52. Yet he brought out his people like sheep;he led them through the wilderness like a flock.
53. He guided them safely along,while the sea covered their enemies.
54. He brought them to the border of his holy land,to this mountainous land which his right hand acquired.
55. He drove the nations out from before them;he assigned them their tribal allotmentsand allowed the tribes of Israel to settle down.
56. Yet they challenged and defied the sovereign God,and did not obey his commands.
57. They were unfaithful and acted as treacherously as their ancestors;they were as unreliable as a malfunctioning bow.
58. They made him angry with their pagan shrines,and made him jealous with their idols.
59. God heard and was angry;he completely rejected Israel.
60. He abandoned the sanctuary at Shiloh,the tent where he lived among men.
61. He allowed the symbol of his strong presence to be captured;he gave the symbol of his splendor into the hand of the enemy.
62. He delivered his people over to the sword,and was angry with his chosen nation.
63. Fire consumed their young men,and their virgins remained unmarried.
64. Their priests fell by the sword,but their widows did not weep.
65. But then the Lord awoke from his sleep;he was like a warrior in a drunken rage.
66. He drove his enemies back;he made them a permanent target for insults.
67. He rejected the tent of Joseph;he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.
68. He chose the tribe of Judah,and Mount Zion, which he loves.