The Message Bible MSG
New International Version NIV
1 Doom to you, Destroyer, not yet destroyed; And doom to you, Betrayer, not yet betrayed. When you finish destroying, your turn will come - destroyed! When you quit betraying, your turn will come - betrayed!
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Woe to you, destroyer, you who have not been destroyed! Woe to you, betrayer, you who have not been betrayed! When you stop destroying, you will be destroyed; when you stop betraying, you will be betrayed.
2 God, treat us kindly. You're our only hope. First thing in the morning, be there for us! When things go bad, help us out!
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LORD, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress.
3 You spoke in thunder and everyone ran. You showed up and nations scattered.
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At the uproar of your army, the peoples flee; when you rise up, the nations scatter.
4 Your people, for a change, got in on the loot, picking the field clean of the enemy spoils.
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Your plunder, O nations, is harvested as by young locusts; like a swarm of locusts people pounce on it.
5 God is supremely esteemed. His center holds. Zion brims over with all that is just and right.
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The LORD is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with his justice and righteousness.
6 God keeps your days stable and secure - salvation, wisdom, and knowledge in surplus, and best of all, Zion's treasure, Fear-of-God.
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He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure.
7 But look! Listen! Tough men weep openly. Peacemaking diplomats are in bitter tears.
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Look, their brave men cry aloud in the streets; the envoys of peace weep bitterly.
8 The roads are empty - not a soul out on the streets. The peace treaty is broken, its conditions violated, its signers reviled.
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The highways are deserted, no travelers are on the roads. The treaty is broken, its witnesses are despised, no one is respected.
9 The very ground under our feet mourns, the Lebanon mountains hang their heads, Flowering Sharon is a weed-choked gully, and the forests of Bashan and Carmel? Bare branches.
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The land dries up and wastes away, Lebanon is ashamed and withers; Sharon is like the Arabah, and Bashan and Carmel drop their leaves.
10 "Now I'm stepping in," God says. "From now on, I'm taking over. The gloves come off. Now see how mighty I am.
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“Now will I arise,” says the LORD. “Now will I be exalted; now will I be lifted up.
11 There's nothing to you. Pregnant with chaff, you produce straw babies; full of hot air, you self-destruct.
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You conceive chaff, you give birth to straw; your breath is a fire that consumes you.
12 You're good for nothing but fertilizer and fuel. Earth to earth - and the sooner the better.
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The peoples will be burned to ashes; like cut thornbushes they will be set ablaze.”
13 "If you're far away, get the reports on what I've done, And if you're in the neighborhood, pay attention to my record.
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You who are far away, hear what I have done; you who are near, acknowledge my power!
14 The sinners in Zion are rightly terrified; the godless are at their wit's end: 'Who among us can survive this firestorm? Who of us can get out of this purge with our lives?'"
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The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling grips the godless: “Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?”
15 The answer's simple: Live right, speak the truth, despise exploitation, refuse bribes, reject violence, avoid evil amusements.
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Those who walk righteously and speak what is right, who reject gain from extortion and keep their hands from accepting bribes, who stop their ears against plots of murder and shut their eyes against contemplating evil—
16 This is how you raise your standard of living! A safe and stable way to live. A nourishing, satisfying way to live. God Makes All the Decisions Here
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they are the ones who will dwell on the heights, whose refuge will be the mountain fortress. Their bread will be supplied, and water will not fail them.
17 Oh, you'll see the king - a beautiful sight! And you'll take in the wide vistas of land.
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Your eyes will see the king in his beauty and view a land that stretches afar.
18 In your mind you'll go over the old terrors: "What happened to that Assyrian inspector who condemned and confiscated? And the one who gouged us of taxes? And that cheating moneychanger?"
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In your thoughts you will ponder the former terror: “Where is that chief officer? Where is the one who took the revenue? Where is the officer in charge of the towers?”
19 Gone! Out of sight forever! Their insolence nothing now but a fading stain on the carpet! No more putting up with a language you can't understand, no more sounds of gibberish in your ears.
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You will see those arrogant people no more, people whose speech is obscure, whose language is strange and incomprehensible.
20 Just take a look at Zion, will you? Centering our worship in festival feasts! Feast your eyes on Jerusalem, a quiet and permanent place to live. No more pulling up stakes and moving on, no more patched-together lean-tos.
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Look on Zion, the city of our festivals; your eyes will see Jerusalem, a peaceful abode, a tent that will not be moved; its stakes will never be pulled up, nor any of its ropes broken.
21 Instead, God! God majestic, God himself the place in a country of broad rivers and streams, But rivers blocked to invading ships, off-limits to predatory pirates.
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There the LORD will be our Mighty One. It will be like a place of broad rivers and streams. No galley with oars will ride them, no mighty ship will sail them.
22 For God makes all the decisions here. God is our king. God runs this place and he'll keep us safe.
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For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; it is he who will save us.
23 Ha! Your sails are in shreds, your mast wobbling, your hold leaking. The plunder is free for the taking, free for all - for weak and strong, insiders and outsiders.
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Your rigging hangs loose: The mast is not held secure, the sail is not spread. Then an abundance of spoils will be divided and even the lame will carry off plunder.
24 No one in Zion will say, "I'm sick." Best of all, they'll all live guilt-free.
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No one living in Zion will say, “I am ill”; and the sins of those who dwell there will be forgiven.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.