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¹ Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape gleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat; ^[a]my soul desireth the first-ripe fig. ² The godly man is perished out of the earth, and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net. ^3 [b]Their hands are upon that which is evil to do it diligently; the prince asketh, and the judge is ready for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth the evil desire of his soul: thus they weave it together. ⁴ The best of them is as a brier; ^[c]the most upright is worse than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen, even thy visitation, is come; now shall be their perplexity. ⁵ Trust ye not in a neighbor; put ye not confidence in a ^[d]friend; keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. ⁶ For the son dishonoreth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house.

⁷ But as for me, ^[e]I will look unto Jehovah; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me. ⁸ Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, Jehovah will be a light unto me. ⁹ I will bear the indignation of Jehovah, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness. ¹⁰ Then mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her who said unto me, Where is Jehovah thy God? Mine eyes shall see my desire upon her; now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets. ^11 [f]A day for building thy walls! in that day shall the ^[g]decree be far removed. ¹² In that day shall they come unto thee from Assyria and the cities of ^[h]Egypt, and from ^[i]Egypt even to the River, and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain. ¹³ Yet shall the land be desolate because of them that dwell therein, for the fruit of their doings.

^14 [j]Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thy heritage, which dwell solitarily, in the forest in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old. ¹⁵ As in the days of thy coming forth out of the land of Egypt will I show unto them marvellous things. ¹⁶ The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might; they shall lay their hand upon their mouth; their ears shall be deaf. ¹⁷ They shall lick the dust like a serpent; like crawling things of the earth they shall come trembling out of their close places; they shall come with fear unto Jehovah our God, and shall be afraid because of thee.

¹⁸ Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth over the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in lovingkindness. ¹⁹ He will again have compassion upon us; he will ^[k]tread our iniquities under foot; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. ^20 [l]Thou wilt ^[m]perform the truth to Jacob, and the lovingkindness to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.