5 The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked,

the scepter of rulers,

6 that struck the peoples in wrath

with unceasing blows,

that ruled the nations in anger

with unrelenting persecution.

7 The whole earth is at rest and quiet;

they break forth into singing.

8 The cypresses rejoice at you,

the cedars of Lebanon, saying,

‘Since you were laid low,

no woodcutter comes up against us.’

9 Sheol beneath is stirred up

to meet you when you come;

it rouses the shades to greet you,

all who were leaders of the earth;

it raises from their thrones

all who were kings of the nations.

5 The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.

6 He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke,

He that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth.

7 The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing.

8 Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying,

Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.

9 Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming:

It stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth;

It hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.

5 For the Lord has crushed your wicked power

and broken your evil rule.

6 You struck the people with endless blows of rage

and held the nations in your angry grip

with unrelenting tyranny.

7 But finally the earth is at rest and quiet.

Now it can sing again!

8 Even the trees of the forest—

the cypress trees and the cedars of Lebanon—

sing out this joyous song:

‘Since you have been cut down,

no one will come now to cut us down!’

9 “In the place of the dead there is excitement

over your arrival.

The spirits of world leaders and mighty kings long dead

stand up to see you.

5 The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked,

The scepter of the rulers;

6 He who struck the people in wrath with a continual stroke,

He who ruled the nations in anger,

Is persecuted and no one hinders.

7 The whole earth is at rest and quiet;

They break forth into singing.

8 Indeed the cypress trees rejoice over you,

And the cedars of Lebanon,

Saying, ‘Since you were cut down,

No woodsman has come up against us.’

9 “Hell from beneath is excited about you,

To meet you at your coming;

It stirs up the dead for you,

All the chief ones of the earth;

It has raised up from their thrones

All the kings of the nations.

5 The Lord has broken the scepter of evil rulers

and taken away their power.

6 The king of Babylon struck people in anger

again and again.

He ruled nations in anger

and continued to hurt them.

7 But now, the whole world rests and is quiet.

Now the people begin to sing.

8 Even the pine trees are happy,

and the cedar trees of Lebanon rejoice.

They say, “The king has fallen,

so no one will ever cut us down again.”

9 The place of the dead is excited

to meet you when you come.

It wakes the spirits of the dead,

the leaders of the world.

It makes kings of all nations

stand up from their thrones to greet you.

5 Jehovah hath broken the staff of the wicked, the sceptre of the rulers; 6 that smote the peoples in wrath with a continual stroke, that ruled the nations in anger, with a persecution that none restrained. 7 The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing. 8 Yea, the fir-trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid low, no hewer is come up against us. 9 Sheol from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming; it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.

5 Jehovah hath broken the staff of the wicked, the sceptre of the rulers. 6 He that smote the peoples in wrath with a relentless stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted unsparingly. 7 The whole earth is at rest, is quiet: they break forth into singing. 8 Even the cypresses rejoice at thee, the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us. 9 Sheol from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming, stirring up the dead for thee, all the he-goats of the earth; making to rise from their thrones all the kings of the nations.

5 The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, 

the scepter of rulers. 

6 They struck the people with fury, 

with blows that didn’t stop. 

They ruled nations in anger, 

persecuting them without restraint. 

7 The whole earth rests and is peaceful. 

It breaks out into shouts of joy. 

8 Even the cypresses rejoice over you. 

The cedars of Lebanon say, 

“Since you have fallen, 

no lumberjack has come to attack us.” 

9 Sheol below wakes up to meet you when you come. 

It wakes up the ghosts of the dead, 

all who were leaders on earth. 

It raises all who were kings of the nations from their thrones. 

5 The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked,

the scepter of the rulers.

6 It struck the peoples in anger

with unceasing blows.

It subdued the nations in rage

with relentless persecution.

7 All the earth is calm and at rest;

people shout with a ringing cry.

8 Even the cypresses and the cedars of Lebanon

rejoice over you:

“Since you have been laid low,

no woodcutter has come against us.”

9 Sheol below is eager to greet your coming.

He stirs up the spirits of the departed for you—

all the rulers of the earth.

He makes all the kings of the nations

rise from their thrones.

5 The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked,

the scepter of rulers,

6 that struck down the peoples in wrath

with unceasing blows,

that ruled the nations in anger

with unrelenting persecution.

7 The whole earth is at rest and quiet;

they break forth into singing.

8 The cypresses exult over you,

the cedars of Lebanon, saying,

“Since you were laid low,

no one comes to cut us down.”

9 Sheol beneath is stirred up

to meet you when you come;

it rouses the shades to greet you,

all who were leaders of the earth;

it raises from their thrones

all who were kings of the nations.

5 Yahweh has broken the staff of the wicked,

the scepter of rulers,

6 that struck the peoples in wrath, a blow without ceasing,

that ruled the nations in anger

with unrestrained persecution.

7 All of the earth rests and is quiet;

they break forth into singing.

8 Even the cypresses rejoice over you,

the cedars of Lebanon:

‘Since you were laid down,

no wood cutter comes up against us.’

9 Sheol below is getting excited over you,

to meet you when you come;

it arouses the dead spirits for you,

all of the leaders of the earth.

It raises all of the kings of the nations from their thrones.

5 The Lord has taken away the authority of evil people.

He has broken the power of rulers.

6 When they became angry, they struck nations down.

Their blows never stopped.

In their anger they brought nations under their control.

They attacked them again and again.

7 All of the lands now enjoy peace and rest.

They break out into singing.

8 Even the pine trees are glad.

The cedar trees of Lebanon are happy too.

They say, ‘Babylon, you have fallen.

Now no one comes and cuts us down.’

9 “King of Babylonia, many people in the grave are really excited

about meeting you when you go down there.

The spirits of the dead get up to welcome you.

At one time all of them were leaders in the world.

They were kings over the nations.

They get up from their thrones.

5 “The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked,

The scepter of rulers

6 Which used to strike the peoples in fury with unceasing strokes,

Which subdued the nations in anger with unrestrained persecution.

7 “The whole earth is at rest and is quiet;

They break forth into shouts of joy.

8 “Even the cypress trees rejoice over you, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying,

‘Since you were laid low, no tree cutter comes up against us.’

9 “Sheol from beneath is excited over you to meet you when you come;

It arouses for you the spirits of the dead, all the leaders of the earth;

It raises all the kings of the nations from their thrones.