Woe to thee that spoilest, shalt not thou thyself also be spoiled? and thou that despisest, shalt not thyself also be despised? when thou shalt have made an end of spoiling, thou shalt be spoiled: when being wearied thou shalt cease to despise, thou shalt be despised.

Væ qui prædaris! nonne et ipse prædaberis? et qui spernis, nonne et ipse sperneris? Cum consummaveris deprædationem, deprædaberis; cum fatigatus desieris contemnere, contemneris.

What, plunderer of the nations, unplundered still? Proud lord of others, does none dispute thy lordship? A time comes when thou must cease plundering, and thyself be plundered, when of lordship thou hast had enough, and others lord it over thee.

O Lord, have mercy on us: for we have waited for thee: be thou our arm in the morning, and our salvation in the time of trouble.

Domine, miserere nostri, te enim exspectavimus; esto brachium nostrum in mane, et salus nostra in tempore tribulationis.

Have mercy on us, Lord, that wait for thee so patiently; day after day be our stronghold, our deliverer thou in time of trouble!

At the voice of the angel the people fled, and at the lifting up thyself the nations are scattered.

A voce angeli fugerunt populi, et ab exaltatione tua dispersæ sunt gentes.

Fled, the alien host, scattered the heathen, thy angel’s voice once heard, thy power made manifest!

And your spoils shall be gathered together as the locusts are gathered, as when the ditches are full of them.

Et congregabuntur spolia vestra sicut colligitur bruchus, velut cum fossæ plenæ fuerint de eo.

Your spoils, Gentiles, how easily amassed! Easily as the locusts, where they swarm in the trenches.

The Lord is magnified, for he hath dwelt on high: he hath filled Sion with judgment and justice.

Magnificatus est Dominus, quoniam habitavit in excelso; implevit Sion judicio et justitia.

The Lord’s power made manifest, that is throned high in heaven! With his just award Sion shall be well content;

And there shall be faith in thy times: riches of salvation, wisdom and knowledge: the fear of the Lord is his treasure.

Et erit fides in temporibus tuis: divitiæ salutis sapientia et scientia; timor Domini ipse est thesaurus ejus.

still in these times of ours the promise well kept, the full deliverance. Knowledge and wisdom and the fear of the Lord, what treasure like these?

Behold they that see shall cry without, the angels of peace shall weep bitterly.

Ecce videntes clamabunt foris; angeli pacis amare flebunt.

See, where they stand at the gates, the men we sent out to report, hailing us; the messengers we sent to ask for peace, weeping bitterly;

The ways are made desolate, no one passeth by the road, the covenant is made void, he hath rejected the cities, he hath not regarded the men.

Dissipatæ sunt viæ, cessavit transiens per semitam: irritum factum est pactum, projecit civitates, non reputavit homines.

Deserted, the highways, the lanes untravelled; the enemy has broken the truce, making no terms with the cities, not sparing the lives of men;

The land hath mourned, and languished: Libanus is confounded, and become foul, and Saron is become as a desert: and Basan and Carmel are shaken.

Luxit et elanguit terra; confusus est Libanus, et obsorduit: et factus est Saron sicut desertum, et concussa est Basan, et Carmelus.

widowed the countryside and lifeless, Lebanon shrunken and withered, Saron a wilderness, Basan and Carmel quaking with fear.

Now will I rise up, saith the Lord: now will I be exalted, now will I lift up myself.

Nunc consurgam, dicit Dominus; nunc exaltabor, nunc sublevabor.

Now, the Lord says, to bestir myself, now to rise up in arms against them, now to make them feel my power!

You shall conceive heat, you shall bring forth stubble: your breath as fire shall devour you.

Concipietis ardorem, parietis stipulam; spiritus vester ut ignis vorabit vos.

A raging fire conceived in the womb, and nothing but stubble brought to the birth; your own impetuous spirit shall be a fire, Gentiles, to devour you;

And the people shall be as ashes after a fire, as a bundle of thorns they shall be burnt with fire.

Et erunt populi quasi de incendio cinis; spinæ congregatæ igni comburentur.

like ashes in a kiln they shall be left, the alien hordes, bundles of brushwood eaten up by the fire.

Hear, you that are far off, what I have done, and you that are near know my strength.

Audite, qui longe estis, quæ fecerim; et cognoscite, vicini, fortitudinem meam.

Listen then, you that live far off, to the story of my doings; and you, who dwell close to me, learn the lesson of my power.

The sinners in Sion are afraid, trembling hath seized upon the hypocrites. Which of you can dwell with devouring fire? which of you shall dwell with everlasting burnings?

