See if there is any idolatrous tendency ¹  in me, and lead me in the reliable ancient path! ² 

The leaders and the highly respected people ¹  are the head, the prophets who teach lies are the tail.

They have sunk deep into corruption ¹  as in the days of Gibeah. He will remember their wrongdoing. He will repay them for their sins.

Then the Lord will go to battle ¹  and fight against those nations, just as he fought battles in ancient days. ² 

as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from long ago, ¹ 

The blessings of your father are greater than ¹  the blessings of the eternal mountains ²  or the desirable things of the age-old hills. They will be on the head of Joseph and on the brow of the prince of his brothers. ³ 

Remember your people ¹  whom you acquired in ancient times, whom you rescued ²  so they could be your very own nation, ³  as well as Mount Zion, where you dwell!

Tell me! Present the evidence! ¹  Let them consult with one another! Who predicted this in the past? Who announced it beforehand? Was it not I, the Lord? I have no peer, there is no God but me, a God who vindicates and delivers; ²  there is none but me.

then I will bring you down to bygone people, ¹  to be with those who descend to the pit. I will make you live in the lower parts of the earth, among ²  the primeval ruins, with those who descend to the pit, so that you will not be inhabited or stand ³  in the land of the living.

I will remember for them the covenant with their ancestors ¹  whom I brought out from the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations to be their God. I am the Lord.’”

Remember the ancient days; bear in mind ¹  the years of past generations. ²  Ask your father and he will inform you, your elders, and they will tell you.

For this reason these days are known as Purim, after the name of pur.

For the music director; by the Korahites, a well-written song. ²  O God, we have clearly heard; ³  our ancestors ⁴  have told us what you did ⁵  in their days, in ancient times. ⁶ 

Is there anything about which someone can say, “Look at this! It is new!”? ¹  It was already ²  done long ago, ³  before our time. ⁴ 

May your mouth ¹  be like the best wine, flowing smoothly for my beloved, gliding gently over our lips as we sleep together. ² 

The people will treat each other harshly; men will oppose each other; neighbors will fight. ¹  Youths will proudly defy the elderly and riffraff will challenge those who were once respected. ² 

The Lord comes to pronounce judgment on the leaders of his people and their officials. He says, ¹  “It is you ²  who have ruined ³  the vineyard! ⁴  You have stashed in your houses what you have stolen from the poor. ⁵ 

From this day forward I am he; no one can deliver from my power; ¹  I will act, and who can prevent it?”

We existed from ancient times, ¹  but you did not rule over them, they were not your subjects. ² 

Disaster after disaster will come, and one rumor after another. They will seek a vision from a prophet; priestly instruction will disappear, along with counsel from the elders.