Woe to Tyrants

¹Woe to those who enact unjust statutesand issue oppressive decrees,

²to deprive the poor of fair treatmentand withhold justice from the oppressed of My people,to make widows their preyand orphans their plunder.

³What will you do on the day of reckoningwhen devastation comes from afar?To whom will you flee for help?Where will you leave your wealth?

⁴Nothing will remain but to crouch among the captivesor fall among the slain.Despite all this, His anger is not turned away;His hand is still upraised.

Judgment on Assyria

⁵Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger;the staff in their hands is My wrath.

⁶I will send him against a godless nation;I will dispatch him against a people destined for My rage,to take spoils and seize plunder,and to trample them down like clay in the streets.

⁷But this is not his intention;this is not his plan.For it is in his heart to destroyand cut off many nations.

⁸“Are not all my commanders kings?” he says.

⁹“Is not Calno like Carchemish?Is not Hamath like Arpad?Is not Samaria like Damascus?

¹⁰As my hand seized the idolatrous kingdomswhose images surpassed those of Jerusalem and Samaria,

¹¹and as I have done to Samaria and its idols,will I not also do to Jerusalem and her idols?”

¹²So when the Lord has completed all His work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, He will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the fruit of his arrogant heart and the proud look in his eyes.

¹³For he says:‘By the strength of my hand I have done this,and by my wisdom, for I am clever.I have removed the boundaries of nationsand plundered their treasures;like a mighty one I subdued their rulers.

¹⁴My hand reached as into a nestto seize the wealth of the nations.Like one gathering abandoned eggs,I gathered all the earth.No wing fluttered,no beak opened or chirped.’”

¹⁵Does an axe raise itself above the one who swings it?Does a saw boast over him who saws with it?It would be like a rod waving the one who lifts it,or a staff lifting him who is not wood!

¹⁶Therefore the Lord GOD of Hosts will send a wasting diseaseamong Assyria’s stout warriors,and under his pomp will be kindleda fire like a burning flame.

¹⁷And the Light of Israel will become a fire,and its Holy One a flame.In a single day it will burn and devourAssyria’s thorns and thistles.

¹⁸The splendor of its forests and orchards,both soul and body,it will completely destroy,as a sickness consumes a man.

¹⁹The remaining trees of its forests will be so fewthat a child could count them.

A Remnant Shall Return

²⁰On that day the remnant of Israeland the survivors of the house of Jacobwill no longer dependon him who struck them,but they will truly rely on the LORD,the Holy One of Israel.

²¹A remnant will return—a remnant of Jacob—to the Mighty God.

²²Though your people, O Israel, be like the sand of the sea,only a remnant will return.Destruction has been decreed,overflowing with righteousness.

²³For the Lord GOD of Hosts will carry outthe destruction decreed upon the whole land.

²⁴Therefore this is what the Lord GOD of Hosts says:“O My people who dwell in Zion,do not fear Assyria,who strikes you with a rodand lifts his staff against youas the Egyptians did.

²⁵For in just a little whileMy fury against you will subside,and My anger will turn to their destruction.”

²⁶And the LORD of Hosts will brandish a whip against them,as when He struck Midian at the rock of Oreb.He will raise His staff over the sea,as He did in Egypt.

²⁷On that day the burden will be lifted from your shoulders,and the yoke from your neck.The yoke will be brokenbecause your neck will be too large.

²⁸Assyria has entered Aiathand passed through Migron,storing their supplies at Michmash.

²⁹They have crossed at the ford:“We will spend the night at Geba.”Ramah trembles;Gibeah of Saul flees.

³⁰Cry aloud, O Daughter of Gallim!Listen, O Laishah!O wretched Anathoth!

³¹Madmenah flees;the people of Gebim take refuge.

³²Yet today they will halt at Nob,shaking a fist at the mount of Daughter Zion,at the hill of Jerusalem.

³³Behold, the Lord GOD of Hostswill lop off the branches with terrifying power.The tall trees will be cut down,the lofty ones will be felled.

