To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. Hear this, all peoples; Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,

Come near, you nations, to hear; And heed, you people! Let the earth hear, and all that is in it, The world and all things that come forth from it.

'Hear this now, O foolish people, Without understanding, Who have eyes and see not, And who have ears and hear not:

"Hear this, O priests! Take heed, O house of Israel! Give ear, O house of the king! For yours [is] the judgment, Because you have been a snare to Mizpah And a net spread on Tabor.

Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying:

Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who [are] on the mountain of Samaria, Who oppress the poor, Who crush the needy, Who say to your husbands, "Bring [wine,] let us drink!"

Hear this word which I take up against you, a lamentation, O house of Israel:

Hear, all you peoples! Listen, O earth, and all that is in it! Let the Lord GOD be a witness against you, The Lord from His holy temple.

And I said: "Hear now, O heads of Jacob, And you rulers of the house of Israel: [Is it] not for you to know justice?

Now hear this, You heads of the house of Jacob And rulers of the house of Israel, Who abhor justice And pervert all equity,

"He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God." '

"For inquire, please, of the former age, And consider the things discovered by their fathers;

Wisdom [is] with aged men, And with length of days, understanding.

Both the gray-haired and the aged [are] among us, Much older than your father.

Why do the wicked live [and] become old, Yes, become mighty in power?

A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, Like the morning [clouds] spread over the mountains. A people [come,] great and strong, The like of whom has never been; Nor will there ever be any [such] after them, Even for many successive generations.

" For ask now concerning the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and [ask] from one end of heaven to the other, whether [any] great [thing] like this has happened, or [anything] like it has been heard.

"Or did God [ever] try to go [and] take for Himself a nation from the midst of [another] nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?

"The LORD will bring the king of Assyria upon you and your people and your father's house -- days that have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah."

Alas! For that day [is] great, So that none [is] like it; And it [is] the time of Jacob's trouble, But he shall be saved out of it.

"At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands [watch] over the sons of your people; And there shall be a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a nation, [Even] to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, Every one who is found written in the book.

"For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.