1On that day, this song will be sung in the land of Judah: “We have a strong city. God appoints salvation as its walls and defenses.”
2Open the gates so that the righteous nation, the one that keeps faith, may enter.
3You will keep those whose minds are steady in perfect peace, because they trust in you.
4Trust in Yahweh forever; for in Yah, Yahweh, is an eternal Rock.
5For he has brought down those who live in high places, the proud city. He brings it low. He brings it low to the very ground. He brings it down to the dust.
6People will trample it down; the feet of the poor and the steps of the needy will walk all over it.”
7The path of those who are just is straight. You, who are upright, make the path of the righteous smooth.
8Yes, Yahweh, we have waited for you by following your judgments. Your name and your reputation are what our souls desire.
9My soul longs for you in the night. Yes, with my spirit within me, I will eagerly seek you; for when your judgments are on the earth, the people of the world learn to do what is right.
10Even if kindness is shown to the wicked, they will not learn to do what is right. In a land where people do what is right, they will still act unfairly and will not recognize Yahweh’s majesty.
11Yahweh, your hand is raised, yet they don’t see; but they will see your strong passion for your people and be shamed. Yes, fire will consume your enemies.
12Yahweh, you will bring us peace, because you have done all our work for us.
13Yahweh our God, other rulers besides you have ruled over us, but we will only honor your name.
14The dead will not come back to life. Their spirits will not rise. That is why you have punished and destroyed them, erasing all memory of them.
15You have made the nation grow, Yahweh! You have made the nation grow! You are glorified! You have expanded all the country's borders.
16Yahweh, when they were in trouble, they sought you. They prayed earnestly when you disciplined them.
17Just like a pregnant woman who is close to giving birth is in pain and cries out; that is how we have been before you, Yahweh.
18We were pregnant. We were in pain. We gave birth, it seems, only to wind. We haven’t brought about any deliverance on the earth; nor have the people of the world fallen.
19Your dead will live. My dead bodies will rise. Wake up and sing, you who live in the dust; for your dew is like the dew on plants, and the earth will release the departed spirits.
20Come, my people, go into your rooms and close your doors behind you. Hide yourselves for a little while, until my anger passes.
21For look, Yahweh is coming out of his place to punish the people of the earth for their wickedness. The earth will also reveal its bloodshed and will no longer cover those who have been killed.