“1 Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits,
as the grapegleanings of the vintage: [there is] no cluster to eat: my
soul desired the firstripe fruit. 2 The good [man] is perished out of
the earth: and [there is] none upright among men: they all lie in wait
for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net. 3 That they may
do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge [asketh]
for a reward; and the great [man], he uttereth his mischievous desire:
so they wrap it up. 4 The best of them [is] as a brier: the most upright
[is sharper] than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen [and] thy
visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity. 5 Trust ye not in a
friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth
from her that lieth in thy bosom. 6 For the son dishonoureth the father,
the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against
her mother in law; a man’s enemies [are] the men of his own house.”
“7 Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my
salvation: my God will hear me. 8 Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy:
when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD [shall be]
a light unto me. 9 I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I
have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment
for me: he will bring me forth to the light, [and] I shall behold his
righteousness. 10 Then [she that is] mine enemy shall see [it], and
shame shall cover her which said unto me, Where is the LORD thy God?
mine eyes shall behold her: now shall she be trodden down as the mire of
the streets. 11 [In] the day that thy walls are to be built, [in] that
day shall the decree be far removed. 12 [In] that day [also] he shall
come even to thee from Assyria, and [from] the fortified cities, and
from the fortress even to the river, and from sea to sea, and [from]
mountain to mountain. 13 Notwithstanding the land shall be desolate
because of them that dwell therein, for the fruit of their doings.”
“14 Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which
dwell solitarily [in] the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed
[in] Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old. 15 According to the days
of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvellous
[things]. 16 The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might:
they shall lay [their] hand upon [their] mouth, their ears shall be
deaf. 17 They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of
their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the LORD
our God, and shall fear because of thee. 18 Who [is] a God like unto
thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the
remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he
delighteth [in] mercy. 19 He will turn again, he will have compassion
upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their
sins into the depths of the sea. 20 Thou wilt perform the truth to
Jacob, [and] the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our
fathers from the days of old.” (Micah 7:1-20 AV)