1 Lord, you are my God. I will honor you and praise who you are, because you have done wonderful things that you planned long ago. You are faithful and trustworthy! 2 You have turned the city* Though no specific city is named, it is probable that Babylon is meant. Certainly it is an enemy city (having a foreigner's palace). into a pile of rubble; the fortified town is now a ruin; the foreigner palace is gone. It is no longer a city and it will never be rebuilt. 3 Because of this powerful nations will honor you; cities of brutal nations will be in awe of you.

4 But you have protected the poor and needy when they were in trouble, you shielded them from storms and shaded them from the heat. For the actions of brutal people are like rain beating against a wall, 5 like heat in a desert. You end the noisy uprising of foreigners. In the same way that a cloud's shadow cools down the heat of the day, so the song sung by brutal people is silenced.

6 On this mountain† Referring to Mount Zion. the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast for all nations, a lavish feast of aged wines, rich food, and the best meat. 7 On this mountain he will destroy the veil that covers all the nations, the sheet that is over everyone. 8 He will destroy death forever. The Lord God will wipe away all tears, and everywhere he will take away the humiliation suffered by his people. The Lord has spoken.

9 At that time his people will say, “Look! This is our God; we have trusted in him and he has saved us! This is the Lord we have been looking for. Now we can be happy and celebrate the salvation he brings!” 10 The Lord's hand of protection will be on this mountain. But the Moabites will be trampled underfoot like straw into the water of a manure pit. 11 They will reach out their hands to try and save themselves, like swimmers using their hands to swim, but their pride will be humbled however much they thrash about. 12 Moab,‡ “Moab”: supplied for clarity. he will demolish your fortress with the high walls, bringing it down to the ground, into the dust.