³⁴He will clear the forest thickets with an axe,and Lebanon will fall before the Mighty One.

David’s Military Census

¹Then Satanrose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel.

²So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, “Go and count the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan and bring me a report, so that I may know their number.”

³But Joab replied, “May the LORD multiply His troops a hundred times over. My lord the king, are they not all servants of my lord? Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?”

⁴Nevertheless, the king’s word prevailed against Joab. So Joab departed and traveled throughout Israel, and then he returned to Jerusalem.

⁵And Joab reported to David the total number of the troops. In all Israel there were 1,100,000 men who drew the sword, including 470,000 in Judah.

⁶But Joab did not include Levi and Benjamin in the count, because the king’s command was detestable to him.

Judgment for David’s Sin

⁷This command was also evil in the sight of God; so He struck Israel.

⁸Then David said to God, “I have sinned greatly because I have done this thing. Now I beg You to take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”

⁹And the LORD instructed Gad, David’s seer,

¹⁰“Go and tell David that this is what the LORD says: ‘I am offering you three options. Choose one of them, and I will carry it out against you.’”

¹¹So Gad went and said to David, “This is what the LORD says: ‘You must choose

¹²between three years of famine, three months of being swept awaybefore your enemies and overtaken by their swords, or three days of the sword of the LORD—days of plague upon the land, with the angel of the LORD ravaging every part of Israel.’ Now then, decide how I should reply to Him who sent me.”

¹³David answered Gad, “I am deeply distressed. Please, let me fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are very great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men.”

A Plague on Israel

¹⁴So the LORD sent a plague upon Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell dead.

¹⁵Then God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem, but as the angel was doing so, the LORD saw it and relented from the calamity, and He said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand now!”At that time the angel of the LORD was standing by the threshing floor of Ornanthe Jebusite.

¹⁶When David lifted up his eyes and saw the angel of the LORD standing between heaven and earth, with a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem, David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell facedown.

¹⁷And David said to God, “Was it not I who gave the order to count the people? Iam the one who has sinned and acted wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? O LORD my God, please let Your hand fall upon me and my father’s house, but do not let this plague remain upon Your people.”

David Builds an Altar

¹⁸Then the angel of the LORD ordered Gad to tell David to go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

¹⁹So David went up at the word that Gad had spoken in the name of the LORD.

²⁰Now Ornan was threshing wheat when he turned and saw the angel; and his four sons who were with him hid themselves.

²¹David came to Ornan, and when Ornan looked out and saw David, he left the threshing floor and bowed facedown before David.

²²Then David said to Ornan, “Grant me the site of this threshing floor, that I may build an altar to the LORD. Sell it to me for the full price, so that the plague upon the people may be halted.”

²³Ornan said to David, “Take it! May my lord the king do whatever seems good to him. Look, I will give the oxen for the burnt offerings, the threshing sledges for the wood, and the wheat for the grain offering—I will give it all.”

²⁴“No,” replied King David, “I insist on paying the full price, for I will not take for the LORD what belongs to you, nor will I offer burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”

²⁵So David paid Ornan six hundred shekels of goldfor the site.

²⁶And there he built an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. He called upon the LORD, who answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering.

²⁷Then the LORD spoke to the angel, who put his sword back into its sheath.

²⁸At that time, when David saw that the LORD had answered him at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he offered sacrifices there.

²⁹For the tabernacle of the LORD that Moses had made in the wilderness and the altar of burnt offering were presently at the high place in Gibeon,

³⁰but David could not go before it to inquire of God, because he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the LORD.

David’s Military Census

¹Again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He stirred up David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.”

²So the king said to Joab the commander of his army, who was with him,“Go now throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and register the troops, so that I may know their number.”

³But Joab replied to the king, “May the LORD your God multiply the troops a hundred times over, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king want to do such a thing?”

⁴Nevertheless, the king’s word prevailed against Joab and against the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army departed from the presence of the king to register the troops of Israel.

