Sorrow for Israel’s Sins

¹ Woe is me!
For I am like those who gather summer fruits,
Like those who glean vintage grapes;
There is no cluster to eat
Of the first-ripe fruit which my soul desires.
² The faithful man has perished from the earth,
And there is no one upright among men.
They all lie in wait for blood;
Every man hunts his brother with a net.
³ That they may successfully do evil with both hands—
The prince asks for gifts,
The judge seeks a bribe,
And the great man utters his evil desire;
So they scheme together.
⁴ The best of them is like a brier;
The most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge;
The day of your watchman and your punishment comes;
Now shall be their perplexity.
⁵ Do not trust in a friend;
Do not put your confidence in a companion;
Guard the doors of your mouth
From her who lies in your bosom.
⁶ For son dishonors father,
Daughter rises against her mother,
Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
A man’s enemies are the men of his own household.
⁷ Therefore I will look to the LORD;
I will wait for the God of my salvation;
My God will hear me.

Israel’s Confession and Comfort

⁸ Do not rejoice over me, my enemy;
When I fall, I will arise;
When I sit in darkness,
The LORD will be a light to me.
⁹ I will bear the indignation of the LORD,
Because I have sinned against Him,
Until He pleads my case
And executes justice for me.
He will bring me forth to the light;
I will see His righteousness.
¹⁰ Then she who is my enemy will see,
And shame will cover her who said to me,

“ Where is the LORD your God?”
My eyes will see her;
Now she will be trampled down
Like mud in the streets.
¹¹ In the day when your walls are to be built,
In that day the decree shall go far and wide.^[a]
12 In that day they^[b] shall come to you
From Assyria and the fortified cities,^[c]
From the fortress^[d] to the River,^[e]
From sea to sea,
And mountain to mountain.
¹³ Yet the land shall be desolate
Because of those who dwell in it,
And for the fruit of their deeds.

God Will Forgive Israel

¹⁴ Shepherd Your people with Your staff,
The flock of Your heritage,
Who dwell solitarily in a woodland,
In the midst of Carmel;
Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead,
As in days of old.
¹⁵ “ As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt,
I will show them^[f] wonders.”
¹⁶ The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might;
They shall put their hand over their mouth;
Their ears shall be deaf.
¹⁷ They shall lick the dust like a serpent;
They shall crawl from their holes like snakes of the earth.
They shall be afraid of the LORD our God,
And shall fear because of You.
¹⁸ Who is a God like You,
Pardoning iniquity
And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage?

He does not retain His anger forever,
Because He delights in mercy.
¹⁹ He will again have compassion on us,
And will subdue our iniquities.

You will cast all our^[g] sins
Into the depths of the sea.
²⁰ You will give truth to Jacob
And mercy to Abraham,
Which You have sworn to our fathers
From days of old.