He then orders it all to melt; ¹  he breathes on it, ²  and the water flows.

As smoke is driven away by the wind, so you drive them away. ¹  As wax melts before fire, so the wicked are destroyed before God.

Nations are in uproar, kingdoms are overthrown. ¹  God ²  gives a shout, ³  the earth dissolves. ⁴ 

I collapse ¹  from grief. Sustain me by your word! ² 

The sovereign Lord who commands armies will do this. ¹  He touches the earth and it dissolves; ²  all who live on it mourn. The whole earth ³  rises like the River Nile, ⁴  and then grows calm ⁵  like the Nile in Egypt. ⁶ 

Let them be ¹  like a snail that melts away as it moves along! ²  Let them be like ³  stillborn babies ⁴  that never see the sun!

They ¹  reached up to the sky, then dropped into the depths. The sailors’ strength ²  left them ³  because the danger was so great. ⁴ 

In their streets they wear sackcloth; on their roofs and in their town squares all of them wail, they fall down weeping.

They ¹  are dark ²  because of ice; snow is piled ³  up over them. ⁴ 

The sluice gates ¹  are opened; the royal palace is deluged ²  and dissolves. ³ 

The drought as well as the heat carry away the melted snow; ¹  so the grave ²  takes away those who have sinned. ³ 

My strength drains away like water; ¹  all my bones are dislocated; my heart ²  is like wax; it melts away inside me.

When the wicked ¹  see this, they will worry; they will grind their teeth in frustration ²  and melt away; the desire of the wicked will perish. ³ 

Destruction, devastation, and desolation! ¹  Their hearts faint, ²  their knees tremble, ³  each stomach churns, ⁴  each face ⁵  turns ⁶  pale! ⁷ 

Set the empty pot on the coals, ¹  until it becomes hot and its copper glows, until its uncleanness melts within it and its rot ²  is consumed.