12. “Lord, our crimes against you are many. Our sins accuse us. We are well aware of them all.
13. We have rebelled against you, rejected you, and refused to follow you. We have oppressed others and turned away from you. Our thoughts are false; our words are lies.
14. Justice is driven away, and right cannot come near. Truth stumbles in the public square, and honesty finds no place there.
15. There is so little honesty that those who stop doing evil find themselves the victims of crime.”The Lord has seen this, and he is displeased that there is no justice.
16. He is astonished to see that there is no one to help the oppressed. So he will use his own power to rescue them and to win the victory.
17. He will wear justice like a coat of armour and saving power like a helmet. He will clothe himself with the strong desire to set things right and to punish and avenge the wrongs that people suffer.
18. He will punish his enemies according to what they have done, even those who live in distant lands.
19. From east to west everyone will fear him and his great power. He will come like a rushing river, like a strong wind.
20. The Lord says to his people, “I will come to Jerusalem to defend you and to save all of you that turn from your sins.
21. And I make a covenant with you: I have given you my power and my teachings to be yours for ever, and from now on you are to obey me and teach your children and your descendants to obey me for all time to come.”