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.[a]
4The best of them is like a brier,
    the most upright of them a thorn hedge.
The day of their[b] sentinels, of their[c] 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.

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 judgment 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;[d]
    now she will be trodden down
    like the mire of the streets.

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 to[e] 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.

18Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
    and passing over the transgression
    of the remnant of your[g] possession?
He does not retain his anger forever,
    because he delights in showing clemency.
19He will again have compassion upon us;
    he will tread our iniquities under foot.
You will cast all our[h] 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.