Micah 7

¹ How wretched I am, a harvester in summer time, like a gleaner at the vintage: not a single cluster to eat,none of those early figs I love!

² The faithful have vanished from the land: there is no one honest left. Al of them are on the alert forblood, every man hunting his brother with a net.

³ Their hands are adept at wrong-doing: the official makes his demands, the judge gives judgement for abribe, the man in power pronounces as he pleases.

⁴ The best of them is like a briar, the most honest of them like a thorn-hedge. Now from the north theirpunishment approaches! That wil be when they are confounded!

⁵ Trust no neighbour, put no confidence in a friend; do not open your mouth to the wife who shares yourbed.

⁶ For son insults father, daughter rebels against mother, daughter-in-law against mother-in-law; aperson's enemies come from within the household itself.

⁷ But I shall look to Yahweh, my hope is in the God who will save me; my God will hear me.

⁸ Do not gloat over me, my enemy: though I have fal en, I shal rise; though I live in darkness, Yahweh ismy light.

⁹ I must endure Yahweh's anger for I have sinned against him, until he takes up my cause and rights mywrongs; he wil bring me out into the light, and then I shal contemplate his saving justice.

¹⁰ When my enemy sees this, she wil be covered with shame, having sneered, 'Where is Yahweh yourGod?' This time, I shall be watching as she is trampled underfoot like mud in the streets.

¹¹ That wil be the day for rebuilding your walls! The day for expanding your frontiers!

¹² The day when others come to you al the way from Assyria, from Egypt, from Tyre and al the way fromthe Euphrates, from sea to sea, from the mountains to the mountains!

¹³ The earth wil become a desert by reason of its inhabitants, in return for what they have done.

¹⁴ With shepherd's crook lead your people to pasture, the flock that is your heritage, living confined in aforest with meadow land al round. Let them graze in Bashan and Gilead as in the days of old!

¹⁵ As in the days when you came out of Egypt, grant us to see wonders!

¹⁶ The nations wil see and be confounded in spite of al their power; they wil put their hands over theirmouths, their ears wil be deafened.

¹⁷ They wil lick the dust like snakes, like reptiles that crawl on the earth. They wil creep trembling out oftheir lairs, in terror before you.

¹⁸ What god can compare with you for pardoning guilt and for overlooking crime? He does not harbouranger for ever, since he delights in showing faithful love.

¹⁹ Once more have pity on us, tread down our faults; throw al our sins to the bottom of the sea.

²⁰ Grant Jacob your faithfulness, and Abraham your faithful love, as you swore to our ancestors from thedays of long ago.