None Upright Among Mankind
7 Woe is me! For I am like gatherings of produce in summer,
like gleanings of a vineyard.
There is no cluster to eat,
no first-ripe fig that I crave.
2 The pious have perished from the land,
there is none upright among mankind.
All of them lie in wait for blood.
A man hunts his brother with a net.
3 Both hands are diligent at doing evil.
The official and the judge ask for a bribe.
The distinguished man utters a desire of his soul.
Thus they weave it together.
4 The best of them is like a prickly bush,
the most upright like a thorn hedge.
The day of your watchmen—of your visitation—is coming.
Then their confusion will occur.
5 Do not trust in a friend.
Do not trust in a close companion.
Guard the openings of your mouth
from her who lies on your breast.
6 For son treats father with contempt;
daughter rises up against mother;
daughter-in-law against mother-in-law:
a man’s enemies are the people of his own house.[a]
Zion’s Vindication
7 But I—I will watch for Adonai.
I will wait for the God of my salvation.
My God will hear me.
8 Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy.
Though I have fallen—I will arise.
Though I sit in darkness, Adonai is my light.
9 I will bear the indignation of Adonai,
because I have sinned against Him,
until He pleads my cause,
and executes judgment for me.
He will bring me out to the light,
and I will behold His righteousness.
10 Then my enemy will see it,
and shame will cover her—
she who said to me:
“Where is Adonai, your God?”
My eyes will gaze at her—
now she will be trampled
like mud in streets.
11 A day to rebuild your walls—
a day the boundary will be far off,
12 a day when they will come to you
from Assyria to the cities of Egypt,
from Egypt to the River,
from sea to sea,
and from mountain to mountain.
13 Yet the land will become a wasteland because of her inhabitants,
because of the fruit of their misdeeds.
14 Tend Your people with Your staff,
the flock of Your inheritance,
dwelling alone, in a forest
in the midst of a fertile garden.
Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead,
as in the days of old.
15 As in the days of your coming out from the land of Egypt
I will show him wonders.
16 Nations will see and be put to shame
despite all their might.
They will put a hand on their mouth,
their ears will be deaf.
17 They will lick dust like a snake.
Like crawling things of the land,
they will come trembling out of their hiding places.
To Adonai Eloheinu they will submit in awe—
in awe of You.
He Will Again Have Compassion
18 Who is a God like You
pardoning iniquity, overlooking transgression,
for the remnant of His heritage?
He will not retain His anger forever,
because He delights in mercy.
19 He will again have compassion on us.
He will subdue our iniquities,
and You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.
20 You will extend truth to Jacob,
mercy to Abraham,
that You swore to our ancestors
from the days of old.
Footnotes
- Micah 7:6 cf. Matt. 10:21, 35-36; Mark 13:12; Luke 12:53.