁶ His God instructs him
    and teaches^(HK) him the right way.

²⁷ Caraway is not threshed^(HL) with a sledge,^(HM)
    nor is the wheel of a cart rolled over cumin;
caraway is beaten out with a rod,^(HN)
    and cumin with a stick.
²⁸ Grain must be ground to make bread;
    so one does not go on threshing it forever.
The wheels of a threshing cart^(HO) may be rolled over it,
    but one does not use horses to grind grain.
²⁹ All this also comes from the Lord Almighty,
    whose plan is wonderful,^(HP)
    whose wisdom is magnificent.^(HQ)

“Never will I leave you;
    never will I forsake you.”^[a](I)

“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
    What can mere mortals do to me?”^[b](J)