⁵They crossed the Jordan and camped near Aroer, south of the town in the middle of the valley, and proceeded toward Gad and Jazer.

⁶Then they went to Gilead and the land of Tahtim-hodshi,and on to Dan-jaan and around to Sidon.

⁷They went toward the fortress of Tyre and all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites. Finally, they went on to the Negev of Judah,to Beersheba.

⁸At the end of nine months and twenty days, having gone through the whole land, they returned to Jerusalem.

⁹And Joab reported to the king the total number of the troops. In Israel there were 800,000 men of valor who drew the sword, and in Judah there were 500,000.

Judgment for David’s Sin

¹⁰After David had numbered the troops, his conscience was stricken and he said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, O LORD, I beg You to take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”

¹¹When David got up in the morning, the word of the LORD had come to Gad the prophet, David’s seer:

¹²“Go and tell David that this is what the LORD says: ‘I am offering you three options. Choose one of them, and I will carry it out against you.’”

¹³So Gad went and said to David, “Do you choose to endure threeyears of famine in your land, three months of fleeing the pursuit of your enemies, or three days of plague upon your land? Now then, think it over and decide how I should reply to Him who sent me.”

¹⁴David answered Gad, “I am deeply distressed. Please, let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men.”

A Plague on Israel

¹⁵So the LORD sent a plague upon Israel from that morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died.

¹⁶But when the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD relented from the calamity and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand now!” At that time the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunahthe Jebusite.

¹⁷When David saw the angel striking down the people, he said to the LORD, “Surely I, the shepherd,have sinned and acted wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? Please, let Your hand fall upon me and my father’s house.”

David Builds an Altar

¹⁸And that day Gad came to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”

¹⁹So David went up at the word of Gad, just as the LORD had commanded.

²⁰When Araunah looked out and saw the king and his servants coming toward him, he went out and bowed facedown before the king.

²¹“Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” Araunah said.“To buy your threshing floor,” David replied, “that I may build an altar to the LORD, so that the plague upon the people may be halted.”

²²Araunah said to David, “May my lord the king take whatever seems good to him and offer it up. Here are the oxen for a burnt offering and the threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood.

²³O king, Araunah gives all these to the king.” He also said to the king, “May the LORD your God accept you.”

²⁴“No,” replied the king, “I insist on paying a price, for I will not offer to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

²⁵And there he built an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.Then the LORD answered the prayers on behalf of the land, and the plague upon Israel was halted.

I Will Open My Mouth in Parables

¹Give ear, O my people, to my instruction;listen to the words of my mouth.

²I will open my mouth in parables;I will utter things hidden from the beginning,

³that we have heard and knownand our fathers have relayed to us.

⁴We will not hide them from their childrenbut will declare to the next generationthe praises of the LORD and His mightand the wonders He has performed.

⁵For He established a testimony in Jacoband appointed a law in Israel,which He commanded our fathersto teach to their children,

⁶that the coming generation would know them—even children yet to be born—to arise and tell their own children

⁷that they should put their confidence in God,not forgetting His works,but keeping His commandments.

⁸Then they will not be like their fathers,a stubborn and rebellious generation,whose heart was not loyal,whose spirit was not faithful to God.

⁹The archers of Ephraimturned back on the day of battle.

¹⁰They failed to keep God’s covenantand refused to live by His law.

¹¹They forgot what He had done,the wonders He had shown them.

¹²He worked wonders before their fathersin the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.

¹³He split the sea and brought them through;He set the waters upright like a wall.

¹⁴He led them with a cloud by dayand with a light of fire all night.

¹⁵He split the rocks in the wildernessand gave them drink as abundant as the seas.

¹⁶He brought streams from the stoneand made water flow down like rivers.

¹⁷But they continued to sin against Him,rebelling in the desert against the Most High.

¹⁸They willfully tested Godby demanding the food they craved.

¹⁹They spoke against God, saying,“Can God really prepare a table in the wilderness?

²⁰When He struck the rock, water gushed outand torrents raged.But can He also give breador supply His people with meat?”

