| 1 | The righteous perish, and no one ponders it in his heart; devout men are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. | |
| 2 | Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death. | |
| 3 | "But you--come here, you sons of a sorceress, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes! | |
| 4 | Whom are you mocking? At whom do you sneer and stick out your tongue? Are you not a brood of rebels, the offspring of liars? | |
| 5 | You burn with lust among the oaks and under every spreading tree; you sacrifice your children in the ravines and under the overhanging crags. | |
| 6 | The idols among the smooth stones of the ravines are your portion; they, they are your lot. Yes, to them you have poured out drink offerings and offered grain offerings. In the light of these things, should I relent? | |
| 7 | You have made your bed on a high and lofty hill; there you went up to offer your sacrifices. | |
| 8 | Behind your doors and your doorposts you have put your pagan symbols. Forsaking me, you uncovered your bed, you climbed into it and opened it wide; you made a pact with those whose beds you love, and you looked on their nakedness. | |
| 9 | You went to Molech with olive oil and increased your perfumes. You sent your ambassadors far away; you descended to the grave itself! | |
| 10 | You were wearied by all your ways, but you would not say, 'It is hopeless.' You found renewal of your strength, and so you did not faint. | |
| 11 | "Whom have you so dreaded and feared that you have been false to me, and have neither remembered me nor pondered this in your hearts? Is it not because I have long been silent that you do not fear me? | |
| 12 | I will expose your righteousness and your works, and they will not benefit you. | |
| 13 | When you cry out for help, let your collection of idols save you! The wind will carry all of them off, a mere breath will blow them away. But the man who makes me his refuge will inherit the land and possess my holy mountain." | |
| 14 | And it will be said: "Build up, build up, prepare the road! Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people." | |
| 15 | For this is what the high and lofty One says--he who lives forever, whose name is holy: "I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. | |
| 16 | I will not accuse forever, nor will I always be angry, for then the spirit of man would grow faint before me--the breath of man that I have created. | |
| 17 | I was enraged by his sinful greed; I punished him, and hid my face in anger, yet he kept on in his willful ways. | |
| 18 | I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will guide him and restore comfort to him, | |
| 19 | creating praise on the lips of the mourners in Israel. Peace, peace, to those far and near," says the LORD. "And I will heal them." | |
| 20 | But the wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot rest, whose waves cast up mire and mud. | |
| 21 | "There is no peace," says my God, "for the wicked." | |