Israels lovsang
1Til den tid vil man i Judas land synge en lovsang til Herren:
Vores by er godt befæstet,
Herren selv er dens mure og volde.
2Luk portene op for et retskaffent folk,
som holder fast ved troen på Gud.
3De, som stoler på Herren,
skal bo der i fred.
4Stol altid på Herren,
for han er den evige klippe.
5Han nedstyrter alle de stolte,
knuser de knejsende byer,
jævner dem med jorden
og smider dem i støvet,
6så de trampes ned
af de undertryktes fødder.
7De retskafne vandrer uden at snuble,
for Herren baner vej for dem.
8Herre, vi ønsker at gøre din vilje,
vi ønsker af hjertet at ære dit navn.
9Om natten længes min sjæl efter dig,
min ånd søger dig hele tiden.
Når din dom rammer jorden,
vil folk forstå, hvad retfærdighed er.
10Viser du nåde mod de gudløse,
lærer de ikke at gøre det gode.
De kan bo i et land med retfærdighed
uden at fatte Herrens storhed.
11Herre, de lytter ikke til dine trusler,
ser ikke din hånd, som er parat til slag.
Vis dem din nidkærhed for dit folk,
så de med skam erkender din magt,
mens dine fjender fortæres af ilden.
12Herre, lad din fred hvile over os.
Alt, hvad vi har udført, har du jo gjort.
13Herre, vor Gud, andre har hersket over os,
men kun dig vil vi anerkende og ære.
14De andre herskere er døde og borte,
de kommer ikke til live igen.
Din straf ramte dem, og de blev udryddet.
De huskes ikke mere.
15Herre, du har gjort os til et talrigt folk
og udvidet vore grænser.
Derved har du vist din storhed.
16Herre, i vores fortvivlelse søgte vi dig,
hviskede vore bønner, mens du straffede os.
17Herre, vi var som en fødende kvinde,
der vrider sig i smerte.
18Ja, vi vred os i fødselsveer,
men intet kom der ud af det.
Vi kunne ikke selv redde vores land.
Intet fødtes af vore anstrengelser.
19Men ét ved vi:
De, som hører dig til, skal leve,
deres legemer skal opstå på ny.
De, der ligger begravet i jorden,
skal engang vågne og juble.
Som duggen indvarsler dagens lys,
vil Herren lade sine døde se livets lys.
Israels befrielse
20Mit folk, gå hjem og lås jeres døre. Skjul jer for en kort tid, indtil Gud i sin vrede har taget sig af jeres fjender. 21Se, Herren kommer fra Himlen for at straffe jordens folk for deres synd. De mord, som blev begået i det skjulte, skal afsløres, for jorden kan ikke længere dække over de dræbte.
A Song of Praise
1In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
We have a strong city;
God makes salvation
its walls and ramparts.
2Open the gates
that the righteous nation may enter,
the nation that keeps faith.
3You will keep in perfect peace
those whose minds are steadfast,
because they trust in you.
4Trust in the Lord forever,
for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.
5He humbles those who dwell on high,
he lays the lofty city low;
he levels it to the ground
and casts it down to the dust.
6Feet trample it down—
the feet of the oppressed,
the footsteps of the poor.
7The path of the righteous is level;
you, the Upright One, make the way of the righteous smooth.
8Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws,26:8 Or judgments
we wait for you;
your name and renown
are the desire of our hearts.
9My soul yearns for you in the night;
in the morning my spirit longs for you.
When your judgments come upon the earth,
the people of the world learn righteousness.
10But when grace is shown to the wicked,
they do not learn righteousness;
even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil
and do not regard the majesty of the Lord.
11Lord, your hand is lifted high,
but they do not see it.
Let them see your zeal for your people and be put to shame;
let the fire reserved for your enemies consume them.
12Lord, you establish peace for us;
all that we have accomplished you have done for us.
13Lord our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us,
but your name alone do we honor.
14They are now dead, they live no more;
their spirits do not rise.
You punished them and brought them to ruin;
you wiped out all memory of them.
15You have enlarged the nation, Lord;
you have enlarged the nation.
You have gained glory for yourself;
you have extended all the borders of the land.
16Lord, they came to you in their distress;
when you disciplined them,
they could barely whisper a prayer.26:16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
17As a pregnant woman about to give birth
writhes and cries out in her pain,
so were we in your presence, Lord.
18We were with child, we writhed in labor,
but we gave birth to wind.
We have not brought salvation to the earth,
and the people of the world have not come to life.
19But your dead will live, Lord;
their bodies will rise—
let those who dwell in the dust
wake up and shout for joy—
your dew is like the dew of the morning;
the earth will give birth to her dead.
20Go, my people, enter your rooms
and shut the doors behind you;
hide yourselves for a little while
until his wrath has passed by.
21See, the Lord is coming out of his dwelling
to punish the people of the earth for their sins.
The earth will disclose the blood shed on it;
the earth will conceal its slain no longer.