Conterriti sunt in Sion peccatores; possedit tremor hypocritas. Quis poterit habitare de vobis cum igne devorante? quis habitabit ex vobis cum ardoribus sempiternis?

In Sion itself there be guilty folk that tremble, false hearts full of dismay; who shall survive this devouring flame, the near presence of fires that burn unceasingly?

He that walketh in justices, and speaketh truth, that casteth away avarice by oppression, and shaketh his hands from all bribes, that stoppeth his ears lest he hear blood, and shutteth his eyes that he may see no evil.

Qui ambulat in justitiis et loquitur veritatem, qui projicit avaritiam ex calumnia, et excutit manus suas ab omni munere, qui obturat aures suas ne audiat sanguinem, et claudit oculos suos ne videat malum.

He only, that follows the path of innocence, tells truth, ill-gotten gain refuses, flings back the bribe; his ears shut to murderous counsels, his eyes from every harmful sight turned away.

He shall dwell on high, the fortifications of rocks shall be his highness: bread is given him, his waters are sure.

Iste in excelsis habitabit; munimenta saxorum sublimitas ejus: panis ei datus est, aquæ ejus fideles sunt.

On the heights his dwelling shall be, his eyrie among the fastnesses of the rocks, bread shall be his for the asking, water from an unfailing spring.

His eyes shall see the king in his beauty, they shall see the land far off.

Regem in decore suo videbunt oculi ejus, cernent terram de longe.

Those eyes shall look on the king in his royal beauty, have sight of a land whose frontiers are far away.

Thy heart shall meditate fear: where is the learned? where is he that pondereth the words of the law? where is the teacher of little ones?

Cor tuum meditabitur timorem: ubi est litteratus? ubi legis verba ponderans? ubi doctor parvulorum?

Of those old fears, how thou wilt recall the memory! Where are they now, the learned men, that could weight each phrase of the law, that taught us like children?

The shameless people thou shalt not see, the people of profound speech: so that thou canst not understand the eloquence of his tongue, in whom there is no wisdom.

Populum impudentem non videbis, populum alti sermonis, ita ut non possis intelligere disertitudinem linguæ ejus, in quo nulla est sapientia.

No longer wilt thou see before thee a rebellious people, all profound talk that passes thy comprehension, and no wisdom.

Look upon Sion the city of our solemnity: thy eyes shall see Jerusalem, a rich habitation, a tabernacle that cannot be removed: neither shall the nails thereof be taken away for ever, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken:

Respice, Sion, civitatem solemnitatis nostræ: oculi tui videbunt Jerusalem, habitationem opulentam, tabernaculum quod nequaquam transferri poterit; nec auferentur clavi ejus in sempiternum, et omnes funiculi ejus non rumpentur:

Look around thee at Sion, goal of our pilgrimage, see where Jerusalem lies, an undisturbed dwelling-place; here is tent securely fixed, its pegs immoveable, its ropes never to be broken.

Because only there our Lord is magnificent: a place of rivers, very broad and spacious streams: no ship with oars shall pass by it, neither shall the great galley pass through it.

quia solummodo ibi magnificus est Dominus noster: locus fluviorum rivi latissimi et patentes: non transibit per eum navis remigum, neque trieris magna transgredietur eum.

Here, as nowhere else, our Lord reigns in majesty; a place of rivers, of wide, open streams, yet no ship’s oar will disturb it, no huge galleon pass by;

For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king: he will save us.

Dominus enim judex noster, Dominus legifer noster, Dominus rex noster, ipse salvabit nos.

the Lord our judge, the Lord our lawgiver, the Lord our king, will himself be our deliverance.

Thy tacklings are loosed, and they shall be of no strength: thy mast shall be in such condition, that thou shalt not be able to spread the flag. Then shall the spoils of much prey be divided: the lame shall take the spoil.

Laxati sunt funiculi tui, et non prævalebunt; sic erit malus tuus ut dilatare signum non queas. Tunc dividentur spolia prædarum multarum; claudi diripient rapinam.

Now, thy tackle hangs loose and unserviceable, too weak thy mast is to display thy pennon; then, thou wilt have the spoil of many forays to divide, even lame folk shall carry plunder away.

Neither shall he that is near, say: I am feeble. The people that dwell therein, shall have their iniquity taken away from them.

Nec dicet vicinus: Elangui; populus qui habitat in ea, auferetur ab eo iniquitas.

No more shall they cry out on their helpless plight, these, thy fellow citizens; none dwells there now but is assoiled of his guilt.