The way of the righteous is level, the path of the righteous that you make is straight.

O Lord, you make us secure, for even all we have accomplished, you have done for us.

Ariel is as good as dead – Ariel, the town David besieged! Keep observing your annual rituals, celebrate your festivals on schedule.

I will threaten Ariel, and she will mourn intensely and become like an altar hearth before me.

Eyes will no longer be blind and ears will be attentive.

Not even Lebanon could supply enough firewood for a sacrifice; its wild animals would not provide enough burnt offerings.

Look, you are nothing, and your accomplishments are nonexistent; the one who chooses to worship you is disgusting.

everyone who belongs to me, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed – yes, whom I made!

Listen to me, O Jacob, Israel, whom I summoned! I am the one; I am present at the very beginning and at the very end.

He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, through whom I will reveal my splendor.”

Justice is driven back; godliness stands far off. Indeed, honesty stumbles in the city square and morality is not even able to enter.

These people continually and blatantly offend me as they sacrifice in their sacred orchards and burn incense on brick altars.

So the sovereign master was not pleased with their young men, he took no pity on their orphans and widows; for the whole nation was godless and did wicked things, every mouth was speaking disgraceful words. Despite all this, his anger does not subside, and his hand is ready to strike again.

How tragic that the once-faithful city has become a prostitute! She was once a center of justice, fairness resided in her, but now only murderers.

Therefore, the sovereign Lord who commands armies, the powerful ruler of Israel, says this: “Ah, I will seek vengeance against my adversaries, I will take revenge against my enemies.

Therefore my people will be deported because of their lack of understanding. Their leaders will have nothing to eat, their masses will have nothing to drink.

“These people have rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and melt in fear over Rezin and the son of Remaliah.

For their oppressive yoke and the club that strikes their shoulders, the cudgel the oppressor uses on them, you have shattered, as in the day of Midian’s defeat.

Here is a message about the Desert by the Sea: Like strong winds blowing in the south, one invades from the desert, from a land that is feared.

So a treaty curse devours the earth; its inhabitants pay for their guilt. This is why the inhabitants of the earth disappear, and are reduced to just a handful of people.