7. “You people who know what is right should listen to me;you people who follow my teachings should hear what I say.Don’t be afraid of the evil things people say,and don’t be upset by their insults.
8. Moths will eat those people as if they were clothes,and worms will eat them as if they were wool.But my goodness will continue forever,and my salvation will continue from now on.”
9. Wake up, wake up, and use your strength,powerful Lord.Wake up as you did in the old times,as you did a long time ago.With your own power, you cut Rahab into piecesand killed that sea monster.
10. You dried up the seaand the waters of the deep ocean.You made the deepest parts of the sea into a roadfor your people to cross over and be saved.
11. The people the Lord has freed will returnand enter Jerusalem with joy.Their happiness will last forever.They will have joy and gladness,and all sadness and sorrow will be gone far away.
12. The Lord says, “I am the one who comforts you.So why should you be afraid of people, who die?Why should you fear people who die like the grass?
13. Have you forgotten the Lord who made you,who stretched out the skiesand made the earth?Why are you always afraidof those angry people who trouble youand who want to destroy?But where are those angry people now?
14. People in prison will soon be set free;they will not die in prison,and they will have enough food.
15. I am the Lord your God,who stirs the sea and makes the waves roar.My name is the Lord All-Powerful.
16. I will give you the words I want you to say.I will cover you with my hands and protect you.I made the heavens and the earth,and I say to Jerusalem, ‘You are my people.’ ”
17. Awake! Awake!Get up, Jerusalem.The Lord was very angry with you;your punishment was like wine in a cup.The Lord made you drink that wine;you drank the whole cup until you stumbled.
18. Jerusalem had many people,but there was not one to lead her.Of all the people who grew up there,no one was there to guide her.
19. Troubles came to you two by two,but no one will feel sorry for you.There was ruin and disaster, great hunger and fighting.No one can comfort you.
20. Your people have become weak.They fall down and lie on every street corner,like animals caught in a net.They have felt the full anger of the Lordand have heard God’s angry shout.