1Woe is me! I live where the summer fruits are gathered, And the vintage is gleaned; There is no cluster to eat; I long for the first-ripe fig. 2The good man is perished from the land, And there is none upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; Every one hunteth his brother with a net. 3Their hands are diligent for evil; The prince asketh a bribe, And the judge decideth for money! The great man giveth judgment according to his desire; They conspire to pervert justice. 4The best of them is like a brier; The most upright of them is sharper than a thorn-hedge. The day of recompense, announced by thy watchmen, cometh; Then shall come their perplexity. 5Trust ye not in a friend! Put no confidence in a guide! From her that lieth in thy bosom Keep the doors of thy mouth! 6For the son dishonoreth his father, The daughter riseth up against her mother, And the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; The inmates of a man’s house are his foes. 7I will look to Jehovah; I will hope in the God of my salvation; My God will hear me. 8Rejoice not over me, O my enemy! Though I have fallen, I shall arise; Though I sit in darkness, Jehovah will be my light. 9I will bear the indignation of Jehovah, Because I have sinned against him, Until he maintain my cause, and execute judgment for me, Until he bring me to the light, And I behold his mercy. 10She that is my enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her, That said to me, Where is Jehovah thy God? Mine eyes shall gaze upon her; Soon shall she be trodden down, as the mire of the streets. 11The day cometh when thy walls are to be built; In that day shall the decree be far removed. 12In that day shall they come to thee From Assyria, and the cities of Egypt, And from Egypt to the river, From sea to sea, from mountain to mountain. 13But first the land shall be desolate on account of its inhabitants, For the fruit of their doings. 14Feed thy people with thy crook, The flock of thine inheritance, That dwell solitarily in the forest in the midst of Carmel! Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old. 15As in the day when thou camest from Egypt, So will I show thee wonders. 16The nations shall see, and be ashamed of all their might: They shall lay their hands upon their mouths; Their ears shall be deaf. 17They shall lick the dust like the serpent; Like the creeping things of the earth, they shall come trembling from their strongholds; To Jehovah our God shall they come with awe, And shall fear on account of thee. 18Who is a God like thee, that pardoneth iniquity and passeth by transgression, In the remnant of his inheritance? He retaineth not his anger forever, For he delighteth in mercy. 19He will again have compassion on us, He will blot out our iniquities; Yea, thou wilt cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. 20Thou wilt show faithfulness to Jacob, And mercy to Abraham, Which thou swarest to our fathers from the days of old.