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The Prophet Acknowledges

¹ Woe is me! For I am
Like the fruit pickers, like the ^(C1)grape gatherers.
There is not a cluster of grapes to eat,
Or a ^(C2)first-ripe fig which ^(F1)I crave.

² The ^(F1)godly person has ^(C1)perished from the land,
And there is no upright person among men.
All of them lie in wait for ^(C2)bloodshed;
Each of them hunts the other with a ^(C3)net.

³ Concerning evil, both hands do it ^(C1)well.
The prince asks, also the judge, for a ^(C2)bribe,
And a great man speaks the desire of his soul;
So they weave it together.

⁴ The best of them is like a ^(C1)briar,
The most upright like a ^(C2)thorn hedge.
The day when you post your watchmen,
Your ^(C3)punishment will come.
Then their ^(C4)confusion will occur.

⁵ Do not ^(C1)trust in a neighbor;
Do not have confidence in a friend.
From her who lies in your bosom
Guard ^(F1)your lips.

⁶ For ^(C1)son treats father contemptuously,
Daughter rises up against her mother,
Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
^(C2)A man's enemies are the men of his own household.

God Is the Source of Salvation and Light

⁷ But as for me, I will ^(C1)watch expectantly for the LORD;
I will ^(C2)wait for the God of my salvation.
My ^(C3)God will hear me.

^8 (C1)Do not rejoice over me, O ^(C2)my enemy.
Though I fall I will ^(C3)rise;
Though I dwell in darkness, the LORD is a ^(C4)light for me.

⁹ I will bear the indignation of the LORD
Because I have sinned against Him,
Until He ^(C1)pleads my case and executes justice for me.
He will bring me out to the ^(C2)light,
And I will see His ^(F1)(C3)righteousness.

¹⁰ Then my enemy will see,
And shame will cover her who ^(C1)said to me,
"Where is the LORD your God?"
My eyes will look on her;
^(F1)At that time she will ^(F2)be ^(C2)trampled down
Like mire of the streets.

¹¹ It will be a day for ^(C1)building your walls.
On that day will your boundary be extended.

¹² It will be a day when ^(F1)they will ^(C1)come to you
From Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
From Egypt even to the ^(F2)Euphrates,
Even from sea to sea and mountain to mountain.

¹³ And the earth will become ^(C1)desolate because of her inhabitants,
On account of the ^(C2)fruit of their deeds.

^14 (C1)Shepherd Your people with Your ^(C2)scepter,
The flock of Your ^(F1)possession
Which dwells by itself in the woodland,
In the midst of ^(F2)a fruitful field.
Let them feed in ^(C3)Bashan and Gilead
^(C4)As in the days of old.

¹⁵ "As in the days when you came out from the land of Egypt,
I will show ^(F1)(C1)you miracles."

¹⁶ Nations ^(C1)will see and be ashamed
Of all their might.
They will ^(C2)put their hand on their mouth,
Their ears will be deaf.

¹⁷ They will ^(C1)lick the dust like a serpent,
Like ^(C2)reptiles of the earth.
They will come ^(C3)trembling out of their ^(F1)fortresses;
To the LORD our God they will come in ^(C4)dread
And they will be afraid before You.

¹⁸ Who is a God like You, who ^(C1)pardons iniquity
And passes over the rebellious act of the ^(C2)remnant of His ^(F1)possession?
He does not ^(C3)retain His anger forever,
Because He ^(C4)delights in ^(F2)unchanging love.

¹⁹ He will again have compassion on us;
^(C1)He will tread our iniquities under foot.
Yes, You will ^(C2)cast all ^(F1)their sins
Into the depths of the sea.

²⁰ You will give ^(F1)(C1)truth to Jacob
And ^(F2)unchanging love to Abraham,
Which You ^(C2)swore to our forefathers
From the days of old.