<p class="poetry">I replied, &#8220;How long, sovereign master?&#8221; He said,p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;Until cities are in ruins and unpopulated,p> <p class="poetry">and houses are uninhabited,p> <p class="poetry">and the land is ruined and devastated,p>

<p class="poetry">He will become a sanctuary,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">but a stone that makes a person trip,p> <p class="poetry">and a rock that makes one stumble &#8211;p> <p class="poetry">to the two houses of Israel.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">He will become<n id="3" /> a trap and a snarep> <p class="poetry">to the residents of Jerusalem.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry"><v id="(9:1)" /> The people walking in darknessp> <p class="poetry">see a bright light;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">light shinesp> <p class="poetry">on those who live in a land of deep darkness.<n id="2" />p>

For he says:p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;By my strong hand I have accomplished this,p> <p class="poetry">by my strategy that I devised.p> <p class="poetry">I invaded the territory of nations,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">and looted their storehouses.p> <p class="poetry">Like a mighty conqueror,<n id="2" /> I brought down rulers.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">No one will live there again;p> <p class="poetry">no one will ever reside there again.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">No bedouin<n id="2" /> will camp<n id="3" /> there,p> <p class="poetry">no shepherds will rest their flocks<n id="4" /> there.p>

<p class="poetry">You said to yourself,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;I will climb up to the sky.p> <p class="poetry">Above the stars of El<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">I will set up my throne.p> <p class="poetry">I will rule on the mountain of assemblyp> <p class="poetry">on the remote slopes of Zaphon.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">Then a trustworthy king will be established;p> <p class="poetry">he will rule in a reliable manner,p> <p class="poetry">this one from David&#8217;s family.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">He will be sure to make just decisionsp> <p class="poetry">and will be experienced in executing justice.<n id="2" />p>

I will put your robe on him, tie your belt around him, and transfer your authority to him.<n id="1" /> He will become a protector of<n id="2" /> the residents of Jerusalem and of the people<n id="3" /> of Judah.

<p class="poetry">Indeed,<n id="1" /> the <sc>Lordsc> knocks down those who live in a high place,p> <p class="poetry">he brings down an elevated town;p> <p class="poetry">he brings it down to the ground,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">he throws it down to the dust.p>

<p class="poetry">I<n id="1" /> look for<n id="2" /> you during the night,p> <p class="poetry">my spirit within me seeks you at dawn,p> <p class="poetry">for when your judgments come upon the earth,p> <p class="poetry">those who live in the world learn about justice.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">We were pregnant, we strained,p> <p class="poetry">we gave birth, as it were, to wind.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">We cannot produce deliverance on the earth;p> <p class="poetry">people to populate the world are not born.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">For people will live in Zion;p> <p class="poetry">in Jerusalem<n id="1" /> you will weep no more.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">When he hears your cry of despair, he will indeed show you mercy;p> <p class="poetry">when he hears it, he will respond to you.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">Their residents are powerless;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">they are terrified and ashamed.p> <p class="poetry">They are as short-lived as plants in the fieldp> <p class="poetry">or green vegetation.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">when it is scorched by the east wind.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">&#8220;I thought,p> <p class="poetry">&#8216;I will no longer see the <sc>Lordsc><n id="1" /> in the land of the living,p> <p class="poetry">I will no longer look on humankind with the inhabitants of the world.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">A carpenter takes measurements;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">he marks out an outline of its form;<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">he scrapes<n id="3" /> it with chisels,p> <p class="poetry">and marks it with a compass.p> <p class="poetry">He patterns it after the human form,<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">like a well-built human being,p> <p class="poetry">and puts it in a shrine.<n id="5" />p>

<p class="poetry">who fulfills the oracles of his prophetic servants<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">and brings to pass the announcements<n id="2" /> of his messengers,p> <p class="poetry">who says about Jerusalem,<n id="3" /> &#8216;She will be inhabited,&#8217;p> <p class="poetry">and about the towns of Judah, &#8216;They will be rebuilt,p> <p class="poetry">her ruins I will raise up,&#8217;p>

<p class="poetry">&#8220;Sit silently! Go to a hiding place,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">O daughter of the Babylonians!p> <p class="poetry">Indeed,<n id="2" /> you will no longer be called &#8216;Queen of kingdoms.&#8217;p>

<p class="poetry">Look, they are like straw,p> <p class="poetry">which the fire burns up;p> <p class="poetry">they cannot rescue themselvesp> <p class="poetry">from the heat<n id="1" /> of the flames.p> <p class="poetry">There are no coals to warm them,p> <p class="poetry">no firelight to enjoy.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">Your perpetual ruins will be rebuilt;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">you will reestablish the ancient foundations.p> <p class="poetry">You will be called, &#8216;The one who repairs broken walls,p> <p class="poetry">the one who makes the streets inhabitable again.&#8217;<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">No longer will they build a house only to have another live in it,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">or plant a vineyard only to have another eat its fruit,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">for my people will live as long as trees,<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">and my chosen ones will enjoy to the fullest what they have produced.<n id="4" />p>