I will make all my mountains into a road; I will construct my roadways.”

All the trees of the field will know that I am the Lord. I make the high tree low; I raise up the low tree. I make the green tree wither, and I make the dry tree sprout. I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it!’”

For this reason no watered trees will grow so tall; their tops will not reach into the clouds, nor will the well-watered ones grow that high. ¹  For all of them have been appointed to die in the lower parts of the earth; ²  they will be among mere mortals, ³  with those who descend to the pit.

I ¹  tell you that something greater than the temple is here.

¹ Then Moses and the Israelites sang ²  this song to the Lord. They said, ³  “I will sing ⁴  to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously, ⁵  the horse and its rider ⁶  he has thrown into the sea.

Solomon son of David solidified his royal authority, ¹  for ²  the Lord his God was with him and magnified him greatly.

“Yes, God is great – beyond our knowledge! ¹  The number of his years is unsearchable.

As for the Almighty, ¹  we cannot attain to him! He is great in power, but justice ²  and abundant righteousness he does not oppress.

I have prayed for deliverance, because otherwise they will gloat over me; ¹  when my foot slips they will arrogantly taunt me. ² 

May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, and do not give Jerusalem priority over whatever gives me the most joy. ¹ 

I have given orders to my chosen soldiers; ¹  I have summoned the warriors through whom I will vent my anger, ²  my boasting, arrogant ones. ³ 

The earth ¹  dries up ²  and withers, the world shrivels up and withers; the prominent people of the earth ³  fade away.

Every valley must be elevated, and every mountain and hill leveled. The rough terrain will become a level plain, the rugged landscape a wide valley.

Its boughs were strong, fit ¹  for rulers’ scepters; it reached up into the clouds. It stood out because of its height and its many branches. ² 

Therefore it grew taller than all the trees of the field; its boughs grew large and its branches grew long, because of the plentiful water in its shoots. ¹ 

The Lord also will deliver the homes ¹  of Judah first, so that the splendor of the kingship ²  of David and of the people of Jerusalem may not exceed that of Judah.

The God of this people Israel ¹  chose our ancestors ²  and made the people great ³  during their stay as foreigners ⁴  in the country ⁵  of Egypt, and with uplifted arm ⁶  he led them out of it.

Does an ax exalt itself over the one who wields it, or a saw magnify itself over the one who cuts with it? ¹  As if a scepter should brandish the one who raises it, or a staff should lift up what is not made of wood!

For this is what the high and exalted one says, the one who rules ¹  forever, whose name is holy: “I dwell in an exalted and holy place, but also with the discouraged and humiliated, ²  in order to cheer up the humiliated and to encourage the discouraged. ³ 

he sets ¹  the lowly ²  on high, that those who mourn ³  are raised ⁴  to safety.