The Prophet Acknowledges

1 Woe is me! For I am

Like the fruit pickers, like the agrape gatherers.

There is not a cluster of grapes to eat,

Or a bfirst-ripe fig which 1I crave.

2 The 1godly person has aperished from the land,

And there is no upright person among men.

All of them lie in wait for bbloodshed;

Each of them hunts the other with a cnet.

3 Concerning evil, both hands do it awell.

The prince asks, also the judge, for a bbribe,

And a great man speaks the desire of his soul;

So they weave it together.

4 The best of them is like a abriar,

The most upright like a bthorn hedge.

The day when you post your watchmen,

Your cpunishment will come.

Then their dconfusion will occur.

5 Do not atrust in a neighbor;

Do not have confidence in a friend.

From her who lies in your bosom

Guard 1your lips.

6 For ason treats father contemptuously,

Daughter rises up against her mother,

Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;

bA man’s enemies are the men of his own household.

God Is the Source of Salvation and Light

7 But as for me, I will awatch expectantly for the Lord;

I will bwait for the God of my salvation.

My cGod will hear me.