Wait for the God of Salvation
Woe is me! For I have become
aas when the summer fruit has been gathered,
as when the grapes have been gleaned:
there is no cluster to eat,
no bfirst‑ripe fig that my soul desires.
2 aThe godly has perished from the earth,
and bthere is no one upright among mankind;
cthey all lie in wait for blood,
and deach hunts the other with a net.
3 aTheir hands are on what is evil, to do it well;
bthe prince and cthe judge ask for a bribe,
and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul;
thus they weave it together.
4 The best of them is alike a brier,
the most upright of them a thorn hedge.
The day of byour watchmen, of your punishment, has come;
cnow their confusion is at hand.
5 aPut no trust in a neighbor;
have no confidence in a friend;
guard bthe doors of your mouth
from her who lies in your arms;
6 for athe son treats the father with contempt,
the daughter rises up against her mother,
the daughter‑in‑law against her mother‑in‑law;
ba man’s enemies are the men of his own house.
7 But as for me, I will look to the Lord;
aI will wait for the God of my salvation;
my God will hear me.
8 aRejoice not over me, O bmy enemy;
cwhen I fall, I shall rise;
dwhen I sit in darkness,
the Lord will be a light to me.
9 aI will bear the indignation of the Lord
because I have sinned against him,
until bhe pleads my cause
and executes judgment for me.
cHe will bring me out to the light;
I shall look upon his vindication.
10 Then amy enemy will see,
and shame will cover her who bsaid to me,
“Where is the Lord your God?”
cMy eyes will look upon her;
now she will be trampled down
dlike the mire of the streets.
11 aA day for the building of your walls!
In that day the boundary shall be far extended.
12 In that day they will come to you,
afrom Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
and from Egypt to bthe River,
cfrom sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.
13 But athe earth will be desolate
because of its inhabitants,
for the fruit of their deeds.
14 aShepherd your people bwith your staff,
the flock of your inheritance,
who dwell alone in a forest
cin the midst of da garden land;
let them graze in Bashan and Gilead
as in the days of old.
15 aAs in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt,
I will show them marvelous things.
16 aThe nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might;
bthey shall lay their hands on their mouths;
their ears shall be deaf;
17 athey shall lick the dust like a serpent,
like the crawling things of the earth;
bthey shall come trembling out of their strongholds;
cthey shall turn in dread to the Lord our God,
and they shall be in fear of you.
God’s Steadfast Love and Compassion
18 aWho is a God like you, bpardoning iniquity
and passing over transgression
bfor the remnant of his inheritance?
cHe does not retain his anger forever,
because he delights in steadfast love.
19 He will aagain have compassion on us;
bhe will tread our iniquities underfoot.
cYou will cast all our sins
into the depths of the sea.
20 aYou will show faithfulness to Jacob
and steadfast love to Abraham,
bas you have sworn to our fathers
from the days of old.