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161  Princes have persecuted me without a cause, ♦︎
   but my heart stands in awe of your word.
162  I am as glad of your word ♦︎
   as one who finds great spoils.
163  As for lies, I hate and abhor them, ♦︎
   but your law do I love.
164  Seven times a day do I praise you, ♦︎
   because of your righteous judgements.
165  Great peace have they who love your law; ♦︎
   nothing shall make them stumble.
166  Lord, I have looked for your salvation ♦︎
   and I have fulfilled your commandments.
167  My soul has kept your testimonies ♦︎
   and greatly have I loved them.
168  I have kept your commandments and testimonies, ♦︎
   for all my ways are before you.
169  Let my cry come before you, O Lord; ♦︎
   give me understanding, according to your word.
170  Let my supplication come before you; ♦︎
   deliver me, according to your promise.
171  My lips shall pour forth your praise, ♦︎
   when you have taught me your statutes.
172  My tongue shall sing of your word, ♦︎
   for all your commandments are righteous.
173  Let your hand reach out to help me, ♦︎
   for I have chosen your commandments.
174  I have longed for your salvation, O Lord, ♦︎
   and your law is my delight.
175  Let my soul live and it shall praise you, ♦︎
   and let your judgements be my help.
176  I have gone astray like a sheep that is lost; ♦︎
   O seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments.

3A prayer of the prophet Habakkuk according to Shigionoth.

The Prophet’s Prayer

² O Lord, I have heard of your renown,
   and I stand in awe, O Lord, of your work.
In our own time revive it;
   in our own time make it known;
   in wrath may you remember mercy.
³ God came from Teman,
   the Holy One from Mount Paran.
          Selah
His glory covered the heavens,
   and the earth was full of his praise.
⁴ The brightness was like the sun;
   rays came forth from his hand,
   where his power lay hidden.
⁵ Before him went pestilence,
   and plague followed close behind.
⁶ He stopped and shook the earth;
   he looked and made the nations tremble.
The eternal mountains were shattered;
   along his ancient pathways
   the everlasting hills sank low.
⁷ I saw the tents of Cushan under affliction;
   the tent-curtains of the land of Midian trembled.
⁸ Was your wrath against the rivers,^* O Lord?
   Or your anger against the rivers,^*
   or your rage against the sea,^*
when you drove your horses,
   your chariots to victory?
⁹ You brandished your naked bow,
   sated^* were the arrows at your command.^*
          Selah
   You split the earth with rivers.
¹⁰ The mountains saw you, and writhed;
   a torrent of water swept by;
the deep gave forth its voice.
   The sun^* raised high its hands;
¹¹ the moon^* stood still in its exalted place,
   at the light of your arrows speeding by,
   at the gleam of your flashing spear.
¹² In fury you trod the earth,
   in anger you trampled nations.
¹³ You came forth to save your people,
   to save your anointed.
You crushed the head of the wicked house,
   laying it bare from foundation to roof.^*
          Selah
¹⁴ You pierced with their^* own arrows the head^* of his warriors,^*
   who came like a whirlwind to scatter us,^*
   gloating as if ready to devour the poor who were in hiding.
¹⁵ You trampled the sea with your horses,
   churning the mighty waters.

¹⁶ I hear, and I tremble within;
   my lips quiver at the sound.
Rottenness enters into my bones,
   and my steps tremble^* beneath me.
I wait quietly for the day of calamity
   to come upon the people who attack us.

Trust and Joy in the Midst of Trouble

¹⁷ Though the fig tree does not blossom,
   and no fruit is on the vines;
though the produce of the olive fails
   and the fields yield no food;
though the flock is cut off from the fold
   and there is no herd in the stalls,
¹⁸ yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
   I will exult in the God of my salvation.

Taming the Tongue

3Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters,^* for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. ²For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. ³If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. ⁴Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. ⁵So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits.

How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! ⁶And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature,^* and is itself set on fire by hell.^{* 7}For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, ⁸but no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. ⁹With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. ¹⁰From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters,^* this ought not to be so. ¹¹Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? ¹²Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters,^* yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.