“Learn not the way of the nations,

nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens

because the nations are dismayed at them,

3  ^ffor the customs of the peoples are vanity.¹

^gA tree from the forest is cut down

and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.

4  ^hThey decorate it with silver and gold;

ⁱthey fasten it with hammer and nails

so that it cannot move.

5  Their idols² are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,

and ^jthey cannot speak;

^kthey have to be carried,

for they cannot walk.

Do not be afraid of them,

^lfor they cannot do evil,

neither is it in them to do good.”

6  ^mThere is none like you, O Lord;

you are great, and your name is great in might.

7  ⁿWho would not fear you, O King of the nations?

For this is your due;

for among all the wise ones of the nations

and in all their kingdoms

there is none like you.

8  ^oThey are both ^pstupid and foolish;

the instruction of idols is but wood!

9  ^qBeaten silver is brought from ^rTarshish,

and gold from ^sUphaz.

^qThey are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith;

their clothing is violet and purple;

^tthey are all the work of skilled men.

10  ^uBut the Lord is the true God;

^vhe is the living God and the everlasting King.

At his wrath the earth quakes,

and the nations cannot endure his indignation.

12  ^yIt is he who ^zmade the earth by his power,

^zwho established the world by his wisdom,

and ^aby his understanding stretched out the heavens.

13  ^bWhen he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,

^cand he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.

^cHe makes lightning ^dfor the rain,

^cand he brings forth the wind ^efrom his storehouses.

14  ^fEvery man is stupid and without knowledge;

^gevery goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,

for his images are false,

^hand there is no breath in them.

15  They are worthless, a work of delusion;

at the time of their punishment they shall perish.

16  Not like these is he who is ⁱthe portion of Jacob,

for he is the one who formed all things,

^jand Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;

^kthe Lord of hosts is his name.

17  ^lGather up your bundle from the ground,

O you who dwell under siege!

18  For thus says the Lord:

^m“Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land

at this time,

ⁿand I will bring distress on them,

that they may feel it.”

19  Woe is me because of my hurt!

^oMy wound is grievous.

But I said, “Truly this is an affliction,

and I must bear it.”

20  ^pMy tent is destroyed,

and all my cords are broken;

my children have gone from me,

^qand they are not;

there is no one to spread my tent again

and ^pto set up my curtains.

21  ^rFor the shepherds ^sare stupid

and do not inquire of the Lord;

therefore they have not prospered,

^tand all their flock is scattered.

22  A voice, a rumor! Behold, it comes!—

^ua great commotion out of the north country

to make ^vthe cities of Judah a desolation,

^va lair of jackals.

23  ^wI know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself,

that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.

24  ^xCorrect me, O Lord, but in justice;

not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing.

25  ^yPour out your wrath on the nations that know you not,

and on the peoples that call not on your name,

^zfor they have devoured Jacob;

they have devoured him and consumed him,

and have laid waste his habitation.

18  The Lord made it known to me and I knew;

then you showed me their deeds.

19  But I was ^alike a gentle lamb

led to the slaughter.

I did not know ^bit was against me

they devised schemes, saying,

“Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,

^clet us cut him off from ^dthe land of the living,

that his name be remembered no more.”

20  But, O Lord of hosts, who judges righteously,

who ^etests ^fthe heart and the mind,

^glet me see your vengeance upon them,

for to you have I committed my cause.

1  ^mRighteous are you, O Lord,

when I complain to you;

yet I would plead my case before you.

ⁿWhy does the way of the wicked prosper?

Why do all ^owho are treacherous thrive?

2  You plant them, and they take root;

they grow and produce fruit;

^pyou are near in their mouth

and far from their heart.

3  ^qBut you, O Lord, know me;

^ryou see me, and test my heart toward you.

^sPull them out like sheep for the slaughter,

and set them apart for ^tthe day of slaughter.

4  ^uHow long will the land mourn

and the grass of every field wither?

^vFor the evil of those who dwell in it

^wthe beasts and the birds are swept away,

because they said, “He will not see our latter end.”

5  “If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you,

how will you compete with horses?

And if in a safe land you are so trusting,

what will you do in ^xthe thicket of the Jordan?

6  For ^yeven your brothers and the house of your father,

^oeven they have dealt treacherously with you;

they are in full cry after you;

^zdo not believe them,

though they speak friendly words to you.”

7  “I have forsaken my house;

I have abandoned ^amy heritage;

I have given ^bthe beloved of my soul

into the hands of her enemies.

8  ^aMy heritage has become to me

like a lion in the forest;

she has lifted up her voice against me;

therefore I hate her.

9  Is ^amy heritage to me like ^ca hyena’s lair?

Are the ^cbirds of prey against her all around?

Go, ^dassemble all the wild beasts;

bring them to devour.

10  Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard;

^ethey have trampled down my portion;

they have made my pleasant portion

a desolate wilderness.

11  They have made it a desolation;

desolate, ^uit mourns to me.

The whole land is made desolate,

^fbut no man lays it to heart.

12  Upon all the bare heights in the desert

destroyers have come,

for the sword of the Lord devours

from one end of the land to the other;

no flesh has peace.

13  ^gThey have sown wheat and have reaped thorns;

^hthey have tired themselves out but profit nothing.

They shall be ashamed of their⁴ harvests

ⁱbecause of the fierce anger of the Lord.”

24  Then they ^udespised ^vthe pleasant land,

having ^wno faith in his promise.

25  They ^xmurmured in their tents,

and did not obey the voice of the Lord.

26  Therefore he ^yraised his hand and swore to them

that he would make them fall in the wilderness,

27  and would make their offspring fall among the nations,

^zscattering them among the lands.

28  Then they ^ayoked themselves to the ^aBaal of Peor,

and ate sacrifices offered to ^bthe dead;

29  they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds,

and a plague broke out among them.

30  Then ^cPhinehas stood up and intervened,

and the plague was stayed.

31  And that was ^dcounted to him as righteousness

from generation to generation forever.

32  They ^eangered him at the waters of Meribah,

and it went ill with Moses on their account,

33  for they ^fmade his spirit bitter,¹

and he ^gspoke rashly with his lips.

34  They did not ^hdestroy the peoples,

ⁱas the Lord commanded them,

35  but they ^jmixed with the nations

and learned to do as they did.

36  They served their idols,

which became ^ka snare to them.

37  They ^lsacrificed their sons

and their daughters to ^mthe demons;

38  they poured out innocent blood,

the blood of their sons and daughters,

whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,

and the land was ⁿpolluted with blood.

39  Thus they ^obecame unclean by their acts,

and ^pplayed the whore in their deeds.

40  Then ^qthe anger of the Lord was kindled against ^rhis people,

and he abhorred his ^rheritage;

41  he ^sgave them into the hand of the nations,

so that those who hated them ruled over them.

42  Their enemies ^toppressed them,

and they were brought into subjection under their power.

43  ^uMany times he delivered them,

but they were rebellious in their ^vpurposes

and were ^wbrought low through their iniquity.

44  Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress,

when he ^xheard their cry.

45  For their sake he ^yremembered his covenant,

and ^zrelented according to ^athe abundance of his steadfast love.

46  He caused them to be ^bpitied

by all those who held them captive.

47  ^cSave us, O Lord our God,

and ^dgather us from among the nations,

that we may give thanks to your holy name

and glory in your praise.

48  ^eBlessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting!

^eAnd let all the people say, “Amen!”

^fPraise the Lord!