3  The God of Israel has spoken;

ⁿthe Rock of Israel has said to me:

When one rules justly over men,

ruling ^oin the fear of God,

4  he ^pdawns on them like the morning light,

like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning,

like rain¹ that makes grass to sprout from the earth.

5  “For does not my house stand so with God?

^qFor he has made with me an everlasting covenant,

ordered in all things and secure.

For will he not cause to prosper

all my help and my desire?

6  But worthless men² are all like thorns that are thrown away,

for they cannot be taken with the hand;

7  but the man who touches them

arms himself with iron and the shaft of a spear,

and they are utterly consumed with fire.”³