CHAPTER 7
Woe is
me!
For
I am
like one gathering
summer fruit
at the gleaning
of the vineyard;
there is no
cluster
to eat,
no early fig
that I
crave.
The godly man
has perished
from
the earth;
there is no
one upright
among men.
They all
lie in wait
for blood;
they hunt
each
other
with a net.
Both hands
are skilled
at evil;
the prince
and the judge
demand
a bribe;
when the powerful
utters
his
evil
desire,
they all conspire together.
The best of them is
like a brier;
the most upright is sharper
then a hedge of thorns.
The day
you post your watchmen,
your punishment
will come;
then
their confusion
will arise.
Do not
rely
on a friend;
do not
trust
in a companion.
Seal
the doors
of your mouth
from her who lies
in your arms.
For
a son
dishonors
his father,
a daughter
rises
against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law
against her mother-in-law;
a man’s
enemies are
the members of his own household.
But as for me,
I will look
to the LORD;
I will wait
for the God
of my salvation.
My God
will hear me.
Do not
gloat
over me,
my enemy!
Though
I have fallen,
I will arise;
though
I sit
in darkness,
the LORD
will be my light.
Because
I have sinned
against Him,
I must endure
the rage
of the LORD,
until
He argues
my case
and executes
justice for me.
He will bring
me into the light;
I will see
His righteousness.
Then my enemy
will see
and will be covered
with shame—
she who said
to me,
“Where
is the LORD
your God?”
My eyes
will see
her;
at that time
she will be
trampled
like mud
in the streets.
On that
day
they will come
to you
from
Assyria
and the cities
of Egypt,
even from
Egypt
to
the Euphrates
and from sea
to sea
and mountain
to mountain.
Shepherd
with Your staff
Your people,
the flock
of Your inheritance.
They live
alone
in a woodland,
surrounded by
pastures.
Let them graze
in Bashan
and Gilead,
as in the days
of old.
Nations
will see
and be ashamed,
deprived of all
their might.
They will put
their hands
over
their mouths,
and their ears
will become deaf.
They will lick
the dust
like a snake,
like reptiles slithering
on the ground.
They will crawl
from their holes
in the presence of
the LORD
our God;
they will tremble
in fear
of you.
Who
is a God
like You,
who pardons
iniquity
and passes
over
the transgression
of the remnant
of His inheritance—
who does not
retain
His anger
forever,
because
He
delights
in loving devotion?
He will again
have compassion on us;
He will vanquish
our iniquities.
You will cast out
all
our sins
into the depths
of the sea.
You will show
loyalty
to Jacob
and loving devotion
to Abraham,
as
You swore
to our fathers
from days
of old.