2-6 God is serious business.
    He won’t be trifled with.
He avenges his foes.
    He stands up against his enemies, fierce and raging.
But God doesn’t lose his temper.
    He’s powerful, but it’s a patient power.
Still, no one gets by with anything.
    Sooner or later, everyone pays.
Tornadoes and hurricanes
    are the wake of his passage,
Storm clouds are the dust
    he shakes off his feet.
He yells at the sea: It dries up.
    All the rivers run dry.
The Bashan and Carmel mountains shrivel,
    the Lebanon orchards shrivel.
Mountains quake in their roots,
    hills dissolve into mud flats.
Earth shakes in fear of God.
    The whole world’s in a panic.
Who can face such towering anger?
    Who can stand up to this fierce rage?
His anger spills out like a river of lava,
    his fury shatters boulders.

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The Lord is slow to anger(A) but great in power;
    the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished.(B)
His way is in the whirlwind(C) and the storm,(D)
    and clouds(E) are the dust of his feet.
He rebukes(F) the sea and dries it up;(G)
    he makes all the rivers run dry.
Bashan and Carmel(H) wither
    and the blossoms of Lebanon fade.
The mountains quake(I) before him
    and the hills melt away.(J)
The earth trembles(K) at his presence,
    the world and all who live in it.(L)

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