The Total Corruption of the People

1Woe is me! For I have become like one who,

after the summer fruit has been gathered,

after the vintage has been gleaned,

finds no cluster to eat;

there is no first-ripe fig for which I hunger.

2The faithful have disappeared from the land,

and there is no one left who is upright;

they all lie in wait for blood,

and they hunt each other with nets.

3Their hands are skilled to do evil;

the official and the judge ask for a bribe,

and the powerful dictate what they desire;

thus they pervert justice.7.3 Cn: Heb they weave it

4The best of them is like a brier,

the most upright of them a thorn hedge.

The day of their7.4 Heb your sentinels, of their7.4 Heb your punishment, has come;

now their confusion is at hand.

5Put no trust in a friend,

have no confidence in a loved one;

guard the doors of your mouth

from her who lies in your embrace;

6for the son treats the father with contempt,

the daughter rises up against her mother,

the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;

your enemies are members of your own household.

7But as for me, I will look to the LORD,

I will wait for the God of my salvation;

my God will hear me.

Penitence and Trust in God

8Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy;

when I fall, I shall rise;

when I sit in darkness,

the LORD will be a light to me.

9I must bear the indignation of the LORD,

because I have sinned against him,

until he takes my side

and executes judgement for me.

He will bring me out to the light;

I shall see his vindication.

10Then my enemy will see,

and shame will cover her who said to me,

‘Where is the LORD your God?’

My eyes will see her downfall;7.10 Heb lacks downfall

now she will be trodden down

like the mire of the streets.

A Prophecy of Restoration

11A day for the building of your walls!

In that day the boundary shall be far extended.

12In that day they will come to you

from Assyria to7.12 One Ms: MT Assyria and cities of Egypt,

and from Egypt to the River,

from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.

13But the earth will be desolate

because of its inhabitants,

for the fruit of their doings.

14Shepherd your people with your staff,

the flock that belongs to you,

which lives alone in a forest

in the midst of a garden land;

let them feed in Bashan and Gilead

as in the days of old.

15As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt,

show us7.15 Cn: Heb I will show him marvellous things.

16The nations shall see and be ashamed

of all their might;

they shall lay their hands on their mouths;

their ears shall be deaf;

17they shall lick dust like a snake,

like the crawling things of the earth;

they shall come trembling out of their fortresses;

they shall turn in dread to the LORD our God,

and they shall stand in fear of you.

God's Compassion and Steadfast Love

18Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity

and passing over the transgression

of the remnant of your7.18 Heb his possession?

He does not retain his anger for ever,

because he delights in showing clemency.

19He will again have compassion upon us;

he will tread our iniquities under foot.

You will cast all our7.19 Gk Syr Vg Tg: Heb their sins

into the depths of the sea.

20You will show faithfulness to Jacob

and unswerving loyalty to Abraham,

as you have sworn to our ancestors

from the days of old.