<p class="poetry">Jerusalem certainly stumbles,p> <p class="poetry">Judah falls,p> <p class="poetry">for their words and their actions offend the <sc>Lordsc>;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">they rebel against his royal authority.<n id="2" />p>

<t /><p class="poetry">The <sc>Lordsc> says,p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;The women<n id="1" /> of Zion are proud.p> <p class="poetry">They walk with their heads high<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">and flirt with their eyes.p> <p class="poetry">They skip along<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">and the jewelry on their ankles jingles.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">For the <sc>Lordsc> has poured out on youp> <p class="poetry">a strong urge to sleep deeply.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">He has shut your eyes (the prophets),p> <p class="poetry">and covered your heads (the seers).p>

<p class="poetry">The sovereign master<n id="1" /> will give you distress to eatp> <p class="poetry">and suffering to drink;<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">but your teachers will no longer be hidden;p> <p class="poetry">your eyes will see them.<n id="3" />p>

Pay attention, <sc>Lordsc>, and hear! Open your eyes, <sc>Lordsc>, and observe! Listen to this entire message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God!<n id="1" />

<p class="poetry">Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at?p> <p class="poetry">At whom have you shoutedp> <p class="poetry">and looked so arrogantly?<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">At the Holy One of Israel!<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">Like a swallow or a thrush I chirp,p> <p class="poetry">I coo<n id="1" /> like a dove;p> <p class="poetry">my eyes grow tired from looking up to the sky.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">O sovereign master,<n id="3" /> I am oppressed;p> <p class="poetry">help me!<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">Look all around you!<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">All of them gather to you.p> <p class="poetry">As surely as I live,&#8221; says the <sc>Lordsc>,p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;you will certainly wear all of them like jewelry;p> <p class="poetry">you will put them on as if you were a bride.p>

<p class="poetry">The <sc>Lordsc> reveals<n id="1" /> his royal power<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">in the sight of all the nations;p> <p class="poetry">the entire<n id="3" /> earth seesp> <p class="poetry">our God deliver.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">Honesty has disappeared;p> <p class="poetry">the one who tries to avoid evil is robbed.p> <p class="poetry">The <sc>Lordsc> watches and is displeased,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">for there is no justice.p>

<p class="poetry">Look all around you!<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">They all gather and come to you &#8211;p> <p class="poetry">your sons come from far awayp> <p class="poetry">and your daughters are escorted by guardians.p>

<p class="poetry">Since ancient times no one has heard or perceived,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">no eye has seen any God besides you,p> <p class="poetry">who intervenes for those who wait for him.p>

<p class="poetry">Whoever pronounces a blessing in the earth<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">will do so in the name of the faithful God;<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">whoever makes an oath in the earthp> <p class="poetry">will do so in the name of the faithful God.<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">For past problems will be forgotten;p> <p class="poetry">I will no longer think about them.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="bodytext">I said, &#8220;Too bad for me! I am destroyed,<n id="1" /> for my lips are contaminated by sin,<n id="2" /> and I live among people whose lips are contaminated by sin.<n id="3" /> My eyes have seen the king, the <sc>Lordsc> who commands armies.&#8221;<n id="4" />

<p class="bodytext">But when<n id="1" /> the sovereign master<n id="2" /> finishes judging<n id="3" /> Mount Zion and Jerusalem, then I<n id="4" /> will punish the king of Assyria for what he has proudly planned and for the arrogant attitude he displays.<n id="5" />

<p class="poetry">The one who lives<n id="1" /> uprightly<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">and speaks honestly;p> <p class="poetry">the one who refuses to profit from oppressive measuresp> <p class="poetry">and rejects a bribe;<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">the one who does not plot violent crimes<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">and does not seek to harm others<n id="5" /> &#8211;p>

<p class="poetry">Look at Zion, the city where we hold religious festivals!p> <p class="poetry">You<n id="1" /> will see Jerusalem,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">a peaceful settlement,p> <p class="poetry">a tent that stays put;<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">its stakes will never be pulled up;p> <p class="poetry">none of its ropes will snap in two.p>

&#8220;Please, <sc>Lordsc>. Remember how I have served you<n id="1" /> faithfully and with wholehearted devotion,<n id="2" /> and how I have carried out your will.&#8221;<n id="3" /> Then Hezekiah wept bitterly.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">Look up at the sky!<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">Who created all these heavenly lights?<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">He is the one who leads out their ranks;<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">he calls them all by name.p> <p class="poetry">Because of his absolute power and awesome strength,p> <p class="poetry">not one of them is missing.p>

<p class="poetry">So now the <sc>Lordsc> says,p> <p class="poetry">the one who formed me from birth<n id="1" /> to be his servant &#8211;p> <p class="poetry">he did this<n id="2" /> to restore Jacob to himself,p> <p class="poetry">so that Israel might be gathered to him;p> <p class="poetry">and I will be honored<n id="3" /> in the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s sight,p> <p class="poetry">for my God is my source of strength<n id="4" /> &#8211;p>