and the Lord has sent the people off to a distant place, and the very heart of the land is completely abandoned. ¹ 

You have made the nation larger, ¹  O Lord, you have made the nation larger and revealed your splendor, ²  you have extended all the borders of the land.

I am bringing my deliverance near, it is not far away; I am bringing my salvation near, ¹  it does not wait. I will save Zion; ²  I will adorn Israel with my splendor.” ³ 

Yes, your land lies in ruins; it is desolate and devastated. ¹  But now you will be too small to hold your residents, and those who devoured you will be far away.

You will be reestablished when I vindicate you. ¹  You will not experience oppression; ²  indeed, you will not be afraid. You will not be terrified, ³  for nothing frightening ⁴  will come near you.

We all growl like bears, we coo mournfully like doves; we wait for deliverance, ¹  but there is none, for salvation, but it is far from us.

For this reason deliverance ¹  is far from us ²  and salvation does not reach us. We wait for light, ³  but see only darkness; ⁴  we wait for ⁵  a bright light, ⁶  but live ⁷  in deep darkness. ⁸ 

The sovereign master ¹  says, “These people say they are loyal to me; ²  they say wonderful things about me, ³  but they are not really loyal to me. ⁴  Their worship consists of nothing but man-made ritual. ⁵