²¹Therefore the LORD heardand was filled with wrath;so a fire was kindled against Jacob,and His anger flared against Israel,

²²because they did not believe Godor rely on His salvation.

²³Yet He commanded the clouds aboveand opened the doors of the heavens.

²⁴He rained down manna for them to eat;He gave them grain from heaven.

²⁵Man ate the bread of angels;He sent them food in abundance.

²⁶He stirred the east wind from the heavensand drove the south wind by His might.

²⁷He rained meat on them like dust,and winged birds like the sand of the sea.

²⁸He felled them in the midst of their camp,all around their dwellings.

²⁹So they ate and were well filled,for He gave them what they craved.

³⁰Yet before they had filled their desire,with the food still in their mouths,

³¹God’s anger flared against them,and He put to death their strongestand subdued the young men of Israel.

³²In spite of all this, they kept on sinning;despite His wonderful works, they did not believe.

³³So He ended their days in futility,and their years in sudden terror.

³⁴When He slew them, they would seek Him;they repented and searched for God.

³⁵And they remembered that God was their Rock,that God Most Highwas their Redeemer.

³⁶But they deceived Him with their mouths,and lied to Him with their tongues.

³⁷Their hearts were disloyal to Him,and they were unfaithful to His covenant.

³⁸And yet He was compassionate;He forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them.He often restrained His angerand did not unleash His full wrath.

³⁹He remembered that they were but flesh,a passing breeze that does not return.

⁴⁰How often they disobeyed Him in the wildernessand grieved Him in the desert!

⁴¹Again and again they tested Godand provoked the Holy One of Israel.

⁴²They did not remember His power—the day He redeemed them from the adversary,

⁴³when He performed His signs in Egyptand His wonders in the fields of Zoan.

⁴⁴He turned their rivers to blood,and from their streams they could not drink.

⁴⁵He sent swarms of flies that devoured them,and frogs that devastated them.

⁴⁶He gave their crops to the grasshopper,the fruit of their labor to the locust.

⁴⁷He killed their vines with hailstonesand their sycamore-figs with sleet.

⁴⁸He abandoned their cattle to the hailand their livestock to bolts of lightning.

⁴⁹He unleashed His fury against them,wrath, indignation, and calamity—a band of destroying angels.

⁵⁰He cleared a path for His anger;He did not spare them from deathbut delivered their lives to the plague.

⁵¹He struck all the firstborn of Egypt,the virility in the tents of Ham.

⁵²He led out His people like sheepand guided them like a flock in the wilderness.

⁵³He led them safely, so they did not fear,but the sea engulfed their enemies.

⁵⁴He brought them to His holy land,to the mountain His right hand had acquired.

⁵⁵He drove out nations before themand apportioned their inheritance;He settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.

⁵⁶But they tested and disobeyed God Most High,for they did not keep His decrees.

⁵⁷They turned back and were faithless like their fathers,twisted like a faulty bow.

⁵⁸They enraged Him with their high placesand provoked His jealousy with their idols.

⁵⁹On hearing it, God was furiousand rejected Israel completely.

⁶⁰He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh,the tent He had pitched among men.

⁶¹He delivered His strength to captivity,and His splendor to the hand of the adversary.

⁶²He surrendered His people to the swordbecause He was enraged by His heritage.

⁶³Fire consumed His young men,and their maidens were left without wedding songs.

⁶⁴His priests fell by the sword,but their widows could not lament.

⁶⁵Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,like a mighty warrior overcome by wine.

⁶⁶He beat back His foes;He put them to everlasting shame.

⁶⁷He rejected the tent of Josephand refused the tribe of Ephraim.

⁶⁸But He chose the tribe of Judah,Mount Zion, which He loved.

⁶⁹He built His sanctuary like the heights,like the earth He has established forever.

⁷⁰He chose David His servantand took him from the sheepfolds;

⁷¹from tending the ewes He brought himto be shepherd of His people Jacob,of Israel His inheritance.

⁷²So David shepherded them with integrity of heartand guided them with skillful hands.