7:1  WOE IS me! For I am as when the summer fruits have been gathered, as when the vintage grapes have been gleaned and there is no cluster to eat, no first-ripe fig for which my appetite craves.

7:2  The godly man has perished from the earth, and there is none upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; each hunts his brother with a net.

7:3  Both their hands are put forth {and} are upon what is evil to do it diligently; the prince and the judge ask for a bribe, and the great man utters his evil desire. Thus they twist between them [the course of justice].

7:4  The best of them is like a brier; the most upright {or} the straightest is like a thorn hedge. The day of your watchmen, even of [God's] judgment {and} your punishment, has come; now shall be their perplexity {and} confusion.

7:5  Trust not in a neighbor; put no confidence in a friend. Keep the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your bosom.

7:6  For the son dishonors the father, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law--a man's enemies are the men (members) of his own house.

7:7  But as for me, I will look to the Lord {and} confident in Him I will keep watch; I will wait with hope {and} expectancy for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.

7:8  Rejoice not against me, O my enemy! When I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light to me.

7:9  I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against Him, until He pleads my cause and executes judgment for me. He will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold His righteous deliverance.

7:10  Then my enemy will see it, and shame will cover her who said to me, Where is the Lord your God? My eyes will see my desire upon her; now she will be trodden down as the mire of the streets.

7:11  In the day that your walls are to be built [a day for building], in that day shall the boundary [of Israel] be far extended {and} the decree [against her] be far removed.

7:12  In that day they will come to you from Assyria and from the cities of Matzor [Egypt] and from Egypt even to the river [Euphrates], from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.

7:13  Yet shall the earth be desolate because of those who dwell in it, for the fruit of their doings.

7:14  Rule {and} feed Your people with Your rod {and} scepter, the flock of Your inheritance who dwell alone in a forest in the midst of Carmel [a garden land]; they shall feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.

7:15  As in the days of your coming forth from the land of Egypt, I will show them marvelous things.

7:16  The nations shall see [God's deliverance] and be ashamed of all their might [which cannot be compared to His]. They shall lay their hands upon their mouths in consternation; their ears shall be deaf.

7:17  They shall lick the dust like a serpent; like crawling things of the earth they shall come trembling out of their strongholds {and} close places. They shall turn {and} come with fear {and} dread to the Lord our God and shall be afraid {and} stand in awe because of You [O Lord].

7:18  Who is a God like You, Who forgives iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retains not His anger forever, because He delights in mercy {and} loving-kindness.

7:19  He will again have compassion on us; He will subdue {and} tread underfoot our iniquities. You will cast all {our} sins into the depths of the sea.

7:20  You will show Your faithfulness {and} perform the sure promise to Jacob and loving-kindness {and} mercy to Abraham, as You have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.