The Lord responded: ¹  “Write down this message! ²  Record it legibly on tablets, so the one who announces ³  it may read it easily. ⁴ 

What good ¹  is an idol? Why would a craftsman make it? ²  What good is a metal image that gives misleading oracles? ³  Why would its creator place his trust in it ⁴  and make ⁵  such mute, worthless things?

For the message is a witness to what is decreed; ¹  it gives reliable testimony about how matters will turn out. ²  Even if the message ³  is not fulfilled right away, wait patiently; ⁴  for it will certainly come to pass – it will not arrive late.

When the mountains see you, they shake. The torrential downpour sweeps through. ¹  The great deep ²  shouts out; it lifts its hands high. ³ 

The one who says to wood, ‘Wake up!’ is as good as dead ¹  – he who says ²  to speechless stone, ‘Awake!’ Can it give reliable guidance? ³  It is overlaid with gold and silver; it has no life’s breath inside it.

The sovereign Lord is my source of strength. ¹  He gives me the agility of a deer; ²  he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain. ³  (This prayer is for the song leader. It is to be accompanied by stringed instruments.) ⁴ 

But you will become drunk ¹  with shame, not majesty. ²  Now it is your turn to drink and expose your uncircumcised foreskin! ³  The cup of wine in the Lord’s right hand ⁴  is coming to you, and disgrace will replace your majestic glory!

For the stones in the walls will cry out, and the wooden rafters will answer back. ¹ 

They mock kings and laugh at rulers. They laugh at every fortified city; they build siege ramps ¹  and capture them.

Be sure of this! The Lord who commands armies has decreed: The nations’ efforts will go up in smoke; their exhausting work will be for nothing. ¹ 

Lord, I have heard the report of what you did; ¹  I am awed, ²  Lord, by what you accomplished. ³  In our time ⁴  repeat those deeds; ⁵  in our time reveal them again. ⁶  But when you cause turmoil, remember to show us mercy! ⁷ 

“Look at the nations and pay attention! ¹  You will be shocked and amazed! ²  For I will do something in your lifetime ³  that you will not believe even though you are forewarned. ⁴ 

For you will pay in full for your violent acts against Lebanon; ¹  terrifying judgment will come upon you because of the way you destroyed the wild animals living there. ²  You have shed human blood and committed violent acts against lands, cities, and those who live in them.

“You who force your neighbor to drink wine ¹  are as good as dead ²  – you who make others intoxicated by forcing them to drink from the bowl of your furious anger, ³  so you can look at their genitals. ⁴ 

Because you robbed many countries, ¹  all who are left among the nations ²  will rob you. You have shed human blood and committed violent acts against lands, cities, ³  and those who live in them.

Look, the one whose desires are not upright will faint from exhaustion, ¹  but the person of integrity ²  will live ³  because of his faithfulness. ⁴ 

The one who builds a city by bloodshed is as good as dead ¹  – he who starts ²  a town by unjust deeds.

Look, I am about to empower ¹  the Babylonians, that ruthless ²  and greedy ³  nation. They sweep across the surface ⁴  of the earth, seizing dwelling places that do not belong to them.

The one who builds his house by unjust gain is as good as dead. ¹  He does this so he can build his nest way up high and escape the clutches of disaster. ² 

The sun and moon stand still in their courses; ¹  the flash of your arrows drives them away, ²  the bright light of your lightning-quick spear. ³